Hanoi Revisited

It's Friday and a long weekend ahead to look forward to. Can't ease myself into the holiday mood just yet as I have some work to clear up. But here's a posting to break the monotony of work.

Just wanted to mention about how the topic of 'Hanoi' had unwittingly been brought up in the past two days.

First on Wednesday, while having dinner, Channel News Asia featured a story about the architecture and uniqueness of the buildings around St.Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi. I was hooked, though I only caught it at the end of the programme.

Then yesterday while I was online at night, I found a friend (formerly from Muar) on MSN. And guess what, she was in Hanoi. How strange is that? So I rattled off a few things that might be of interest in Hanoi, like the cathedral, old quarters, a certain meat dish, and the must-do tour to Ha Long. Too bad she's on business trip as she might not have time to squeeze in the sighseeing.

Maybe these two separate events are signs to remind me to finish up the overdue write-up of my Vietnam trip. Well that just have to wait. I'm going back to Muar for the weekend.



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Monday night and old friends

Met up with some old friends yesterday. Old as in friends of 12 years, as long as I’ve been in this Island across the ‘not-so-scenic’ bridge.

Well the reason for the meet-up was that dear old Shirm came a calling and decided to spend her last night in this part of the world with us before she flies off back to London today. As I simply put it out to her, she had chosen to save the best for last.

So, with the usual last minute arrangements and changes (though we were forewarned a month back), we made plans to meet for dinner at Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant. Thank goodness for Julian and his offer to pick us up in his car, for without it would make the journey to this west coast diner in the rain quite a challenge.

Anyway, the usual suspects all turned up for the dinner with the exception of Lam. Karen arrived with lil’ Daniel in tow. Julian and Tsumain had picked up the rest of us - myself, Peggy and Shirm from Clementi. And the surprise inclusion for the night was Ree Nee, who had been absent from our many gatherings in the past 10 years.

Over the course of dinner (Crab and Veges!), we caught up with bits and pieces of updates from each other. Not an easy task when you have a table of food separating us, and each of us trying to get their questions in, while our hands are kept busy breaking crab shells and our mouths trying to strip off the meat.

These Faces
I remember
Once young and leaner

Familiar faces
I used to see
Every day
in the hall way.

The laughing faces
At midnight birthdays sessions
And of worried faces
Nights before morning papers

Older faces
Twelve years on
Bearing different scars
Carrying distant cares

These faces
Still remember
And reaches out
Across time

To a common thread
Now thinner, slackened
But still clinging
To kindred souls

First Blogversary : One Year On ...

Amazing, it's been one year since I first launched my Blog and my made my life, rants and musings known online. I wouldn't say that my life now revolves around my blog (hmmm ... does it?), just that blogging has pretty much found a place(a comfy corner lot I presume) in my life. Now, among the first things I tell myself when I stumble upon news worth reporting, or when I find a photo-worthy moment, or when my mind spits out some interesting thoughts, is to blog about it. I guess it kinds of give you a special feeling when you know that you can share these things with the world, maybe not the world, but people who care to drop by your remote outpost in the vast worldwide web.

Whatever. At least this way life seems more interesting ...

Ok bos, satu lagi teh tarik !

I could get use to this ... (1)

Windmill at Sunrise. Albany, Missouri.

Taken from Missouri Skies, a site dedicated to the ever-changing skies of Missouri.

Vietnam 2006 Part 4 : Off to the Hills

Day 4(Tue) : Back from Ha Long Bay and off to Sa Pa

A Perfect Morning
If ever there is a morning that I’ll be happy to wake up to, this will probably be it. A cool cloudy morning in emerald green waters, the boat slowly cruising through the bay as we are surrounded by majestic mountains rising out of the waters like dragon spine in the mist.

Here’s a short clip to capture the moment.

Our slow tour of the bay finally came to an end around noon as the boat reached the jetty at Ha Long City. We were led to a nearby restaurant where we were served Vietnamese styled Chinese cooking.

Back to Hanoi
It was back to Hanoi after lunch. We arrived at Hanoi before 4pm. The van offloaded the four of us in front of the hotel where we previously stayed. Thinking twice whether to give the hotel owner a piece of our mind regarding his over-charging of the trip, we decided to overlook it and regard it as a lesson well learnt.

