Continuation from:-
From The Airport
Busiest Town on Earth
Lost In Old Movie Like Town

26th January 2008
===============

The weather forecast was light rain paired with temperature of 8°C which will dip lower later in the day. We slept cuddled together for warmth… i was mostly awake. Half of my body was numbed from not daring to move even an inch, afraid of touching the icy bed sheet that had not warmed from our body heat.

We woke up shivering from head to toe. We had a quick shower. The water heater was dead. *#@%#@^#%!!

I wore 3 pieces of shirts underneath my jacket to avoid freezing over.

On our way to Halong City –> Halong Bay

Our appointment was at 8am. We were off to Halong Bay for a 2D1N stay.

After a long struggle, we had finally decided on a group tour on board of Lagoon Explorer from Tropical Sails Co. Ltd. Hey, regardless to how darn expensive (USD120/pax) the package was, its still the best looking junk we’ve seen on the web and most important it runs on authentic traditional sails. Most of the junks or tour boats at the harbor could be hired for only USD50/pax but they run on motor.

Halong City

Our band consisted of 3 other Chinese Malaysians, 5 ang mohs and the two of us. The ang mohs were friendly enough but most of the time we kept to ourselves. It was a long and tiring journey… The uneventful trip from Old Quarter to the harbor took us at least 3hours. Besides the stretches of paddy fields and lands, there were nothing much to help us from dozing off. Fortunately, it was bearable coz our hired van was comfortable and clean.

However, i think i’ll avoid traveling with kids… period. The small girl in our group kept asking “Are we there yet?” and singing made-up Christmas carols. She’s so adorable… but 3 hours listening to fairy tales and funny Christmas carols is not. *i thought this only happens in Christmas movies -_-”

Dark gloomy district of Hon Gai

Halong City is popular for being undeveloped and not a pretty sight for the eyes. When we crossed over to Hon Gai district, we were welcomed by a dark and gloomy setting. It really was as if we were in an old movie setting. Being the main port district for coal exports, all the roads were black and dirty with soothe. Even the sky was cloudy and dark. Most locals wore masks covering their nose. It’s a wonder how much the locals could bear just to make a living.

Bridge connecting Halong City

Student’s winter uniform jacket

A stop at the disable people’s workshop was part of the itinerary. There tourist could find all sorts of junks and crafts to be bought as souvenirs. Silks and silk woven arts are particularly popular in Vietnam. They have one of the best works here. Naturally the price of the stuffs here are double the ones you could get at the local markets.

Uhm… I was there just for the loo. *it was fringgin’ cold and i needed to pee alright?!

Me in front of the workshop

When we got to the Halong Bay harbor we were greeted with tons of big and small boats or junks ready for hire. We were told that during the peak season (summer or spring) the harbor would be almost filled with boats making it difficult to maneuver. As this is the coldest winter season, there are less boats floating on the harbor.

Halong Bay harbor

The 10 of us waited at the deck to be sorted. The 5 ang mohs and 3 Malaysians went on separate junks (there were 2 Lagoon Explorer on the harbor). We were left behind.

Lagoon Explorer with the leaking cabin

A petite woman came to greet us. Apparently our cabin aboard the Lagoon Explorer had a leaking roof that was not fixable this soon. *we are so unlucky… We were then offered a cruise on another junk as compensation. It was a private junk just for the 2 of us. The Princess Junk (Indochina Sails Co. Ltd. = sister co. of Tropical Sails Co. Ltd.) which would have cost us a USD500++/pax for a 2D1N stay! So, we get to cruise on a super luxury junk for half the price! *we are so lucky!!!!

Princess Junk woo hoo!

The junk is 3 months old and it is has only one cabin meant for a couple. The junk was so small, it cannot be harbored at the bank with the rest of the boats to avoid getting grazed by the bigger boats.

Come on baby!

Princess Junk layout

It was darn awkward when our Halong tour guide greeted us. Lined up behind him was the whole Princess Junk crew. All 6 of them (the guide, junk captain, deputy captain, a cook, a waiter, a waitress) welcomed us on board.

