HANOI (26 May to 30 May 2012)

Hola!!!!!!!

Never update all of my events this year huh???....

Well, lets kick-in some travel updates - my kind of story.

We spent-as usual 5d 4n trip to Hanoi.

It was the beginning summer, so, to expect some sort of perpeluhan - so we carry lite apparels. 

Uniqlo is our favourite travel apparel of choice.

I dont really recall where & what we've done. So just a simple note here:

Day 1- Arrival n checked in at 'Jasmine Hotel' (nearby old quarter).

(hotel cost: USD104.50- include arrival pick-up (murah kan?))

After checked-in, browsing along 'old-quarter' area. 

There's 2 halal resto: Restaurant Nisa & The Tandoor.

Day 2- Went for trip - Tam Coc river cruising.

Before the river cruising, we were brought to some old temples. 

It seems that Hanoi was previously a quite powerful peninsular.

After the temple - we went to Tam Coc.

Day 3 - Dong Xuan market trip - jalan2 but dont really shopping that much.

Plenty of silk, but too much of Vietnames style - so I tak minat.

Afternoon - went for 'Puppet Show'.

Day 4 - Ha long Bay trip.

It took about 4 hours drive (went there by van).

Lunch was served on the boat - really yummy seafood. (mana taknye, perut pun dah kebulur kan...)

Day 5 - Browsing old quarter area and back to KL.

Enjoy those pics...(sorry these are all from my BB)

Never have the time to upload those from my camera.

Vietnam favourite appetiser. 

The Tam Coc river cruise banner.

 Ramai kan umat nak naik boat....

 It cost us about RM15 kut - for the whole boat.

A lady, and she even gave us the chance to row the boat.

 To me, this is really the highlight of the trip.

I'd enjoyed those sceneries:

 - nice view, windy,  redup, very calming...and we sang wif my BB all the way!!!

 Those green plants are 'padi' hoccay....

Row, row, row your boat....

*******

Nite - Had dinner at The Tandoor resto. 

Its a vege resto, I suppose.

 Check out the price....

 The briyani was good I must say!!

 Love of my life enjoying her briyani.

 ******

Views around Hanoi. 

Should've also shared pics on how narrow & lean their home & buildings are.

 Just that I dont have it in my BB.

 (plat no. la kut nih - tak ingat dah)

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Day 4 - Ha long  Bay

 These are the boat...hmmpphhh...ingat kan cantik sangat...

I really cant recall how much we spent for the 1 day trip 

(u actually have option to sleep in one of the island)

 Water village.

They got school, television & fan you know....

 Views around Halong Bay

 I love the most

 Ada trip to a cave.

Penatnye....sib baik masih gagah.

My fairy,..

that's all folk.

btw - we travel thru MAS.

I think the fare is around 3k++ for all of us.

Ho Chin Minh City

Good Morning Vietnam!!!

Howdee....

'Bout 2 weeks after my travel to faraway europe, then am off again to leave more of my footsteps.

This time to Ho Chin Minh city (HCMC) of Vietnam. Even a friend jokes- "ko ni dah macam 'Amazing Race" lak, kejap sana..kejap sini..kehkehkeh...(how i'd wished to..*wink*wink*)

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Some of sceneries of Vietnam.

From top left: taxis in HCMC, below it is the walkway in HCMC. Dont be surprise ya, boleh jumpa org tido-melepak merata2...followed by one of mosque there, and next to it, LV boutique.

Others

One thing 'bout Vietnam - motorbikes!! It was everywhere!! Watch out each time u need to cross the road. Punyalah susah...Despites that, good thing is, they dont merempit, suma slow2 aje, so, not so bad la kan...

We joked that-if in KL, motorbike menyelit2 celah kereta, kat sini, the car menyelit2 di celah motor. Really...

We stayed at Region 1. Below pic is from other region - other than the main towncentre.Our Hotel, at Dong Khoi Street.The room
Hotel is quite ok, but the boutiques nearby the hotel are all expensive, maklum la tourist nyer area. If in KL, it would be similar as KL-Bukit Bintang, but in short, it is safe to stay there.

Upon arrival, we paid a short tour to some of interesting landmarks. Lets share few of it.

-The Notre Dame Basilica--General Post Office-
the post office is quite unique-sorry damn lazy to share the indoor pics.

-dunno what building but i like it-

Was damn hot okey!

Was sweating like no one business, hehe..muka berminyak2, tak tahan seh...dah la daku ni kepala cepat berpeluh, lagi la....

