Halong Bay, Hanoi

In the morning we departed from Hanoi to Halong Bay. We passed by Quang Ninh province where coal is mined thus making this area polluted. Healthcare and sanitation are not very well taken care of in Vietnam. It is normal to see people wearing masks in Vietnam to protect themselves against the pollutants in the air. Does these masks really help to filter the pollutants? Such scene reminded me of those SARS period where we were given "certified" mask to wear, which would filter harmful elements and are hard to breathe.

It took 3 hours to reach Halong Bay. Thank God for the good weather as the day before it rained. The weather was cool and refreshing while the scenery was spectacular.

Jay and I shared a table with a Vietnamese family when we had lunch on the boat. We had a good conversation with them. They have a cute little girl whom I enjoyed playing with.

It took us more than 4 hours to reach Hanoi from Halong Bay. The bus moved like a snail on the road and possibily caused a French couple to miss their night train. Felt so sorry for them.

We changed our hotel at Hanoi as we found difficult to sleep. The new hotel was slightly better but I found strange practice here in Vietnam. The hotel will close for business after certain hours like in our case, the doors were closed with the metal doors pulled down at about 1030pm.

We went to the recommended fish restaurant in Hanoi the next day. Though there is only one dish in the menu, many people patronized this popular eating place. We arrived at about 11+am and soon after the restaurant was full house.

After lunch, we visited the several art galleries at the city centre while on our way to the museums. The history and revolution museums were not very impressive. The presentation and layout were not user-friendly for visitors to grasp the history of Vietnam. Display items were all over the place.

We tried home-made ice-cream and rested by the lake for a while before we headed back to have dinner before our night train to Hue.

Day 1 - Singapore to Hanoi

We went to the Budget Terminal to catch Tiger Airway to Hanoi. The Tiger Airway was delayed for 3 hours due to air-conditioning fault. Several passengers missed their connecting flight at Hanoi and were complaining and one man even asked to meet the manager. Nothing was done to pacify the fuming passengers. Personally I think Tiger Airways should give adequate explanation and compensaton for the delay. We only knew that the delay was due to air-conditioning fault when the pilot apologized for the delay as we board the plane. We departed from Singapore at 9pm and reached hanoi at 12pm (Hanoi time). Hanoi is one hour behind us. Our poor tour guide, Hanh, waited at Hanoi airport for about 6 hours as she was there at the airport at about 6pm.

We took at cab to Prince hotel (rating: poor) at the old quarters. After putting our lugguages, we went down the street to Hanh's office and met her sister. They run a tour agency together. We had our supper together along the street. Quite a shock for city dwellers like us. We saw tissues thrown all over the floor. We sat on stools and had our soup noodles.

After this we went back to our hotel for a rest.

What a day to start a holiday trip!!

Vietnam - 23 Mar 07 - 1 April 07

Jay, Danny, Estella and I went for a 10-days Vietnam trip. We flew via Tiger Airway to Hanoi, then took a night train to Hue, bus to Hoi An, a night bus to Nha Trang, night train to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and then back home to Singapore.

It was my first visit to Vietnam and it has been an eye-opener indeed. Thank God for His providence and guidance throughout the whole trip. I was also reminded of how blessed I am as a Singaporean.

I will detail my trips in the following posts. Please check it out.