Our welcome drink

Hot ginger tea never tasted better! Read all about it HERE.

ZzzZZzzzz!

The junk was amazing. Mainly because there is heater in the bedroom *muahahaha! Nah, I’m kidding. But seriously, the oriental interior bedroom was very very comfy and cozy.

Silk bath robe

There’s nothing better than to start a day with a hot shower overlooking the beautiful bay.

View from the shower

Read all about our seafood lunch HERE.

Mmmmm Hmmmm… yummy… shhhh don’t tell him i curi his drink!

WTF?!!!! Gimme back or else!

Sorry lor…. uhm… my coconut as to say sorry can ar?

Categorized as one of the World Heritage site, Ha Long Bay includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape and scenic beauty. The whole bay is like a crystal green pool of limestone pillars.

Limestone formation

Halong Bay is known as the “Bay of the Decending Dragon”. According to local myth which goes as follows:-

Long ago when their forefathers were fighting foreign invaders from the north, the gods from heaven sent a family of dragons to help defend their land. This family of dragons descended upon what is now Ha Long bay and began spitting out jewels and jade. Upon hitting the sea, these jewels turned into the various islands and islets dotting the seascape and formed a formidable fortress against the invaders. The locals were able to keep their land safe and formed what is now the country of Vietnam. The Dragon family fell so much in love with this area for its calm water and for the reverence of the people of Vietnam that they decided to remain on earth. Mother dragon lies on what is now Ha Long and where her children lie is Bai Tu Long. The dragon tails formed the area of Bach Long Vi known for the miles of white sandy beaches of Tra Co peninsula.

This myth is in line with the Vietnamese myth of their origin Con Rong Chau Tien. This myth describes the union between a king (representing the dragon) and his bride (representing a goddess) giving birth to 100 children which are the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. The Ha Long myth illustrate the Vietnamese belief of their origin and the fact that throughout their history, they are aided by their ancestors, the dragon and the gods, in the defense of their land.

My own theory is that a meteor somehow hit the mountains and sea in the area now known as Halong Bay causing an impact so great that the mountains was blasted into huge rocks, scattered all over the place. *make more sense right?

Don’t be fooled. It’s below 6°C out there.

Cruising across the amazing landscape is an unforgettable experience. It’s just as what everyone had described it to be and even more. The many many rock formations and natural grotto scattered in the bay were breath taking. Even in the misty cold winter, it was beautiful. I could only imagine how spectacular it would be during summer.

Brrrr… ccoo..coldddd

Although it was below 6°C, we couldn’t resist sitting out on the deck to enjoy the view. Our nose were running, our fingers were numbed, the blowing wind and the drizzle hitting our faces made it even worst… but who could resist right?

Mountains

Sitting on the deck, you can relax (for us it’s more like lying and shivering on the deck) and take in the breath-taking beauty of the rocky islands on the crystal-clear water of the bay. The water was really clear and green. If it wasn’t freezing i would have consider a skinny dip… in the summer maybe… to scare off other tourist. *wakaka!

Crystal clear water

The silence and tranquility made us pause for a while. We could even hear the gentle lapping of waves against our junk. The many many rocks afar looks like stretches of mountains surrounding the bay.

Scenic seascape

As we headed towards fishing village, our English speaking guide gave us some facts and histories about the bay. I was pretty surprised to find out that he was once a fisherman form the same fishing village we were about to visit.

Fishing Village

According to him, almost 80% of the adults living in the fishing village had never seen land. They are poor and uneducated. He was one of the lucky ones who had the chance to venture out of the village to make a living.

