Adventure in Hanoi

Time flies when you are having fun. Our adventure ends in a blink of an eye.... I may be physically back but my soul is still in Sapa. U will find out why next time ;)

I came back penniless. Correction - I came back with a BIG FAT debt, owing 90,000 in total! Fortunately, that's equivalent to only RM18 *phew* Had to borrow from friends to make some last minute purchases ;p ....

I was actually quite worried about the tour I booked online. I wasn't sure if the tour agent really existed! U know lah, even something touchable like a fake LV bag looks so real nowadays. Anyway, I was glad that I worried for nothing because the tour agent is real and its manager did send someone to fetch us from the airport. Luxurious, leather seated car some more! Cool huh? We were all impressed! I had a feeling that this trip was gonna be fun fun fun! :)

The moment I arrived in Old Quarter where our hotel is, I felt as if I had stepped back into time. Had I boarded a time machine instead of a plane? The name says it all (old). It is a mixture of the modern and the old. People carrying baskets selling fruits, veggie, fresh pork etc; people pushing carts and bicycles selling groceries, food, plants, flowers etc. It was like moving markets in the streets of Hanoi!





It's easy to get yourself lost here because Old Quarter is like a maze. A good sense of direction is highly desired in this part of the city. And Vietnamese people generally don't speak English which makes body language very important ;)




One good thing about this place is that you can get whatever you want or need like.... your very own tomb with your design.

Where to get this done? In Tomb Street obviously

Each street is named after what it sells - Silk Street, Shoes Street, Coffee Street, Paper Street etc....

Before I visited Hanoi, I thought SuZhou's traffic was bad and noisy. Not anymore. It was a few times worse and noisier in Hanoi. People honk every seconds and very often for no reasons at all. We could even hear honking sound in our hotel room! Luckily I was too tired to be bothered by the noise ;p We pedestrians have to share the narrow road with cars, motorbikes, bicycles and cyclos and get honked by them for blocking their ways. What to do? The pathways are all occupied by hawker stalls, motorbikes and piles of RUBBISH.

Crossing the streets in Hanoi takes a lot of courage. The number of motorbikes on the road is scary. They just keep coming & rushing towards us! Traffic rules? Nah... don't think they exist in Hanoi ;p Crossing the road in Hanoi is pretty simple if you know how. You either walk with your eyes closed or not move at all & just get stuck on the same spot. I did the first ;p The Vietnamese bikes and cars must have had very good brakes because I returned unhurt and in one piece ^^

Don't worry, just cross the road. The riders will expertly avoid colliding with you

Famous Hoan Kiem Lake. Just 5 mins away from our hotel

I almost got pick-pocketed in this beautiful park. I was admiring its beauty when suddenly I felt someone opening my backpack. When I turned around, there stood a man so close to me that I could see the pores on his face! He walked away hurriedly and when I checked my bag, it was wide opened! I frantically checked my bag and prayed to God that my passport and money were not taken. I arrived in Hanoi just 2 hours ago! Lucky star must have been with me because I didn't lose anything *phew* Probably because my bag was too messy and he couldn't find what he wanted. Lucky escape for me but not so lucky for J who lost a digital camera at the weekend night market :(

Oh, I didn't forget about the French ice cream I said I'd try. No rain, no storm like what the forecast said. In fact, it was hot and bright and I thought it still made sense to cool myself with something icy and delicious. Say "Ice Cream!"

10 different flavoured ice cream balls served with caramel, honey and dark choc sauces The one on the white china furthest from me is a mint choc ice cream cake






To be continued...............