The journey from Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi took approximately 3 hours and 29 minutes and upon stepping out of Noi Bai Airport, we were blanketed by haze, literally (The air quality is pretty bad and to explore the area, you'd definitely need a mask), and elongated houses. The dimensions are pretty interesting…instead of having squares; they have cuboids for a house. These resembled those that I’ve seen when I was visiting Tai Chung, Taiwan. It made me wonder what the purpose behind this design was.
Our first stop was the Hanoi Guesthouse which was located near the Hoan Kiem Lake and to get there, in fact, anywhere else is easy and reasonable; provided that you have got the time because it costs you only USD3 for a mini bus trip to the Old Quarters. However, you'd have to wait for the bus to be filled up and also to wait for your stop. A 45 minutes ride to the city can easily take up to an hour on a bus ride. It's worth the time nonetheless as you'll be able to tour the city at the same time.
I enjoyed the breakfast provided..phoooooooo
I took this photo on a moving car and it turned out to be good!
I'd give Hanoi Guesthouse a good rating for this trip. The room is clean and the people are friendly. My next destination was Hoi An and due to all the shopping we had in Hanoi, we decided to leave some stuff there in Hanoi to relieve us from the baggage. The housekeeper was being helpful in helping us with the bags (to keep it at the Guesthouse at no cost) and at the same, she took the time to suggest to us places of interest and also dining place for vegetarian. My favourite was the one hidden shop on 19 Phan Boi Chau, Hoi Kiem, Hanoi. The food is great despite the low price! It is quite far from the where we stay though, so we took a trishaw ride at VND100000 for 2 persons. It is true of what travellers said that you will definitely meet unscrupulous people on your first day in Hanoi. Our trishaw took us to the train station nearby the restaurant instead due to some miscommunications and despite charging us an additional agreed price of VND20000, he refused to give us our change of VND30000. After our dinner, we took a cab back and that mister took us to a wrong hotel and upon arrival, he demanded an extra charge due to the distance he drove us to. In this case, we ignored the driver - in conclusion, please keep small change with you to avoid cases like this.
The main places of interest in Hanoi included its citadel, museums, temples and Old Quarters but we only went to the latter. After my visit to Cambodia, I felt that any other historical remnants are second to them - more so that Vietnam is more of a war zone than an historical place.
I mistaken that for paper offerings. Those are actually biscuits for wedding usage... *>__<*
Photo courtesy of Gecko (with modifications..LOL)
Hoan Kiem Lake
The city's map is messy but after a while, you'll get used to it and will not lose yourself in the maze as all shops bore the street address. I see this as an advantage as it is easier to navigate around. Anyways, the streets are well segmented in its categories. All metal or silver wares would occupy one street while clothes would occupy another. I enjoy exploring this area on foot although I was rather intimidated by the vehicles on the busy street. Bikers and drivers communicated and acknowledged each others' presence by honks and with their natural agility; I supposed no accidents (of hits and runs) ever occur on the street. Anyways, I still find it difficult to cross the road with so many vehicles zooming around at odd directions!!
Besides its notorious drivers and bikers like what most developing countries are famous for, I was told that Vietnam has got the best coffee and the taste is one that you'd go back for more. You bet that is true. Its coffee drip has an exquisite bitter taste that doesn't linger on your tongue but blends in smoothly with the fresh milk...hmmmhhhhm...and have I mentioned the rice noodles (I think it is called pho)? The soup base is fantastic! I had a chicken rice noodles by the road side and gosh...I love it to the max. You can just taste the freshness of the chicken in the soup and best of all - you don't get that thirsty taste on your taste buds which you would after a complete meal laden with salt/ajinomoto. In terms of food, I am truly satisfied. I especially enjoyed Tamarind cafe on Ma May street. It plays goodies of the 90s and the ambience is really relaxing. The price is a little expensive but it is well worth the money especially its paper rice roll...sighs...I am missing it already!
I love the food but in terms of architecture, I'm not impressed -not even with the lake. I guess it is more like a huge Chinatown than anything. This place has got everything from clothes and teddy bears (very noticeable) to kitchen wares and backpack. Guess what, I've got my 70l Deuters backpack here at $25. Who cares about its authenticity? This backpack's quality is good enough to last for several backpacking trips at least.
Equipped with this new bag, I happily take it to Hue with me. Usually the standard rate for airport cab would be USD16, however, we managed to get a USD14 ride at the Vietnam Airline office which is almost everywhere by the corners of the streets. It's the same ride but minus the guesthouse's commission and they will still pick you up at your guesthouse.
I had the best stay in Hue at Hue Nino Guesthouse (hueninohotel@yahoo.com). The ambience and decorations resemble those guesthouses in Taiwan...and of course; costed lower at only USD14 a night with a very hospitable housekeeper. We arrived rather late due to our night flight (you do not have to worry about transportation at Phu Bai airport as there will be a mini bus ready even at 9pm and they will drop you at your desired guesthouse for only USD3 –you’ll just need to show them the address), and we were pretty skeptical when the bus driver dropped us by the roadside and told us that the hotel is somewhere behind the alley. The signage is that of wood and it doesn't look inviting. I thought; gosh, can those reviews and photo be a scam to a run down and old guesthouse?!