Tiny shacks above the water

Villagers on sampan

I have been to the fishing village in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. It is completely different from this village. In Tonle Sap, the villagers could go on land whenever they wanted to. Shacks were just nearby the bank. Here in Halong Bay, the shacks are floating on the clear water. There were no lands for miles. It would take hours to travel to land. I can’t imagine living all my life in this condition. *wow…

Towards inner lagoons

Spectacular sight isn’t it

To be continued at:-
Natural or Man-Made Beach?
Blue Lagoon
Chambers and the Mini Dicky
From Hoan Kiem Lake to St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Mad Rush > 3 Hours, 6 Destinations
Jalan Jalan Cari Makan in Old Quarter, Hanoi
Last Stroll in Old Quarter

**** ——- ****

Note:
All photos are taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8.

Continuation from:-
From The Airport
Busiest Town on Earth

25th January 2008
=============

You’ll never believe how many street stalls are in Old Quarters. These ‘mobile’ business women and men are everywhere. Just one minute ago she’s hard selling her merchandise to us then the next minute she’s on another corner of another street making do her business.

Really fresh fruits!

Mobile business woman

It’s interesting how the food peddlers here maneuver around the town armed with just a mobile stove-like thingy. Just stop them and they’ll fix you a bowl of superb noodle just right then and there. Before they move on to another street, just hand over the empty bowl and of course your payment.

Motorcycle anyone?

It gets pretty confusing in the small town. All the streets looked the same. Some of the streets (mostly small alleys or streets) are not even listed in the Lonely Planet map. It happened that the street, Hang Dong where Tropical Sails (our Halong Bay tour agency) is located is not in the map. So if you’re traveling without a guide, it’s easy to get lost on the first attempt.

So guess what? We got lost… yeah we did. We got lost in the middle of a tiny little Old Quarter on the very first day we arrived. *way to go -_-” So much for our heroic start…

Cua O Quan Chong (”Old East Gate”) - see the no car sign? yeah right…

However, i must say that getting lost (no pun intended) wasn’t such a bad experience after all. From our guesthouse, we went in circles. After 1 or 2 hours, we were back at square 1, at the Old Quarter’s Old East Gate which by the way is the last remnants of the city walls. Take a photo or two while you’re there.

Under the wall

I gather that people in Hanoi loves to eat… and really good at making business. Even the space beneath the historical Cua O Quan Chong (”Old East Gate”) is not spared from food stalls. *wakaka!

Raining in Old Quarter

Accidentally wandering into some of the unpopular back alleys or small streets gave us a new insight on the lives of the locals. While the more popular streets are utterly buzzing with locals and tourists buying or selling merchandises, the smaller streets are equally busy with mostly locals trading everyday necessity and fresh produce among themselves.

Old newspaper… old newspaper… old news papeeeerrr!

Although the alleys were quite dirty, damp (from the rain) and narrow, it was quiet and ii was good to get away from the non-stop honking of vehicles.

Siapa mau cepat beli!

Even the narrow streets in Old Quarter were packed with food stalls and food peddlers.

Steamy hot potato

There were road signs at every end of the streets. We just had to walk to the end of every street and figure out which end was it. After a while it got easier.

Thanks god we found the tour agency on time coz i think the locals got tired of watching 2 clowns repeatedly walking up and down the streets.

Tropical Sails Co. Ltd at Hang Dong Street

By the time we got back on the right track, we were already starving.

Food is everywhere

The sight and smell of food on every nook and corner of the town made our tummy growl.

At first we were torn between having our meal at the local street stalls or at restaurants nearby. We opted for the second coz it’s safer. We didn’t want to end up with a tummy ache and diarrhea on the first day. So off we went searching for Little Hanoi.

Little Hanoi

Read all about the food at Little Hanoi HERE.

First dinner … more like supper.. on bed.

It was really late by the time we got back to our room. The guesthouse owner was nice enough to go all the way out and get us dinner… more like supper. He even delivered it to our room.

Read all about dinner on bed HERE.

Very high tech air con in my room.

Here’s a tip. If you’re traveling during the winter season, the first thing to check when you check-into your hotel or guest room is the heater. Never ever forget that. NEVER!

