Another travel blog entry! :D And so~ it all started out with Shumin asking me to go backpacking with her, and I was like.. "Let's Go!" without much hesitation. haha. The other 2 girls going with her are Shumin's primary school buddy and secondary school buddy, so the 2 girls and me don't know each other at all before this trip (lucky Shumin!), but we went ahead of the 10 days backpacking trip nevertheless! The most awesome overseas trip i ever had. :D
Its a 10-day trip, so this is gonna be a longest post I ever typed. *pats on own shoulder* haha. Here I go~~~~
Hua Yuan, Zi Hui, Shumin and me! :) The theme at the Airport was Angry Bird back then. haha.
Our first stop is Hanoi and this is our first meal at Vietnam! Fried rice with cucumber! Its super good! And in Vietnam, EVERY dish is accompanied with a flooding bowl of raw vegetable. Maybe that's the reason why u barely see an obese person on the Vietnam street. haha.
Hanoi street! The street there is like 24/7 busy and packed with vehicles, we screamed throughout like a bunch of bimbos when we crossed the road there for the first time. lol. This picture was taken because this building is separated by this very wide road and we aimed to cross it by the end of our trip. HAHA. We succeeded in the end! *clap claps*
Watched the famous water puppet after our dinner! :)
Basically the show is about the history and culture of Vietnam which is quite fascinating, but me and Shumin weren't paying much attention to that because we had so much fun watching this single puppet holding on to a stick and hitting his head repeatedly and non deliberately, which make it super funny. HAHAHA. :X
After the (unintended funny) puppet show, we strolled along the lake and saw couples taking wedding shoots. Seems like this lake is extremely popular spot for wedding shoots. There can be easily more than 10 couples taking wedding shoots along the lake during peak period. lol.
Our hotel! Relatively spacious and clean! :)
The staffs there are super friendly and they even gave us watermelon when we get there! But i saw the slices of watermelon in the fridge which were not kept in any container when we were checking it, so we didnt dare to eat them. :p
Breakfast the next morning! The breakfast in Vietnam is somewhat the same no matter which hotel we went, but its still delicious though we had the same thing for breakfast for almost all the 10 days there. haha. The staff sent our breakfast to our room! Eating breakfast on the bed like queens. :D
After breakfast, we took a 3.5h car ride to Halong Bay!
Took a bum boat to our cruise because the cruise cant park at the coast with shallow water. It reminds me of the countless time when I took bum boat to Pulau Ubin. :)
Sunny weather that day! :)
Our tiny but cosy room in the cruise! There's only about 20 people in the cruise and most of them are french tourists. Not the most friendly bunch of people, but at least they didn't bother us. lol.
The meals on the cruise were all so SUMPTUOUS, with seafood and different vietnamese dishes. Perfect meal for seafood lover like me. :D
Super love the fish in the middle. My table didn't really touch that dish for some unknown reason, so I have the whole fish to myself. Muahaha.
The top of the cruise has so many recliners for us to chill during free time. :) This is the part of the cruise i love the most, because we went there at night and had a wonderful time having our HTHT session and watching the night sky full of stars. :)
Hua Yuan and Shumin~ :) We were very lucky because the weather was so clear and sunny, and its very rare to get this kind of weather in Halong Bay, since its mostly hazy and cold there.
Me and Shumin-san! :D
Look at the sceneryyyyyyyyyyyy~ O_O
JUST LOOK AT THIS. I feel like I'm going to some exotic island for Survivor. haha.
Once we reached our destination (in the middle of the sea surrounded by hills) we got off our cruise for a short kayaking session. Its really super awesome to see the hills just right infront of our eyes, but I didn't bring my phone along to take photos because I'm a total noob at kayaking (I paired with Shumin and we crashed onto the shore 10mins we set off. lol) and I seriously dont want my phone to sink to the bottom of the Halong Bay sea. lol.
Auntie selling tidbits and drinks to tourists while we alighted from our boat for a cave exploration.
I think that's the name of the cave. LOL.
I must say the cave is DAMN MAGNIFICENT. Its super huge and ancient~~~ O_O There's quite a number of stalamites (some tortoise, some monsters and erected penis???? That's what the guide said. Not me. LOL.)
I can totally imagine some dinosaurs walking inside the cave. lol.
Then we went to the top of this hill! It looks very low but it sucked all my energy away climbing the what seems like endless stairs to the top. =.=
I chiong-ed all my way up the stairs to end the torture sooner and waited for the 3 girls to drag their feet up. haha.