We braved forward still and we were surprised to find this beautifully decorated and cozy place (brightly lit too) just by the end of the alley!! We were served with warm toasted bread with homemade marmalade and jam as well as hot strawberry lipton tea while they prepare our room. The room is small but it is not of our concern as it is very clean and comfortable. Despite the lack of space, they had a flat screen fitted against the wall (As compared to one of the hotels in Changkat, Bukit Bintang Malaysia; they had a bulky television) which served its purpose well – I watched Esther and was spooked by the character. Anyways, I had a really good rest and I'm ready for the Purple Forbidden City on the next day. I anticipated the Hue Citadel as it was said that it is the best of citadels. To save on both time and cost, do rent a motorbike for this visit as it'll take you approximately 30 minutes by foot from the guesthouse to the citadel. We went on foot because we thought it would be situated quite near (as according to blogs and google map). Upon arrival, we missed the main entrance and as the consequent, we have to walk around the citadel under the mean glaring April Sun; searching for the entrance. That was a waste of time since there is only an entrance (which is also the exit) and there wasn't much around that place besides shop houses. So, this is how I missed my next planned destination. We have to check out by 12pm and our cab driver will be picking us up at 2pm. Oh well.
Anyways, we found the entrance at last. We paid a fee of VND25000 and got into a huge compound of preserved ruins..which doesn’t impress me. The architecture was at most a pass. The palace was not adorned with intricate carvings nor does it exude royalty grandeur. After this visit, I was overwhelmed with a sudden urge to visit the Forbidden City in China.
Anyways, that would be arranged for next year. My next destination was Hoi An. We've chosen Hoang Trinh Guesthouse (a must to buy home their coconut biscuits! It’s pretty sweet but it goes very well with warm plain tea) for our 2 days stay (USD22 per night, inclusive of breakfast). During my trip planning, I was cracking my head on the best transportation that we should hitch to get us to Hoi An without much hassle and at an affordable cost. After weighing the options, we've decided to arrange our transportation with the guesthouse. At a cost of USD53, we managed to hire a comfortable 4-seater car that took us through Hai Van Pass. The journey took 3 hours and by the time we reached Danang, we missed the opening hours of Marble Mountain. It closes at 5pm (which we went on a later date) and honestly, I'd bypass it. It costs VND30000 for entrance and offers a pretty good exercise up the flights of stairs up to a temple and pagoda. A lift was in construction and it looks great but I guess minus the walking, this place would serve no purpose. The pagoda was locked but a peek inside would tell you that it has only 1 functional hall on the ground floor with no staircase connecting it to the next level. My best guess was that this pagoda was only constructed recently to provide a destination for tourists. Basically, all you get besides the temple and the pagoda are marble shops surrounding the mountain. It would be good if you planned to shop for marble decorations or statues. Else, really...skip this mountain.
Back to Hoi An. I have specially chosen the 14th of the Lunar Calendar so that I could experience the cultural event which I read in an article found in Travel 360 (Airasia). I was told that on the 14th of every month according to the Lunar Calendar, lights would go off in Hoi An and villagers would spread lighted lantern onto the river and the sight itself is truly priceless. I was really expecting that event and have carefully chosen the date. I was worried that I’d miss the date because I am not confident if the sites which I referred to were correct. Seriously, I planned my visits around these dates (2 nights in Hoi An). We arrived in the evening on the first night according to plan and we were right on time for the event (Yeap, the calendar is accurate:) ). Villagers were selling lanterns along the river and some tourists did buy and set the lanterns onto the river but unfortunately not enough to create a scene good for photography. I was slightly disappointed by the review I read. It seemed over-rated. No doubt, it is a very old city and restorations have taken place very well that most buildings were still preserved while the interior was renovated for business. And yes, it is still a place worthy of a visit:)
Most of the businesses there were steered towards textiles and tailoring. You should be prepared with cut-outs and your favourite dresses or coats. The tailors there will be able to make you the exact same outfit at a reasonable cost! If you are buying a cheong sam in Malaysia for RM1000, you’ll be able to buy the exact same clothing tailor-made to your size and preferred color (with design modification to suit your fashion sense) for only RM150. Awesome heaven for shopaholics who don’t like being caught in the same outfit as others. Besides clothing, villagers also sell handmade lanterns – table lamps and hanging ones too. Again, these would have cost you a bomb back in your country for whatever reasons the shopkeepers there would use to rip you off. But in Hoi An, I’ve got my lamps at USD12. It’s of simple design and I wouldn’t want to pay more than RM50 for a lotus table lamp. So, I supposed USD12 is a worth it price.
If you’d want to take memorable and lovely photographs of the old and ancient building, this is the place you should visit. We later found out that Hoi An would definitely be flooded every year beginning from October and that discovery made us go WOW because the houses look really well preserved. Imagine all the restoration efforts that were put in!
Tau fu fah in Hoi An!!
~a bunny with a burning passion for travel signed off
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