We made a mistake of not checking. We assumed that everything was in place…

Cold cold night in Hanoi… *sob sob

We spent our first night freezing with no heater (the heater rosak liao), no water heater (also rosak liao so we had to shower with icy cold water) and damn thin blankets (don’t have comforter ler). *boo hoo

To be continued at:-
Braving the Cold On Scenic Seascape
Natural or Man-Made Beach?
Blue Lagoon
Chambers and the Mini Dicky
From Hoan Kiem Lake to St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Mad Rush > 3 Hours, 6 Destinations
Jalan Jalan Cari Makan in Old Quarter, Hanoi
Last Stroll in Old Quarter

**** ——- ****

Note:
All photos are taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8.

This is going to be a tad lengthy and draggy but it’s just the way i like it. I like my travelogue complete with details and according to the real life sequence so i could remember it in days to come.

Anyways, with so much going on in the busy Hanoi, it made a 5 days stay seems more like 5 months.

25th January 2008
==============

Continuation from:
From The Airport

Despite our room at the budget hotel being super small, we were fine with it coz it was clean, cozy and the young owner of the guesthouse proved to be the perfect host.

We dropped off our bags and we went on our way to find the Halong Bay tour agency. We had pre-booked our tour packages at Tropical Sails. They offered to come over to our guesthouse but we declined. It was drizzling and cold but there was nothing that could stop us. Besides, we couldn’t wait to explore the town on our own.

It was already noon. We were feeling hyper, excited and very very heroic.*kami boleh! We didn’t have a real road map but we figured that maneuvering around this small town would not be that difficult. Afterall, we had the one page map from Lonely Planet. There’s no way we could get lost.

Tube houses

The first thing we noticed are the vintage-like buildings spread all over Old Quarter. I can’t begin to describe how charming and graceful this old town is.

These ‘tube houses’ with typical measurements of 3 meters wide by 60 meters long have at least 3 stories in all. They are long and narrow because residence or storekeepers were taxed according to the width of their storefront, storage and living space. My guess is, one story would be as big as your medium size living room. So, you can go higher but not wider. *no wonder i don’t see any fat people in Hanoi ler…

Cable works

Then there was the… uhm… cables dangling dangerously at every street of the old town. Nice piece of work huh? Locals don’t seem to notice it. I’ve seen a shopkeeper hooking advertising boards on the cables right above his head. So, i guess we shouldn’t have kept pointing and taking photos of it.

Motorcycles are very popular there

Walking around Old Quarters could be really stressful… at first anyways. There were vehicles, cyclos and motorcycles especially, coming from everywhere! *SOS invasion of the motorcycles! There are no traffic lights. On the narrow streets where i could see a ‘No Car Allowed’ sign, there were vehicles honking furiously at pedestrians and other drivers.

On a less busy street

It turned out that everyday is a busy day in the streets of Hanoi. We could hear honking of cars from as early as the sunrise till the wee hours pass midnight.

Charming isn’t it

At first, we were a little… uhm… alot actually, disoriented. Wherever we go drivers were honking at us, even though he/she was still few feet away. It was pretty unnerving. We keep bumping into locals on the crowded streets while watching out for passing vehicles that seems to come out from nowhere. Each time we hear a honk it made us jump *that’s us jumping every second or so!

After a while it gets easier. The secret is to ignore the coming vehicles and other pedestrians. Ignore the many cyclo drivers, taxi drivers and for hire motorcyclist hard selling their service along the streets. Tune out the honking and walk. Vehicles will miraculously miss you. Sure, you’ll get grazed alot but they’ll never hit you. Trust me, or you’ll be stuck day and night on the same side of the road waiting to cross.

Cyclos everywhere

Intersections were the scariest. Vehicles came from every intersection all at once. There’s no need to wait till the street is clear because there’s no such thing in Hanoi. What you need to do is to make a start slowly to show that you are going to cross the road. Then proceed to cross slowly. Don’t be mistaken though… they won’t stop for you. Vehicles still cross without the care in the world but they’ll avoid you at the last second. Don’t panic!

Locals seem to have mastered the art. They go about their business and stopping at whichever stalls or shops that interest them (pedestrians and even motorcyclist). Even if they were blocking the whole damn street.

