HANOI - THE CITY OF LAKES

I have wanted to visit Halong Bay very badly ever since I came to know this place through a TV program. Halong Bay is listed as one of the 7 new wonders of the world.

Anyway, I am not going to write exactly a full story on my trip as it might drag me up to few pages. So I guess it would better if I just state my itinerary, place to visit & include some pictures as well so that audience might not get bored reading it

Here’s how my itinerary works throughout the trip. I did purchased the package through a local agent before I came here as I am afraid those places I intend to visit such as Hanoi Bay & Tam Coc might be full.

FIRST DAY

8.30AM           - Arrived Noi bai International Airport & Transferred to Hotel
10.00AM         - Visit Ho Chi Minh Museum, Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
1.00PM            - Lunch
2.00PM            - Visit Flag Tower War Museum, Old Cathedral, walk around Hanoi City & search
                            for nice food.
4.30PM            - Early Dinner. (Own Expense)
6.00PM            - Back to Hotel.
7.00PM            - Visit Hoan Kiem Lake
8.00PM            - Hanoi Puppet Show.
9.00PM            - Visit Hanoi Night Market (2KM Long)
11.00PM          - Back to Hotel & called it a day.

SECOND DAY

7.30AM           - Breakfast at Hotel
8.00AM           - Depart to Hoa lu
10.30AM         - Arrived at Hoa lu to visit 2 Temples where you will be able to see the stone
                            pedestal of a royal throne, bronze bells and statues of the Emperors.
12.00PM          - Arrived Tam Coc & proceed to have buffet lunch at International restaurant.
12.45PM          - Tam Coc river cruise by Sampan Boat. You will be able to see shallow rice paddies      
                           and three splendid long grottos.
2.45PM            - Free at your leisure for 45 minutes - Cycling & Photo taking.
6.00PM            - Arrived at Hanoi City.
7.00P                - Dinner at your expenses & free at your own leisure – Visit Hanoi Night Market,
                            Massage, Clubbing, shopping, and so on..

THIRD DAY

7.00AM           - Breakfast at Hotel
8.00AM           - Depart to Halong Bay at Bus
12.00PM          - Arrived Halong City Wharf & embark Super Dragon Cruise boat
12.30PM          - The boat starts running. Lunch is served on the boat.
1.30PM            - Along the way, you will pass by islets such as Teapot Islet, marker Islet, Fire Islet,   
                           Dove islet, men's Head islet, Tortoise Islet, heaven gate Area.
2.30PM            - Embark a smaller ferry & head to cave of surprise.
3.30PM            - Kayaking.
4.30PM            - Swim at Titov beach or Soi Sim beach, Climb up 400 stairs to see the stunning view of
                           Halong Bay.

5.30PM            - Back to Super Dragon Cruise Boat.
7.00PM            - Dinner is served on the boat.
8.00PM            - Free at own leisure - Fishing,singing, drinking, etc.

FOURTH DAY

6.30AM           - Wake Up & Photo taking for Sunrise
7.00AM           - Breakfast
12.00PM          - Reached Wharf
12.30PM          - Lunch at Halong City(Local Cuisane - HAN SONM TOU SONG).
5.00PM            - Back to Hanoi & Check-in Hotel
6.00PM            - Dinner at own expenses & free & easy at your leisure.

FIFTH DAY

6.30AM           - Breakfast at Hotel
7.00AM           - Proceed to Noi Boi International Airport
9.20AM           - Depart from Hanoi & back to Malaysia.

SUMMARY:

HALONG BAY
 That’s the reason why I am here. A place worth visiting for anyone. Stunning scenery, clear blue sea, Greenish Mountain, is what you will witness here. If you were travelling alone, don’t worry anyway. You will not feel lonely as you will be able to make lots of new friends from different countries around the world on the boat. As for food wise, it is so-so only.

TAM COC
Another interesting place not to be missed. Located approximately 3 hours from Hanoi City, Tam Coc is considered as a small Halong Bay according to the locals. Take a 2 – 3 hour cruise by sampan boat along the river & you will be able to witness the nature beauty of it scenery, rice field & 3 nature caves.

HOA LU
There are two temple here where you are able to see the stone pedestal of a royal throne, bronze bells and statues of the Emperors. 1 hour from Tam Coc & about 2 hours from Hanoi City.

HOAN KIEM LAKE
A Lake situated centre of the city & opposite Hanoi Puppet show. A place just to relax. There’s a pagoda situated the centre of the lake. There’s a bridge connecting it to the Pagoda & it is closed after 7pm.

HANOI NIGHT MARKET
Stretching up to 2KM long Night Market that are only available from Friday to Sunday. Business starts as early as 6pm till 11pm. Clothes, Food, Souvenir, Shoes, and Bags can be found here at a bargain price.

HANOI PUPPET SHOW
May not visit for the second time. However, those peoples that is keen to know more about Vietnam History & Cultures, you may pay a visit here.
Ticket Price: USD 6

BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES
For those who love taking pictures, you may want to visit Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Pagoda, War Museum, Flag Tower, and much more.

The package is about USD 128.00 which includes Airport Transfer, transportation to Halong bay & Tam Coc, 2 Mineral Water Daily, 3 Night stay at  Hotel, 1 Night stay on Super dragon Cruise boat & English speaking tour guide. As for the meals, it includes 4 daily breakfast, Lunch from second day to fourth day, & dinner tor third day only.

As for my accommodation, I was attached to a 2 Star Hotel known as Emperor Hotel which is located along Duong Buom. Since it is rated as 2 star, so do not expect much from this hotel. However, you will be glad anyway since it is located along one of the bustling street where you can find almost everything here; café, restaurant, some modest shopping centre, night market, Puppet show, lake and other tourist attraction are just within walking distance.

