Travelogue - Hanoi, Vietnam April 2013 (2)

We slept like pigs that night. So cosy, the two of us sharing a double bed. Ruth hardly snores and I would like to think that I didn't as well. I think we complemented each other's travelling st.  es really well. I wake up early to shower and do my barang barang he st.s in bed to surf Internet. On some days, I get lazy to shower first and she didn't mind using the let first. Awesome partners for travelling are hard to come by! Truly grateful for such an awesome bestie!

We had breakfast at the hotel before venturing out into the nearby vicinity! Ruth found out by the shit way that milk in Vietnam tasted sweet. Eeeeeew.

Walked to Hoan Kiem Lake, as recommended by the hotel staff. I think we walked EVERYWHERE in Hanoi. The only time we took a cab was when we were leaving for the airport.
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We saw many couples on dates.

We also found a highly-raved café by the locals - the Highlander Café. It was situated on the third floor of a building and overlooking the Hoan Kiem Lake. Ordered ourselves drinks and sat the afternoon away reading. Honestly, almost all cafes in Hanoi provided free WIFI! There was no need for us to get prepaid phone cards at all.

Looks so-so only right. Hahahaha.

Taper your expectations when they say the café very nice. Neither the café nor the drinks were very nice. I would say they were pricey for the standard of living there but it was affordable to us - about SGD$3 for an Ice Blended Mocha.

Seriously, I didn't think there was anything big deal about the cafe. The bigger deal for me came to - crossing the Vietnamese roads. I succeeded! The trick is to walk at a very predictable and constant pace. Do not jerk back and forth like you are damn scared to cross the road. The motorists would not be able to anticipate your speed and therefore unable to siam you. You have to cross the roads in a very calmly and bo chap manner. Tried and tested and not knocked down yet. The motorists there are all damn good at siam-ing!

A bestie, a drink, a book and my favourite backpack. Good way to spend the afternoon.

We decided to leave the café for more exploration! Walked to the St Joseph's Cathedral and took some mandatory shots.

Honestly, I think we eyed the roadside stall selling pho more than the Cathedral itself. Gave in to temptation and we sat down at the first roadside stall of the trip! 比手划脚 and ordered two bowls of pho! It was ooooommmmmgggggggg. Each bowl cost about 45,000 Vietnamese dong, which was around less than SGD$3.

After a full lunch we walked on to Maison Centrale, also known as Hoa Lo Prison. It was used by the French colonists to house political prisoners, then by North Vietnam to house prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. The locals gave it an affectionate term - the Hanoi Hilton. HAHAHAHAHA.

Seriously, what's with me and visiting prisons? For sure, I enjoyed Patarei Prison more than this.

The guillotine.

We decided we had enough of touristy places fo' the day and walked on to find yet another café!

Stumbled upon a gem - Joma Bakery Café!

When we entered, it seriously looks like a super small café but if you look further in, there is a doorway which you can enter and PWAH, a much much much larger seating area, fully air-conditioned awaits you! After walking in the sweltering heat for the entire day, we were soooooo grateful for this little respite!

Looks like we weren't the only tourists around.

We spent three hours there and I managed to finish my book! We got hungry again and decided to look for this roadside BBQ stall that we saw on the way back from the night market the night before. We walked for almost two hours looking for that stall but never found it. I swear both of us saw it! In the end we had to settle for the one that was just outside our hotel.

A Target Impossible To Achieve?

I have spoken to several persons regarding Tex and my new home's renovations. Ours is a 3-room flat and yes, the budget for that can afford to be smaller but many were sceptical about the budget we set for ourselves.

$10,000.

All in with furniture, electrical appliances and what-nots.

Too little? We'll see. It's a challenge we are quite entertained by - sourcing the cheapest and most value for money alternative to what the masses think. True, we may not be staying in the house for long hence that affected our budget (can afford to use lousier stuff). BUT, do you really need that 42 inch TV instead of a 32 inch one? Shrugs.

This is a project to see how bare we can live with (and without). This is also a project to see if we can still live comfortably without those things that we thought we couldn't live without. I'm testing my limits as well. Tex proposed last week that we should not have a water heater in the house. I was speechless. If any one needs me, I will be in my bed, face-palming.

