mrsjono

I watched the making of The Hobbit last night. Peter Jackson introduced the reconstruction of Hobbiton using permanent materials which has now become a tourist attraction in Matamata, North Island of New Zealand. Hobbiton is the home of Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings. As Elijah Wood (Frodo) walked around the newly completed Hobbiton, he said "I was 19 when I played Frodo in the Fellowship of the Ring. Now I'm 30." It struck me that 11 years have passed. I was 15 when I watched Fellowship of the Ring. It's so long ago but it doesn't feel too long ago...   

Halong Bay is the top destination in Vietnam and everyone hopes to have the best experience at the UNESCO World Heritage site. "For around US$80-90, you should get a worthwhile overnight cruise." Using this as a guide, I eventually decided on this 2D1N Halong Bay cruise with Ethnic Travel. I was informed via email there will be four other passengers but when we settled the balance payment at their office, they told us we will be the only ones on the cruise. Luckily, we were only asked to pay US$98 pp even though their website states US$125 pp if there are less than 10 people.

Our guide Mu was an ethnic minority girl from Sapa. She is less than 20 years old and speaks with a fake American slang. She picked up her boyfriend (as shown) along the way to Halong City. Dating in front of your guests when you're supposed to be at work is unprofessional and inappropriate. As agreed earlier, they did not stop at any handicraft or handicap village on the way.

Mu told us this ship was newly constructed. It reeked of sewer though. My family stayed in the upper cabins while I had a cabin to myself in the lower deck. It's hot and dark inside the cabins (no electricity in the day) so remember to bring a torchlight when you visit the toilet inside your room. Mu left us on our own and went to take a nap on the top deck. So lazy!

It was good to be away from the busy Hanoi traffic and take in the beautiful surroundings. Come to think of it, it's my first time on a cruise. It got a little monotonous after a while so I had a go at the wheel. No matter how I turned or looked at the vertical wooden pole in front of me, I just couldn't tell if the ship was changing direction at all so I gave up lol. We must have sat on the ship for about three good hours and I was glad we could finally move our limbs when we were asked to get down the ship. We had a look around Lang Chai Cua Van floating fishing village on small boats and it was nice watching my father waving and smiling to the kids living there. We anchored for the night and since there was nothing to do again, I took a dip in the bay (with a buoy of course) much to the disapproval of my mom. Dinner was full of fried and oily food (french fries, fried chicken, fried crab) which were unhealthy and not ideal for my parents. It started to drizzle at night and we couldn't lie on the deck to see the stars.

Next morning, I was woken up by a crew member cleaning my cabin window. We paddled for an hour while my parents watched and took videos of us. My sis and I were deciding whether to let a ship pass or beat the ship. Everyone on the ship was frantically waving and shouting at us to steer clear. I don't think we could beat the ship so I tried to paddle backwards while she paddled forwards and we ended up in a static position. In the end we just watched the ship scraped past our kayak lol. That was classic. Lunch was another round of fried stuff (fried prawns, fried pork, fried can't remember what's in the balls). Disappointing service as I had requested for less oily food last night. I do not recommend going with Ethnic Travel if you are travelling with folks with special dietary requirements. It was also frustrating corresponding with them via email as they didn't bother to answer my questions properly (some not truthfully for instance I was told we would get to visit some caves but they didn't bring us to any) and only cared about securing my deposit. It started to drizzle (again) when we were heading back to mainland. Tested and proven May is not so good time to go Halong Bay. Visit in February-April if you can.

 Final dinner at New Day. Cheap and good food! That's the end of my family trip to Hanoi!

It's been 11 years since I travelled with my family. It was quite challenging to navigate on my own, take photos and bring them around all at the same. Our hotel quoted us US$60 pp for a private day tour and that was simply out of the question! So when I found out about Hanoikids and Hanoi Free Tour Guides, I was thrilled. Three weeks before departure, I contacted Hanoikids but they were full. Luckily, Mr Cong from Hanoi Free Tour Guides managed to arrange Hanh to be our guide. I was elated!!!