(Lesson #1 : We paid US$45 for the Ha Long Bay tour, expecting a bigger boat but later found out that some of our fellow passengers had paid US$35 or less for the same trip.

Lesson #2 : We were billed an extra 10% tax for the tour and hotel room. Later we found out that other hotels do not slap taxes. Even the receipt given looked dodgy without any proper company name and address. Thinking we could get a tax refund at the airport, we found no counters catering to such needs. )

We spent the next few hours drinking coffee at a Parisian Styled Café (Paris Deli), searching for a elusive lake near the train station, and having dinner while watching the local version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ at a local restaurant.

What we had for tea ...

Midnight Train
We got on our train at 9:10pm. Found our bunk with the four soft sleepers. It was narrow with hardly any place for four guys to stand up all at once, but it will do for the night. The train left the station punctually.

We spent the next few hours playing ‘Bridge’. We managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep after we had enough laughs from the game that was punctuated with first timer Wee Loong’s unorthodox Bridge moves.

The train rumbled on through the night, briefly stopping at stations along the way to Lao Cai. The drone of the engine might be hypnotic to some but for me it led to uneasy sleep. The stops did not help either as they totally broke the sleeping spell. Lao Cai was the final stop, located near the Chinese border. It was also the gateway to the hill stations of Sa Pa and Bac Ha.

Vietnam 2006 Part 3 : Cruising on Ha Long Bay

Day 3(Mon) : Ha Long Bay

To the Bay
Rise and shine at 7:30am. We were going to the bay today.

Our pick up arrived at the hotel at about 8:30am. We joined a group of 10 other tourists in the van. The tour guide soon introduced himself in halting English and gave us a briefing on today’s plan. He had probably memorized a script as he rattled off the English-sounding syllables in long continuous strings. We tried hard to piece them together into comprehensible and meaningful speech.

The journey to Ha Long city took 3 hours, stopping only for a 20 minute break in between. We finally arrived at the jetty before noon. The place was thronging with groups of mainly foreign tourists and each led by a local tour guide. Everybody was soon herded towards their respective boats.

Our boat, like many others docked at the jetty, had three levels. The lower level was where the bunks were located. The middle level housed the dining area. The top deck was an open air viewing area with deck chairs and was a great place to sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Bay Watch
After a sumptuous lunch, the boat headed out towards sea. We promptly positioned ourselves at the top deck to take in the sight of the bay, with cameras ready for action. It was a rare sunny afternoon and we had the wind blowing into our faces as the boat gathered speed.

We were not disappointed. We were soon surrounded by giant limestone hills rising from the sea, rocks that were outlined with steep walls, sheer cliffs and sparse vegetation.

Here are some photos to enjoy …

As part of the tour, we made two stops. One was the Cave of Surprises that housed three distinct chambers, filled with stalagmites and large rocks. The chambers were lighted up with ghastly fluorescent spotlights that made the scenery a little unreal.

The next stop was Ti Top Island (named after the Soviet Union astronaut and hero, Ghermann Ti Top). The highlight here was the viewing area at the top of the hill that overlooked the bay. Good for taking pictures of the bay. After climbing down the few hundred steps, we got to do a bit of kayaking at the beach. There was slight difficulty in directing the kayak, but we were rewarded with a wonderful time in the pristine emerald waters.

Moonlight Bay
That night, we spent a night on the bay. Our boat, like many others, found a place to ‘park’ in the waters. It was like a big parking lot for boats; there was even a ‘P’ sign on a nearby islet. We were served dinner and spent the next few hours playing ‘Hearts’. Outside the waters were dead calm, the air cool, and the surroundings pitch black save for lights from the other boats parked close by.

I had a good sleep that night.

A Good Friday

"... O that old rugged cross,

so despised by the world,

has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God

left His glory above

to bear it to dark Calvary.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it some day for a crown ... "

A Good Friday to all Christians and believers!

Vietnam 2006 Part 2 : Streets of Hanoi

Day 2(Sun) : Around Hanoi

A New Day
Woke up on Sunday to light filtering in from the window. It was a new day and we were raring to start exploring Hanoi. But before that, we just stood out at the balcony to take in the fresh morning air, listening to sounds from the bustling city below and enjoying the sights of the locals going about their business.