Just in case you are interested, here’s the email & website of the Tour Agent.

Says.com - My Eight Payment

Received another payout from says.com recently & this time it was only RM 69. So far I have already received around RM 588.17 by promoting the links. Here's the breakdown of how my RM 588.17 was derived.

First Payment - RM 47.22
Second Payment - RM 74.45
Third Payment -  RM 78.50
Fourth Payment - RM 82.00
Fifth Payment -  RM 84.00
Sixth Payment - RM84.00
Seven Payment - RM69.00
Eight Payment -RM 69.00

Eating in Johor Bahru

I have been assigned to work in Singapore & JB recently & somehow I managed to grasp & try some food recommended by my colleague.

For this post, I would like to write just a simple & short summary of what I ate. As for the location, I am unable to provide the exact location due to I am not very familiar with Johor Bahru area & it outskirts as well. Really apologize for that.

First Night Dinner: - Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang

Restaurant Name: Nasi Lemak Berlauk Senibong
Location: Around Permas Area
Damaged: RM 6.00 - RM 7.00
Rating: 8.0/10
Remarks: The sambal is nice. Location is good as it is located along Selat Tebrau where you able to see Singapore from here. However, the rendang gravy is a bit sweet instead of spicy.

First Night Supper – Taroyami dessert

Restaurant Name: Taroyami Dessert House
Location: Mount.Austin
Damaged: RM 7.8
Rating: 5.0/10
Remarks: First impression was like, wow such a big bowl & definitely worth the price. Once you try the first scoop, your appetite may drop to the lowest point. Snow flakes definitely much better.

Second Day Lunch:- Nasi Ayam Penyet

Restaurant Name: Nasi Ayam Penyet Z & Z
Location: Near to Taman Bukit Dahlia & Pasir Gudang
Damaged: RM 6.50
Rating:  8/10
Remarks: The chicken is very crispy & nice to be eaten when it is still hot. However, the flesh is a bit hard. I would prefer a softer one. The size of the chicken is big as well & with the price of RM6.50 it is complement with the JB standard.

Second Night Dinner: Chicken Platter

Restaurant Name: Niniq Bistro & Bakery
Location: 52, Jalan Setia Tropika 1/24, Taman Setia Tropika, 81200 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Damaged: RM 15.80 (Exclude Tax)
Rating: 6.0/10
Remarks: Low rating was given due to the chicken is a bit salty & very bad customer service. I don’t what I have eaten worth the price as well. The good point is the environment seems fine to me. As for the cake. I didn’t try any of it. However, I heard it is nice & worth trying it.

Look See Look See - Vung Tau Island & Ho Chi Minh City

Merely a week after my visit to Hanoi, Vietnam I will be visiting Vietnam again. However, this time it would be Vung Tau Island trip for working purpose. At the same time, I might take this opportunity to Visit Ho Chi Minh City as well since I will pass through it in order to get to Vung Tau by Ferry Terminal.

I was at Vung Tau for the first two days. Nothing much I could say about Vung Tau. I stayed at a hotel which is just 5 minutes walking distances to Vung Tau Ferry terminal. For your info, Vung Tau is accessible in three transport mode. It was an island, so Ferry is definitely their main transport. It takes you 1 hour 10 minutes from Ho Chi Minh Ferry Terminal. Furthermore, it is always full during the weekend. So it is advisable for you to purchase the ticket two days advance. Besides that, Vung Tau do have a domestic airport & also accessible by road which would take you estimately 3 hours driving from Ho Chin Minh City.

There are a few tourist attractions in Vung Tau such as Sky park (Big Mountain), Jesus Christ Statue, St.Marie Statue, Arm Museum, etc. For those loves surfing, there is a surfing spot as well which is located south part of Vung Tau Island. However I was unable to visit any of the tourist spot due to time constraint.  I spend the two nights with my colleagues. I did really enjoy the two nights eating seafood. I did capture some of the food anyway. Some of the food was really great & totally a new experience for me but some was really way-off my expectation. Their steamboat or hot pot is not that spicy, so I gave up on it anyway.

I did capture some pictures around Vung Tau City. However, it was nothing special though. Just some buildings & roads along the seaside. Lots of Pub can be found in the city anyway so those drinkers might not get bored at least.

Squid - My favourite among all

 

 Vung Tau Ferry Terminal

 

 Overview of the Ferry Terminal Area

On the third day, I finally have some time to visit Ho Chi Minh City while on my way back to Malaysia heading to the Ho Chi Minh Airport. I took the early ferry ride at 6.45am & reached Ho Chi Minh ferry terminal at around 8.15am. Without any delay, I immediately started walking & spend approximately 2 hours 30 minutes walking around the City as my so called ‘City Tour’. A man riding a bike did offer me a city Tour with the price of VND 200,000; I rejected him anyway citing it might be very dangerous sitting on a bike as most of you aware that the traffic in Vietnam is very hazardous. Furthermore, I am alone in this foreign & unfamiliar country, so it is better for me to stay away from those strangers or any unauthorized so called ‘City Tour’.

During my 2 hours 30 minutes City Tour, I visited those places & structures like Bitexco Financial Tower ( The tallest tower in Vietnam stands at 262 meter), City Hall, Reunification Place, City Cathedral, Post Office, Pagoda, Army museum and so on.  I missed out Bentha Market & some others market due to insufficient of time. Will I visit HCMC again in the near future? I would say no unless it is for working purpose. I would rather visit Hanoi which much closer to tourist spot. That's all about Vung Tau & HCMC. Stay tune for my next post regarding Hanoi trip. :)

ENJOY VIEWING ~~~~~

City Hall

 Post office

 Another Highrise Towel in progress

 Tallest Building in the City stands at 262m