But if you think about it, the weather in Singapore does not need you to have a water heater. It's a want VS a need. I want a water heater. I don't need a water heater. This week, he said that we should be able to afford one. Needless to say, I was relieved. However, I also realised by then, that, I think I can live without a water heater. That was surprising. His earlier proposition made me re-think about all the things I thought I couldn't live without. And made me appreciate them more.

This is Version 1 of the house - a budget challenge. We're pretty sure we are gonna renovate the house again in five years' time. That will be a space challenge.

We'll see.

Travelogue - Hanoi, Vietnam April 2013 (1)

I am so excited to share with you the sights and sounds of Vietnam! Hanoi is probably not the most romantic place on earth but to my dearest bestie Ruth and I, we loved it! This trip was supposed to be a relaxing one with two other besties, Peck Hiang and Stephanie. Unfortunately, these two had motherly duties to perform hence they missed the trip!

Our tickets were bought in July 2012 to be travelled in April 2013! Kiasu much? Haha, they only cost us $110 return each! Then Jetstar decided to cancel all direct flights to Hanoi and forced us to transit at Ho Chi Minh City. The cancellation came only around Nov 2012 and Jetstar offered us $50 credits which I have utilised for my Perth trip in last month in August 2013. However, I didn't feel that the $50 credits were worth it as we had to face a 2-hours delay at Ho Chi MInh City enroute to Hanoi, and on the way back it was a 9am flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City then a 3pm flight back to Singapore. The transit was neither long nor short so it was rather irritating for us.

Accomodation only cost Ruth and I $60 each for four nights! With airfares in, I think we each spent less than $400 for the entire trip!

It was raining the morning we flew. Especially grateful to my parents who silently supported me and my dreams and gave me the freedom to travel to anywhere that I want to. They woke up as early as Ruth and I did, made us hot drinks and even sent us to the airport. Very very grateful!

Raining.

During the delay, we got hungry so we bought our first bowl of Vietnamese pho at the Ho Chi Minh airport, which tasted like Maggie mee.

Our first Vietnamese pho, which tasted like Maggie mee.

Upon reaching Hanoi, we had wanted to take a cab to our hotel but we decided to take a bus which would send us to the Old Quarter of Hanoi, which is also known as the Hoan Kiem area, where our hotel was located at. It was definitely squeezy on the bus so it was great that Ruth and I packed light and we had all our belongings close to us. Met an Australian girl from Perth who spend two months teaching English in Thailand and this was her first time to Hanoi as well.

When we reached Hoan Kiem, some guy came onboard the bus and asked if we would be willing to pay another USD$1 to send us directly to our hotel. We were like, why not? So we paid and showed him our hotel address and within the next 10 minutes, we reached a road and he told us to get off. Another girl came to fetch us and we crossed the road to enter what seemed like a tour agency. The girl, with her broken English, tried to ask us if we wanted to book a hotel but we tried to tell her that we already booked one. That was when Ruth and I felt cheated and uncomfortable, we decided to leave the shop and walked.

We walked for about ten minutes before we entered another hotel and asked for a map. The receptionist at the hotel was helpful and showed us the directions to our hotel. We explored for another twenty minutes before finally reaching our hotel! Turns out that our hotel was not easily accessible by car and any car to pick up would have to stop by the main road outside and you have to walk in for about twenty seconds before you would reach it. Checked in and the hotel gave us a free upgrade to a family room! Super worth the money, can.

Tired out by the day of transits, we took a nap and woke up for dinner. We exited onto the main road and saw the famous Hanoi Backpackers which many many guidebooks recommended. We decided to have dinner there and saw so many ang mohs in the bar.

This was taken before it got really crowded.

With so many angpows in and out of the hostel, it really reminded me of the hostel in Prague which Tex and I stayed in.

Apparently, this hostel was opened by an Australian.

Australian.

I ordered Fanta at almost every meal! Haha!

Glass bottles.

Chilli Con Carne

Eating rice was sooooo comforting that evening!

I was nursing a headache that night but we still decided to head out for a night stroll since it was a Friday night and the night markets were open. Walked about 15 minutes to Dong Xuan. The good thing about staying in the Old Quarter is that there are many places of attractions that are within walking distance. The area is also littered with cafes and you can always enter one and refuel before continuing walking. There are tourists everywhere and I can safely say that Hanoi is slowly becoming more and more commercialised so quickly go before it becomes another Bangkok!

A mandatory photo.

We headed back around 9:30PM that night and had an early night's rest. Stay tuned for Day 2, hehe!