Beer joint… very vintage

One good thing about this is that there’s no road bully in Hanoi. None that i noticed anyways. Just addiction to honking that’s all.

Carry baskets… mobile business women

Peddlers roam the streets. No matter in the morning or evening, you’ll see locals selling stuffs from their bicycles or from their carry baskets. *i think the word ‘mobility’ originates from Hanoi.

Bicycle peddlers

The carry basket is just two baskets suspended on a long pole. It isn’t easy to carry on the shoulder at all. But there they were, carrying fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers and even daily necessities everywhere to be sold. We even spotted a few carrying basket full of metal scraps.

That is some heavy baskets to be carried the whole day

Here’s a tip. Whatever you do, never make eye contact with the peddlers. Especially those selling fruits. Once they have sustained connection, you can’t run away. *Lord, have mercy!

We happen to be standing at the corner of the street looking at the map then came along a woman with basket full of fresh fruits. We told her we weren’t interested. But then i made a mistake. I had another look and smiled at her.

Below photo is the result -_-”. (I look like an idiot fat woman with fruits. I was wearing 4 tshirts under that jacket ok?!)

Me selling fruits… please ignore how ugly i look here.

She was keng. She was quick as lightning. She took off her farmer hat and put it on my head. Before i knew it the basket gizmo was on my shoulder. Naturally i took the chance to snap a few photos with it. Then…oh well… i felt obliged to purchase fruits from her. *it’s a trap i tell ya.

I didn’t mind but i walked away real fast the next few times i was approached. LOL.

To be continued at:-
Lost In Old Movie Like Town
Braving the Cold On Scenic Seascape
Natural or Man-Made Beach?
Blue Lagoon
Chambers and the Mini Dicky
From Hoan Kiem Lake to St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Mad Rush > 3 Hours, 6 Destinations
Jalan Jalan Cari Makan in Old Quarter, Hanoi
Last Stroll in Old Quarter

**** ——- ****

Note:
All photos are taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8.

Announcement heard at Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam

Announcer: Ladies and gentleman, the flight to Taipei had been delayed due to cabin not ready. Thank you.
Me + EatAllYouCanShung: -_-” Like that also can ar??!

Just when we thought we’ve heard it all…

Our 5 days in Hanoi was a memorable if not a good one. However, i had never been so glad in my life to see KLCC twin towers on my arrival back to Malaysia last Monday. I had the urge to jump off the Air Bus and kiss the dirt ground. I love Malaysia!

I will explain but i have to warn you that it’s a long story on the next few post to come :P…
.
.
.
EatAllYouCanShung and i had always wanted to travel by ourselves ala backpacker lifestyle without a tour guide or anything like that. Tour packages are dead boring. They rush you to places that are uninteresting. They bring you to crafts stores selling junks that will cost you both arm and leg. Well… aunties enjoys it… not us. You won’t even have enough time to capture nice photos before being shuffled to the next destination.

It was a dream come true when we got cheap flight tickets from AirAsia. We were going to Hanoi, Vietnam free and easy style. Nevermind that this is only the second official trip we ever had. Nevermind that we have no idea how to go on planning the trip. Kenny and Nicole had done it. How hard would it be right?

We couldn’t be more wrong *muahahaha!

Anyways, we had few months to plan on the trip… but on the day before our trip our result was still:-

25/1/08 - Arrive at Hanoi
26/1/08 - Halong Bay Cruise
27/1/08 - Still at Halong Bay
28/1/08 - Have no idea. Will plan when we get there
29/1/08 - Same as above… evening catch flight back to Malaysia.

MUST DO: At all cost, consume every yummy food we encounter in Hanoi!