Right after the tour-soru time!!!...

The currencies. FYI, USD is also accepted there, especially in boutiques and at their market(Ben Than Market). But for small stalls and street hawkers, they'll normally trade in Vietnam Dong.

USD conversion was about 3.2 then, and 20,000 vietnam dong is equivalent to RM9.90.

So...what we did there??

shop..and shop...and shop, till we (or is it me?) drop! Not sure 'bout u guys, but me...am really fond into those embroidered item. Love it!! so, memang memborong jugak la the other day...it was sweet tho....(will share my shopping things in other post, -again, if i got the mood la, k...)

My fav shop-ntah baper kali drop by...siang malam nyopping, hehe

BTW, note those wires up there?

Just to let u know, the wiring system in HCMC is really unique, in fact, not systematic at all!!Bersimpul2-bersimpang siur...in fact, quite scary tho...ye la, who knows it might cause short-circuit, etc...

Part of it, just wanna share- we found out that the vietnamese are those kind of relax...cool, chill buddies. They're all lepaking at the park, chatting with buddies...relaks2...even tho kat tepi jalan, or atas motor. It seems like 'melepak' is the part of life-trend. Nak baring kat tepi2 jalan pun, bisa saja dong, hehe..

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Magnifique buildings at night

As u can see, most of their historic buildings are all french-inspired, as they're ruled by the french, once.

And do u know that Ho Chin Minh is a name of someone? or as we called it-pakcik Ho Chin Minh.
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On Day 2, I'd opted for a tour to Chu Chi tunnel. Was about 1hr drive from HCMC.

Passed by along their houses

For some reason, the houses are all narrowed-like. Tho theres plenty of land area.

And i would like to add here also, along the way, most of the food stalls will gonna have hammocks next to their stall. Means, after dah makan, boleh buai2 on the hammock, gitew...as i said earlier, the locals would whenever possible, hanging out & lepak2...its part of their culture maybe.

*******

Back to Chu Chi tunnel.

The tunnel is where the Vietkongs hide & live. The total length was almost 400km, and it was part of the reason of their winning against the Americans.

Some of my experiences there memang sepesen...

This is how the vietkongs enter the tunnelAt first, cuak gak, bukan apa..takut ada snake kat dlm tu...problem is, masa nak get out from the lubang. It needs your arms' strength to pull your body up..adoyai....

We do experience passing thru the tunnel..waduh sakit pinggang sih..seb baik ketot, if yg tinggi2, lagi la terok, coz we have to crawl..its just 'bout 5 to 10 minit, but it was urgghh..sakit pinggang.

-the best part of trip: M16 shooting range..yihaaa!!!...-Back from the tunnel, kengkawan stop by to purchase the 'cute' helmet. Aku pun terjebak jugak.... helmet ala2 'crazy frog', hehe.. -around Dong Khoi St.- Evening, we went to a Water Puppet Show.

Cost us around USD6 for the show-including the taxi fare.

In short- we dont really understand the hell they're all 'bersyair', but we do enjoy the way the puppet dance & all the additional effects. Its creative. Till today, I cant figure out how do they control the puppet.

Must be from behind the curtain there, but how eh?

Anyway, it was a beautiful show, perfect performance. Bravo!! this is a must do if u visit HCMC. thumbs up (even tho i'd dozed awhile, too tired maybe)

After the show, we moved on to Ho Chin Minh City Hard Rock Cafe.

HRC for HCMC was opened only in last December. In fact, I found out that even the locals dont really know where it is. They did ask me, coz saw me carrying the HRC bag. hmmm..looks like my brother was there before me, uh?

On Day 3, we're all free to do our final shopping.

And me?..well...last minute babe..time to grab etc..etc..things, tho same u may dont really need, eh?

But, manage to find a round table top for my mum, & few other things for my myself & nieces.

While on the way, we drop by to few ship's crafting shop.

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Well, theres a lot in vietnam where we may cant find it elsewhere. Another fact of Vietnam, the 'kopi stall' by the road side are all so 'cute', as if it is meant for hobbits. Small table, small chair...these are how they have their coffee breakNo wonder theres an email on 'Only in Vietnam". Yup, now I believe it, hehe.

*****

And here...is where I spend my iced choc each nite, yummy....

public phone...

..and the last pic...anything more cuter than these??? ..so?, more reason to be there again...haha..

Yup, I do enjoy the trip (btw, would there be any trip that really sucks?)

Godwill, probably will come here again...its just that I dont really sure which year its gonna be....