Nice view of the surrounding! Our cruise is most probably one of them in the picture. haha.
And when we got down from the hill. We realised our cruise broke down. =.= It was high tide when we got off and super low tide and dark when we got back. So our cruise was at a much lower level than the coast, but I was so smelly and sticky from the climb and cant wait for shower, so... I sort of did a mini flying fox down to the cruise using the cruise's wire. LOL.
After our mini flying fox adventure and shiok shower, we had our dinner! :) This is some delicious fried crab patty in crab shell.
I tried almost all the beer in different area of Vietnam. This is Hanoi Beer with our most photogenic Domo (Shumin's plushie that I want to kidnap.HAHA).
The next morning! :) And ya.. I didnt put on any makeup throughout the whole trip so my eyes are -__- everyday in Vietnam. LOL.
Domo, our model with the most compliance. HAHA.
He needs to work on varying his expression though. HAHA.
During our trip back to mainland, the weather was super bad and the water was very choppy. Worst thing was.. our cruise broke down AGAIN. The weather was so bad that we really got prepared for the possibility that our cruise is going to capsize any moment. All of us wore life jacket and waited for hours to get our cruise slowly tolled back to shore.
Pic with Zihui before she got really seasick. lol.
I was so bored I plucked the deco on the Xmas tree for some photos. HAHA.
Shumin and Zihui concussed from the choppy waves, so me and Hua Yuan cam-whored to entertain ourselves. haha.
This is what u do when your cruise is about to capsize. LOL.
Muahahaha.
And finally we were back to Hanoi! This is a famous beef pho that's super light and tasty. Perfect for a meal after our long ride back. :)
Heehee~ *toothy smile*
The next morning, we headed off to Ho Chi Minh residential area! Saw his body (cant take photos.. so ya.) and he looked so peaceful like he's sleeping.
One of the cars that Ho Chi Minh owned.
Photo just outside Ho Chi Minh's room~ There was quite a number of tourists there that day. Saw Singaporeans too!
A small lake outside his house~
And we got all attracted to this window and took some arty photos with it. haha.
Another one! :)
After visiting the residential area, we took cab to West lake temple!
There's some uncles fishing in the river.. when its around 15 degrees? lol.
Happily took pictures with these pagodas, and realised later that they are tombs for the monks. O_O
We had ice cream afterwards! Shumin, i like your expression. XD
The ice cream is totally different from what I usually have~ the vanilla ice cream is soft and creamy, and the cone had this fragrant sesame taste! Yums max! :)
We had our lunch at Lotteria, which is a korean fast-food restaurant very similar KFC and very common in Vietnam.
The chicken nicer that KFC's!
We walked around the Old Quarter's lake and saw this building for some unknown function. lol.
Photo-taking time! :D
Me and Domo! :)
Then I think someone came up with a crazy idea to bend like the tree (I think the person is me. oops.) haha. That's Huayuan and Shumin trying their best. haha.
Me and Zihui's turn! Good flexibility yea? HAHA.
Then we had the Vietnam's famous filter coffee at some cafe! The coffee is sooooo thick and aromatic... And I think its very concentrated with caffeine so we got really high after drinking it. hahaha.
O_O *robot dance*
HAHAHAHAHA.
Woohoo!!!!
Its totally off for Zihui to do that. Effect of caffeine. HAHA.
There's BBQ sticks at Vietnam! :D
And we took overnight train to Sapa!
During the train ride, we decided to give Zihui a birthday surprise! BUT.. due to some communication errors, Zihui discovered our surprise for her, and we couldn't capture her surprised reaction. SO, we asked Zihui to re-enact the scene so we can record in video. HAHA.
The fireplace at the guesthouse at Sapa! :D The temperature there is at most 10 degrees throughout the year.
At the eating place on top of the guesthouse! Just look at the view we had~~~ O_O
SEE~~~~ O_O
Some photos at the fireplace!
Don't look like Vietnam right?
A picture of our clean shoes before we set off for our trekking!
The view from our room's balcony! :)
It's 10 degrees at most at Sapa whole year round. It was my first time in a country this cold (only been to tropical countries, so i really don't get to experience anything colder than 15 degrees. lol). So me and Hua Yuan got a little crazy at 7 degrees celsius....
Hua Yuan trying to look cold (but forgot to wear her shoes. lol) and me trying to look as if i dont feel anything. haha.
