背包菜鸟in越南Day1

This post is extremely delayed as I'm now back in Uni and sadly.... even I'm no longer working, I just can't find the TIME to blog more often. oh well.... all down to self-discipline, perhaps? XP

Our trip was meant to be a four-man-cell .... but I got FFK (放飞机）by 2 friends (who have bought the air tickets to and fro). Well.... almost, me and another friend were like eggs sitting on a needle. Literally, we're at the edge of cancelling the trip. But.... after thinking for a while, I don't think we should.
We should do it when we are YOUNG!
We should eat it when we are YOUNG!
We should rock and roll it when we are YOUNG!
We should tell the world to **** itself 
when we are YOUNG and STILL YOUNG!
(haha.... if the other 2 friends read this, don't think too much, I'm not blaming you 2,
just feel bad that you 2 didn't make it) XP

机翼轻轻的，我的心却很急

Well.... back to the trip.
I bought the ticket *of course it's Air Asia, sekarang semua orang pun dapat terbang....lame* almost a year before the trip and it costs around RM500 from Penang-KL-Hanoi, and Saigon-KL-Penang.

DAY 1
We spend our first night at LCCT, overnight till the next morning and catch the first early (like 6.30am) flight to Hanoi. The moment we touched down, I was pretty nervous and the moment we're out in the airport arrival hall, I could feel the change of climate. It's chilly and raining..... GLOOMY. =____= 最适合睡觉的天气。。。哈哈

I hope I didn't look like this when I sleep at the LCCT airport...haha

It was winter in Vietnam, so I'm not surprised to see this especially at the Northern region like Hanoi.

The first thing we did was get a mobile sim card and that's my FIRST ever time conversing with a Vietnamese in English. 

Tips: If you can't find the word 'SIM-CARD", look for "SIM THE"

It means "SIM-CARD" in Vietnamese.

No offence, but they are like when I was still a kid, we memorize literally EVERYTHING that we're going to speak. 

"Inside Vietnam 35,000 dong, outside Vietnam ....inside Vietnam... outside Vietnam.... " (and on and on)

I just grab one that can last for a month and data usage is not important as my mobile is still a DUMB phone...haha. It cost me around VND350k, which equals around RM15.

After we have settled the sim card, we looked for a taxi and it's best not to board one without uniform as there're too many scam. However, still, we went for the cheaper option USD10 for 2 person. 

Luckily, we were not kidnapped...haha. 

But, the first misunderstanding appears.

WE WERE SENT TO THE WRONG HOTEL!!!

haiz... don't know the driver know the road or not....

Luckily, the hotel owner called a cab for us and it's only a few minutes down the road. 

While waiting, he asked if we have other plans yet. 

and like a kid, we said "NO".

OMG..... can't believe that! 天真到啊~

But, it's not a bad thing though. He introduced a few Ha Long Bay cruise packages (which is initially our plan as well). After negotiating with the owner and JJ for some time, we decided to take a not-so-fancy but not cheap package as well. I am not going to talk about that now, will show it when the time comes...haha 先卖卖关子！XP

The hotel is called The Landmark Hanoi Hotel, and the photo above is the lobby. 

The photo below is our room. We booked 2 single beds at first, but when we arrive, the hotel manager said we booked a double bed instead..... WTH~ 

Can't stand it when things turned out the other way, even when things are well-planned and paid for.

Sigh.... to avoid any fights or financial lose, we bear with it. 

金包银：别人的性命是框金又包银，

蛙eh性命不值钱。。。哈哈

For the price of USD43.90, we get to stay for 2 nights, which means RM16 per person per night!

You ain't gonna get any price like this in Penang! not even close to this for a hotel room and the good thing is it includes a breakfast buffet!!! My FAVOURITE word "BUFFFFFFFEEEET!!!!"

Tips: Throughout our trip, hotel price should never be more than 8USD per night, providing that you are looking for the more economical ones.

After taking a quick shower and repack our bags from a luggage to daypack,

 I grabbed a quick nibble of breakfast from the cookies brought from Penang. 

Then we set out to look for Ms Effa's friend. I am supposed to meet 

my teacher here, but it's so close yet so far. 

The day we depart from Penang, she flew back to Malaysia for a funeral. 

Sigh.... sometimes it's faith , kodok dan qada....sigh again~

So we have to meet her friend, Rosa, who will pass us the train tickets she bought earlier on. (T__T)

THAT's when the adventure BEGINS!!!

A blurry cam whoring before kicking the road! WE ARE IN VIETNAM!

Xin Cao Viet Nam!

Vietnam has almost 85% of motorcyclist on the road traffic.

Saw another group of tourist

With a crappy and inaccurate map provided by the hotel, we got lost, found our way, got lost, found our way.... and don't count too much on google map here, because new roads are being built very fast while the old ones are taken off. One word, be STREET SMART.

Through the phone, we were told to take a cab, which will only take like 10-15 minutes.

But, we hoped to experience more of Hanoi daily lifestyle and of course... save $$.

Nothing can be done but walk and walk and walk and walk.....

Don't know what building is that, but the style is very unique.