It was Ho Chi Minh's birthday today and there was already a looooong line outside the mausoleum. My sisters were skeptical about getting in but we queued anyway. We ended up passing all our water bottles to Hanh (water is not allowed inside) and she waited for us at the exit. The queue moved surprisingly fast and we were inside the building within 20 mins! We figured we must have joined an express queue unknowingly!


It was fascinating to be able to see such an important historical figure but at the same time I feel sorry for the man as his last wish was to be cremated. As the line moved along, I was so surprised to see my father saluted Ho Chi Minh. He requested for a solo photo of himself here in Ba Dinh Square, just like how I remembered he had asked for one outside Chairman Mao's Mausoleum (we never got to see Mao's body by the way).


Although Ho Chi Minh was the president, Hanh told us that he declined to live in the Presidential Palace and chose to live in a stilt house instead. It was nice walking around the garden where he once lived and worked.


We proceeded to the museum to have a more in-depth understanding of Ho Chi Minh's extraordinary life.


My younger sister conversing with Hanh in Ho Chi Minh Museum. Hanh is in her early 20s currently studying in a local university. She speaks fluent English and shares her knowledge about the places we visited with enthusiasm. She also showed interest in getting to know us and our lives in Singapore.


Temple of Literature was a good break from an entire morning of Ho Chi Minh. Students visit the temple to pray for good grades and celebrate their graduation.


Quan An Ngon was just 10-15mins walk away from the temple but my family was hungry and "melting down" so Hanh helped us called a taxi. We reached Quan An Ngon in two mins.


Hanh has tried the food here a few times with other visitors so we just ordered according to her recommendations - huge pancake and spring rolls amongst others. I later realised I had tried Quan An Ngon before in Saigon too!


After lunch, we went for a stroll along the lake. Hanh narrated the famous legend of how a Vietnamese emperor found a sacred sword here and used it to battle against the Chinese invaders. After he won the war, he was asked to return the sword to a tortoise living in this lake. That's the origin of the name Hoam Kiem Lake (还剑湖).


It started to rain so we decided to head back to our hotel to take shelter and rest for awhile in our rooms. Meanwhile, Hanh waited patiently at the lobby for us. Luckily it was just a passing shower and we could go outside and have some coffee!


We followed Hanh to Kim Lai Cafe at 99 Hang Buom. Weasel coffee and lotus tea taste so good my folks decided to buy some home. You can tell we spent alot here (so much I don't even remember how much) from the lady boss (in purple top) huge grin.


Since we were in the vicinity, Hanh decided to show us the room at 48 Hang Ngang St where Ho Chi Minh wrote the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence.


My elder sister requested for ice cream so Hanh brought us to Kem Trang Tien, a popular ice cream store frequent by locals. All of us were enjoying our popsicle or cone except my sister. She refused to have any because she thought she would get to sit down in a nice cafe and eat ice cream from a spoon lol.


It was past 5pm and we decided to call it a day in front of the opera house. Thank you Hanh for bringing us around Hanoi! We really appreciate your time and company. I believe my family had a great time today.


Shared experiences create new conversation topics for us during meal times. While waiting for dinner at Restaurant 22, we talked about our impression of Vietnam and how our day has been.


I like this home-cooked meal by a family in 22 Hang Can St - duck in orange sauce, fish fillet with mixed vegetables, home made toufu and green vegetables. They even gave us a bowl of complimentary "soup" they had "cooked" when boiling the green vegetables!


The night ended with more shopping at Dong Xuan! My family spent so much we had to make a trip back to hotel to exchange more money!

I'm short sighted. I wear glasses at work. But I don't put them on when I'm off to work, after work or when I'm out on weekends. I choose not to see clearly on these occasions because there's no need to and I don't wish to. Blur vision lowers my awareness of the surroundings. I don't have to care about what's happening around me or whether people are looking at me. It's a good way to allow me to be in my zone with a better peace of mind. It's a relief to not be able to see clearly for a while.

I've always wanted to do a canopy walk. It was flimsy and scarier than I thought!