After freshening up, we moved downstairs to have breakfast. We had a few things lined up for the day - a few chores to complete, a few decisions to make and a number of places of interest to visit.
Rather than bore you with a detailed account of every single concrete monument that I visited and every interesting sight that caught my attention, here is the story told from the lens of my camera.

Sightseeing around the city
Scenery around Hoan Kiem Lake ...

View of Ngoc So'n Temple from the river bank

The inaccessible Tortoise Tower

A boat on the lake

Ngoc So’n Temple ...

A pavilion in Ngoc So'n Temple

In front of the temple

The Streets ...

Motorcyles rule the streets of Hanoi

Shophouses

St.Joseph Cathedral ...

Worshipers leaving the Cathedral after Sunday morning mass

Pho - 2nd Breakfast ...

Pho Bo (Beef).

Temple of Literature ...

Courtyard outside temple

Temple corridors

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum ...

The Mausoleum was closed. It closes before noon.

Lunch ...

The fate of man's best friend - served cold. Lost my apetite after this starter.

Norman tasting the intestine-like piece. He was the only one working on the plate after we decided that we had enough.

Army Museum ...

The guard tower outside the museum.

Train Tracks ...

Train tracks running along the back alley

French Opera House ...

Looking grand and magnificent at night A singing performance was on that night.

Ciao Café ...

After dinner. We had our new hats on. Bought mine for 40,000D

Chores Completed
1) Booking a Ha Long Bay tour
The hotel had given us their sales pitch during breakfast. We were presented with a few packages and had later on decided on the most expensive package(US$45). It was a 2 day 1 night tour inclusive of two-way bus transport to and from Ha Long City, a English speaking tour guide, tour and overnight stay on a houseboat(with sails), room with attached toilet on boat, kayaking and big meals. More on this in the next post.

2) Planning for Sa Pa

We were offered a US$85, 4 night 3 day trip to Sa Pa by the hotel, that includes 2 nights on the train, a night in a hotel and possibly a night in a village. But after checking out the train ticket(212,000 Dong or $US13.30) to Sa Pa, we decided to travel on our own. We purchased the train tickets to Lao Cai, soft sleepers of four in a bunk (perfect for a company of four). The train leaves on the same day we return from Sa Pa, at 9:30pm.

Vietnam 2006 Part 1 : Road to Hanoi

Day 1(Sat) : Arrival at Hanoi.
Touchdown
Our Tiger Airways’ Airbus A320 landed in Noi Bai Airport, Hanoi before 8pm local time. As Vietnam is one hour behind Singapore and Malaysia, the skies were already dark when we arrived.

The flight was slightly over 3 hours, spent updating each other on our latest news, finalizing our travel plans, watching people going to the loo that was conveniently located behind my seat, talking to a Dutch stranger, and wishing we could speak a little Japanese (the presence of five Japanese lasses sitting in front of us was purely coincidental).

After clearing customs at the airport, we headed to the money changer to convert some US Dollars to Dong. The rates (US$1 = 15,918 Dong) were better of the Dollar compared to other currencies. We became instant millionaires. Next we got a ride to the city by taxi for US$10.

Finding ‘Salute’
We had chanced upon Salute Hotel on the internet before coming for the trip. It looked pretty decent in the pictures and was reasonably priced. So that was the destination we told the taxi driver.

Outside the car, the air was cool and slight drizzle dripped from the skies. The road to the city passed through desolated areas, occasional rows of townhouses, and bridges spanning the Red River. Traffic was sparse but the incessant honking accompanied us through out the journey .

Entering the city, we were greeted by the sight of the Old Quarters - the trademark narrow streets, with mazy rows of shophouses and budget hotels, and groups of people sitting on low stools by the roadside enjoying hot bowls of Pho. Motorcylces weave through these streets like they own the place.

Stalls along the streets

The taxi finally stopped in front of a hotel(no Salute sign) but we were told that the place was full and had better luck at one not to far away(supposedly ran by his ‘brother’). The man from the hotel gave instructions to the taxi driver and we were off. A few streets down and we arrived at another hotel. “Salute Hotel?”, we asked the guy who greeted us and he happily answered, “Yes, yes.” The sign above door read ‘Backpackers Hotel’.