Vietnamese are likely to build their houses tall and slender and most of the time with a shops on the ground level. Probably it's due to the expensive land price.

The Hanoi Railway passing though the city's heart

JJ

Meee

Really like this shot.... got the FEELING man~

*shot using just a compact...haha*

雨打湿了她的摊子，模糊了我们的方向 *叹气*

菜鸟过马路 Crossing the Hanoi road

With or without luck, we decided to take a shorter but hidden road *suggested by google map*

We ended up in this alley....haha.... very "hidden-dragon-crouching-tiger"?

这下死了。。。误入龙潭料~

Stalls selling roasted...... PUPPIES?!!!! OMFG

Wedding?

Grocery shops

Most people were seen using either bicycles or this -----> SCOOTER 小黄绵羊！

The girls at the back of the bicycle are still siting side way.... Malaysian has stopped doing that for AGES....well.... I miss that. Girls looked more elegant that way....hohoho o(^3^)o

Sometimes, I'm really mesmorized by these type of dwellings.

Living on necessities and desperation, like Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City.

艰难的时代

Front entrance of the railway station

The traffic police in rain coat ... so fashionable!

格格不入的高档店铺

FYI, normally only female Vietnamese wear the straw hats. So, if you are a guy and you buy it for your gf or mum, please don't wear it while strolling down a main street. 

People will probablydoubt on your sex....haha

Another favourite shot of the day "雨中辛劳“

The old lady almost got hit down by a scooter, but luckily we manage to help her by giving a few extra push! 加油! GAMBAROU!

We passed by this river just before we reach my teacher's place. The river reminded me of Sungai Pinang.... not sure if it's still as dirty as it used to be 10 years ago.

After a 3 hours++ walk, we got out train tickets and Rosa gave us a few advices on 

how to 'survive' in Vietnam and even helped us to exchange some money 

to Vietnamese Dong (VND) so that we don't need to worry about that for the next few days. 

Sincerely from heart, we would like to thank you. 

One of the main advices is NEVER BUY THINGS THAT HAS NO PRICE TAG !!!!

(we learnt it but only master it later on.... through a hard way..... shhh~tell you when it's the time)

Then we went hunting for lunchnner (lunch+dinner). 

I walked until I couldn't feel my feet but my stomach was drumming like hell! 

DAMN! I COULD EAT A FEW HORSES AT THAT TIME!!! 

*no kidding at all*

So, we spent another 2hours++ walk to the Hoan Kiem Lake “还剑湖”.

It's not far from our next programme "Water Puppet".

My first ever Pho in Vietnam @ 24Pho just beside the Hoan Kiem Lake.

The taste was just so so... like kuey teow with chicken broth and heaps of herbs 

like mint, coriander etc. Then, we did an evening walk around the lake 

Bangku- kia along the street

Be careful with ladies who put their bamboo pole carrier on your shoulders. 

They are after tips ALL THE TIME. 

That's how we got conned, sad, but end of story. 

WE WILL NEVER LET YOU HAVE THE SECOND CHANCE! XP

trishaw?

Looking at the sky turning dark soon, we went to get our water puppet show tickets. 

It's at the north-eastern end of the Lake and is pretty obvious.

The Thang Long Water Puppets Theatre = around 260k VND 

For a 2 hour show around RM 33, not bad, 

The water puppeteers used to suffer a serious degree of cholera 

due to the long working hours in water. But now it is the countries' pride. =D

Me and the mini puppets

After that, I complained about being not full enough. So, we went of a food hunt AGAIN~

Note: it is very hard to find a good and reasonable/cheap food in Vietnam,

especially if you're a non-local. They always cheat tourists and non-Vietnamese speakers. 

So, look for BIG price board like below.

It is stall selling Bun Rieu aka vermicelli with beef / pork.

It's not super super tasteful, but I actually like it pretty much, 

especially when you're hungry and the weather is cold.

Nothing beats a hot soup on a chilly night!

我点了一碗猪杂米粉 RM4.50

一碗热腾腾的汤把我的夜晚都给点亮了！

而且还蛮大碗！*满足*

JJ and his not-so-cute but acting-cute face...haha 

(this was taken when we go back for the second time)

Before walking back to the hotel, we check out the literature Bridge of the Ngoc Son Temple 

(which we are going to visit in latter days)

Dating hot spots around the lake. 

But sadly..... I'm with my friend. Sigh~

After the night-walking around the lake, 

we walked back to the hotel. 

It takes like 1 hour++ and the moment we reach our hotel, 

JJ's already a piece of dead meat. He slept straight away. =____=

I took a quick shower and slept after loading all the photos into my laptop.

Afterthoughts:

At that time, I can't believe...

But still, we made it through the first day.

*High five*!

Really glad that things went pretty well today.

Do stay tuned for more!

当时的感想：

过了第一天，

我还是有点无法相信我们在越南了！

他妈的！！我们在越南了！

兴奋之余， 我觉得我们两个都格外地担心。

毕竟，这是我们背包菜鸟的第一次啊！

天啊。。。

希望你能保佑我们一路平平安安！

晚安