We already booked into a budget guesthouse. We had also reserved a room on board of Lagoon Explorer junk for a 2D1N stay on Halong Bay. We were all set for the coming adventure.
*
*
*
25th January 2008
==============

We arrived at LCCT at about 4.30am. It was a mistake booking the early flight. I didn’t not count in the time it takes to travel to LCCT plus i forgot that we have to check in at least 1 or 2 hour earlier. *i will never repeat this mistake again, i will never repeat this mistake again, i will never repeat this mistake again, ….. i will never repeat this mistake again

Me at LCCT’s McD having breakfast at 4.30am…yawn…

I thought at least i could watch the sunrise from the plane but WTF lor. It was too misty. I couldn’t even see the clouds. It was a tiring flight coz it took about 3 hours to arrive at Vietnam’s Noi Bai Airport. Their time in Hanoi is late by 1 hour so it was already 10.30 in the morning Malaysian time.

I had no idea that Vietnam has 4 seasons until that day. Apparently the north part of Vietnam including Hanoi has 4 seasons. Its winter now and it’s darn cold. I guessed that it was at most 12°C only that morning. *die hard lor… i only brought sleeveless Tshirts and a Forever 21 jacket which is not thick at all!

Bus no. 17 to Old Quarters - Locals are wearing think jackets and scarfs.

Here is when things got interesting. The staff from our guesthouse was already waiting for us outside the airport. It was hilarious! We were expecting a car or van or at least a taxi to pick us up but there we were walking down to the bus stop in front of the airport and boarding a mini bus that cost 5,000 VND per ticket. *LOL. I was like -_-” tiu lor… it’s damn cold and i have to naik mini bus so many hours to Old Quarters!

In the bus on the way to Old Quarters

However, it turned out that taking bus no. 17 to Old Quarters wasn’t that bad after all. It was a pretty great way to start our trip. Besides having a chance to mingle with the local passenger, we get to see the countryside because the bus took the alternate route to Old Quarters.

Besides stretches of paddy fields, there are flower and fruit orchards everywhere. I saw even fields full of ’sakura’ or what we Chinese called ‘mui fa’ and ‘kat jai’ which is the Chinese mini mandarin oranges.

Paddy field comes in abundance in Vietnam

Although it was quite a long trip (1hour plus), we were ooohhhh-ahhhh-ing the first few 10 minutes of the ride. *like some jakun keluar kampung -_-”. You won’t see all these if you were taking the highway route. Fortunately the locals on the bus weren’t even bothered. We found out later that locals in Hanoi just don’t bother about tourists… period. They don’t give a hoot who you are or where you’re from *I like them already!

Almost there… see the bridge behind? It’s darn long .

View from our room

Our tiny guesthouse, WildLotus Hotel is located at Luong Ngoc Quyen Street. It’s pretty near the entrance to Old Quarters in a nice neighborhood on one of the quieter street in town (quieter but still noisy like hell so you could imagine what’s it like on another street).

Wildlotus small bedroom

When i say tiny i mean REAL tiny. Tiny like hell. Tiny shit. T.I.N.Y.

The staircase was so narrow that it will only fit one person at a time. Due to that i got my very first present in Hanoi…. I got a swollen eye -_-”.

Super narrow stairs

As EatAllYouCanShung head up the staircase towards our room, i follow suit. I have no idea what had gotten into him when he suddenly decided to practice a Bruce Lee back-kick. Needless to say, i ended up the victim. He back-kicked right into my right eye. My right eye swelled up and my glasses needs repairing now.

And that marked the start of our 5 days stay in Old Quarters -_-”

Ps:// Dear i’m not mad at you so stop getting all guilty about it… i just hope that you have mastered your Bruce Lee attack on my expense *muahahahaha!

See how tiny the room is?

Looking down from the window

To be continued at:-
Busiest Town On Earth
Lost In Old Movie Like Town
Braving the Cold On Scenic Seascape
Natural or Man-Made Beach?
Blue Lagoon
Chambers and the Mini Dicky
From Hoan Kiem Lake to St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Mad Rush > 3 Hours, 6 Destinations
Jalan Jalan Cari Makan in Old Quarter, Hanoi
Last Stroll in Old Quarter

**** ——- ****

Note:
All photos are taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8.