Another way round. HAHA.
All geared up for trekking! The thingy that I was holding is a gigantic keychain to our room key. LOL.
Our trekking journey covers 3 villages and when we got off our van, we were surrounded by the tribal villagers. They weren't aggressive, but... overly friendly. They will start to chat with u about every single thing (they can speak very good English! And they learnt it through interacting with tourist. Pros) and at the end u feel so paiseh u have to buy those handicrafts they kept selling to u.
Its totally normal to be married at the age of 15-18 years old. The girl on my left got one child and the girl on my right got 2 kids already, and they are about the same age as me. -____-
The kids there are so obedient and their eyes are SUPER HUGE. O_O
At first the trekking (we have to cover approx 15km) was pretty easy since we were walking on well-paved roads. THEN.. the local guide told us we have to walked along the narrow path on the terraced field. The path is barely enough to balance! If u fall front, u will fall into a puddle of mud. If u fall backwards, u will also fall into a puddle of mud, with an aching butt. lol.
Look at the place we have to walk across. =.=
And so, Shumin didnt get so lucky and got one of her foot into the muddy field. Zihui fell into the mud 10 seconds after Shumin while she laughed at Shumin. LOL.
Shumin and Zihui's muddy shoes! haha.
Had Lao Cai beer during lunch break! The beer is quite light and smooth. I like. :)
The souvenirs that I was half-forced to buy. lol.
After lunch break, we finally get the real meaning of mountain trekking. -.- The rest of our journey back mostly doesnt have a proper path and we were screaming here and there because we were constantly on the verge of falling while walking on the steep and slippery muddy ground. I'm so glad i made it back to the hostel in one piece... T^T
And I must thank the little girls that were holding on to our hands to prevent us from falling! The girls are around 10 years old and they can walk on those horrible terrains like flying. And they were only wearing slippers. =.= The girl that helped me even weaved this super pretty heart handicraft for me! T^T
So pretty!!!!
We also made new friends (from Aussie and France) during our trek! :)
Our shoes at the end of the trekking. LOL. Luckily there was washing service and we got back our shoes sparkling clean the next day. Super efficient. :)
After trekking, we walked around the streets at Sapa!
Street at Sapa (FYI: i was wearing only shorts and slippers because my jeans and shoes were sent for washing. Cold die me. =.=)~
The church!
Cobra + scorpion wine. :S
Maggots wine. Dare to try?
We had a mini birthday celebration dinner for Zihui! :)
This is my favourite! Fried Spring roll! :D
After dinner we walked around the small streets~
My breakfast next morning! Mixed fruit yoghurt! So yums!
We signed up for a tour to the Love Waterfall and Silver Lake for the day!
The driver stopped at this place with a breathtaking view. I was so amazed because I have not seen something so magnificent before my eyes! The wind was super strong and cold, but we didn't fail to snap loads of photos before we go!
Tadaa!!! haha.
At the entrance of Love Waterfall!
Shumin all ready to brave the cold. HAHA.
It's a l.1km hike to the waterfall, but its sufficient to drain all our energy. lol. The scenery to the waterfall is beautiful though! The tiring hike is totally worth it!
Saw a cow grazing grass on our way there!
Moo~~~~
Finally the Love Waterfall! I expected it to be more magnificent.. but then its still pretty la.. haha.
Some BBQ eggs after the hike to replenish our energy! :)
Me and Shumin didn't go up to the silver waterfall cos we were kinda tired.. and lazy. :P Only Huayuan and Zihui diligently went up, so i dont have any photos of the waterfall. :X
After we got back to the hostel, we walked to this dessert place called Baguette Chocolat! These were the cakes we ordered.
Eating like a Tai Tai. haha. No filter used! :)
After our Tai Tai teatime, we walked to the lake near our place and the view is sooo sooo sooo pretty!
It felt like we were at some country at Europe!
Me with the lake! :)
Helped Shumin to babysit her Domo. haha.
A street food we named as the pseudo curry puff. This is the most delicious food i had in Vietnam. haha.
There's black fungus, mushrooms and minced pork and many more good stuffs. Its sooo good i went back for another. hahaha.
After that, we had a quick dinner and we were off on our way back to Hanoi! :)
A pic with the ultra friendly lady boss at our hostel! Visit her hostel if u ever go to Sapa! :)
We reached Hanoi at 5+am and we left our bags in the hostel (the staffs there super nice one I wanna cry.. T^T) while we roamed around the Hanoi street.