We decided to stay after viewing one of the rooms. It had an attached bathroom, a single and double bed, TV (plus cable), and even a balcony. It was going for US$20 per night and could fit four.

First Meal
After throwing down our luggage and grabbing our jackets, we headed for the streets in search for food, our first meal in Vietnam. We passed over a couple of smaller eateries serving local food and ended up in a café overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake. Not exactly the Vietnamese cuisine welcome meal that we were expecting, but the place really had a cool view.

View from the cafe. Hoan Kiem Lake at night.

As most of the shops were closed, we decided to call it a night and headed back to our hotel. It will be a long day ahead.

Vietnam 2006 Prologue : Beginnings …

I was first fascinated with Vietnam when I read the book ‘Tangerine’ in July last year. The book talked about a man’s travels through Vietnam. Maybe because what he was experiencing made sense or his encounters with the local people and culture intrigued me or just the thought of escaping into an exotic foreign land was so tempting. Whatever the reason, it created a spark in me, a longing to one day visit this land up north.

Later on in the year, in one of the occasional meet-ups with Wee Loong and Ravi, we broached the subject of going for a trip together in the coming year. A monumental year as it marks our coming of age into the 30s. Anyway our last trip together was in 2001 when we traveled by land to Phuket and Haadyai. It was pretty enjoyable then and the prospect of going for another trip together was pretty exciting.

Hanoi was thrown into the hat. Neither of us had been there before. Wee Loong might have flown there but these were turnaround flights. Ravi had traveled to Ho Chi Minh and Hue, but never to the north. We left thinking about the possibility.

However the idea remained dormant until we met again earlier this year to confirm the trip and built a plan around it. Ha Long Bay was suggested due to its proximity and popularity. Sadly that was the extent of our knowledge about the attractions of north Vietnam.

A short trip to the Travel Guide section of Kinokuniya later, we expanded our travel options. Sapa, a town on the hills, North West of Hanoi caught our eye. Maybe it was the words used to describe the place; words like hill station, cool mountain air, picturesque scenery. The only obstacle was the journey to the hill station which included an 8 hour train journey to a border town and a short drive up to Sapa. A short calculation showed that we needed at least a week to cover all three places. We decided to go for it.

Norman was later roped in and not because we needed a fourth player for cards as he suspected (3 could play Chor Dai Dee comfortably). We proceeded to book the cheapest fare to Hanoi through Tiger Airways. The round trip cost S$225, including taxes.

We were on our way to Vietnam.

Lost Tails

They say an average of 10,000 bags are lost daily.

They also say 98% of misplaced baggage is returned evntually.

So hey, where's mine ???

Standing there at the carousel in Changi's spanking new Budget Terminal on Sunday night, I was reminiscing about the fantastic 9 days that I had spent in Vietnam and dreading the return to work the next day. Then slowly bags were picked and removed from the carousel; the number quickly diminishing as passengers headed towards custom clearance. When the last piece of suitcase was finally carried off, it became apparent, my backpack had gone AWOL.

The next few days were spent contacting Swissport (the baggage handler) and composing my letter to Tiger Airways. Well now I guess I'll just have to sit back and wait for their reply and perhaps compensation (cross fingers).

Now I have my own tale about lost baggage. Though, it seems that almost everybody has their own story too. Well, this slight hitch should not take anything away from the enjoyable trip.

I am half way through organising my photos and have uploaded some into my flickr site. Will write about the trip soon.

Tam Biet Hanoi

Hey there. It's my last day here in Hanoi. Decided to drop a few words in my blog since the hotel has internet facilities (as most Hotels do here).

I'm staying in the Old Quarters, surrounded by unending rows of shops selling anything from shoes to stone tablets. There is constant honking in the background as motorcycles and cars move along in haphazard fashion thorugh the narrow streets. There is activity everywhere. Will definitely miss this sight once I'm back in Singapore.

It's almost 11am now. Got to go pack my stuff before we set off to find food (our last lunch in Vietnam, so it better be good). Will write about my trip next week when I'm done organising my few hundred photos.

Tam Biet !