We found this shop selling nice oil paintings on the Hanoi streets! Shumin and Huayuan bought paintings here at a super reasonable price! (less than 20sgd I remember..)
Another photo with the paintings! :)
After that, we took the flight to Ho Chi Minh! :)
When we touched down, its sooo soo soo hot there (usual temperature is around 30 degrees). Made me miss Sapa's weather. -___-
Our hotel for the night! The rooms there are super spacious and clean!
After settling down, we headed off to a very beef Pho place!
Its very good!!! The beef stew Pho that the other girls had were awesome too!
Breakfast place at the hotel the next morning! :)
Bread + eggs, the usual breakfast combi in Vietnam. haha.
Our first stop at HCM was the Notre dam and Post Office!
The uncle selling coconut on the street lent his 'stall' to me to take photos. hahaha.
Notre Dame! Sometimes Vietnam constantly give u the false impression that u are somewhere in Europe. lol.
The church is a popular place for wedding shoots! The couple inside this pic are from Hong Kong. lol.
The post office! :D
Inside of the post office!
I bought the skirt at sapa. hehe.
Somehow the telephone booths inside reminds me of Harry Potter. Its as if the telephone booth can teleport me to some magical land. haha.
Take me to Hogwarts. haha.
Lunchtime with my favourite Vietnamese spring roll! :)
After lunch we went to the Reunification Palace!
The palace~
The tumour-like tree in the palace. haha.
A big cat specimen in the palace~
Pleanty dead animal specimens given by other countries to Vietnam as gifts... O_O
"Wow, I love Vietnam! To show how much I love the country, how about an elephant foot to show my appreciation? :)"
Ok.. i wasn't paying much attention to the tour guide, so i took many nonsense photos inside the palace. :p
People selling puppies on the streets!
The dog sneezed when i took this photo. haha.
After the palace visit, we went to the War Museum~
One of the many fighter jets in the museum.
One of the many bombs in the museum..
The beheading tool. The museum displayed so many torturing tools that creeps me out totally. It really disgusts me how people in the past can come out with such terrible and cruel tools to torture and kill people during war time... :(
The different types of bombs used during war time.
Just look at these numbers. So many innocent lives were lost during war. I mean.. for goodness sake some of the poor civilians were totally clueless about the war and they were all killed so mercilessly. It breaks my heart reading through the accounts of people during the war. I believe there's definitely a better way to settle disputes between countries other than violence. I really pray that there will be world peace in the future. :'(
Ok.. back on lighter note, after the depressing war museum visit, we went to Ben thiam market and Saigon tax trade centre for window shopping. hehe.
Since its Xmas season, the shopping mall and roads were flooded with people and vehicles. It was SO PACKED we cant even walk back to our hotel. So we had to asked for help from the police to guide us to a taxi and take the cab back to our hotel. The amazing thing is the locals seem to be nonchalant about the crowd and had a great time taking photos and shopping. lol.
I didn't go out the next day because I was down with a freaking stomach flu. =.= So i was paralysed in the hotel bed snoozing away most of the time. lol.
Luckily i was better at night and we had a xmas gift exchange session! :D
Wearing domo T shirt and taking pic with Domo! hehe.
Our gifts for exchange! :)
All our gifts unwrapped! I got this super pretty pastel purple notebook from Zihui! Thank u Zihui! I love it! :D
The girls had nice cakes and i can only watch it. T_T
Breakfast place the next morning! After breakfast we had to set off for the airport!
My delicious fish porridge at the airport! :D
And then we were back in Singapore at night~ look at our stuffs... haha.
Look at the amount of things i brought back from Vietnam. haha. Its pretty amazing i can bring back this much from a backpacking trip. haha.
Although its a 10 day trip, i spent only around 800sgd with hotel, air tickets and all expenses. The whole trip is so adventurous and fun while being super economical. Also, I have the best bunch of travel buddies and I really hope we can go for another travel trip together really soon!!! Miss u girls so much!!! :D
So that's all for now~ Feeling so accomplished that i can finish typing the whole entry. haha. Im not even sure how many people can finish reading everything from the start to the end. LOL. If u can please inform me, I can treat u free ice cream as a reward. HAHA.
Lynn LYJ,
That's my big name, as you can see. Living in this world for 22yrs since 30 Jan 1990.
Love to sleep,love to dream, love to sing, love to drink.. Most importantly..
LOVE TO LOVE. ♥
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