In Vietnam...

18 dec 2007

made it to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, on 18 dec. after just 3 days in SG. it was a mad rush i would say.. rush to unpack and then pack again for the trip.. lucky there's my mum to help with the washing... madness. heee...

from the hustle and bustle of singapore, we arrived right into the hustle and bustle of HCM. thinking it would be cold like wat everybody says, i borrowed a sweater from my aunt and even bought a scarf. haiz.. but cold it was not and in fact the sun rays shone down brightly onto my fair skin... hee... all that i can now remember of HCM is that the noise is deafening and just crossing the road is a death defying stunt... walking through Pratunam market in Bangkok is mothing compared to the roads here.. they do not give way here and they blast their horns like nobody's business. they just wan to get on with their way and they would horn their way through.... ans i seriously mean very very loud horns....

met with KY's fren's fren and he took us to lunch that was above our budget.. but it was good ah... had beer with the lunch. heh heh.. beer is not nice...

thinking that our next stop would be better, i went to bed that nite in HCM hoping for less horns and nicer ppl in Hue City.....

19 dec 2007
Rat's birthday and our 4th anniversary!
woke up early for the flight to Hue on pacific airlines.. think i took many flights this year.. silkair to sarawak in sept, airasia to bangkok and to HCM, pacific to Hue from HCM and then vietnam air from Hue to Hanoi.. finally from Hanoi to SG on Tiger... wow....

heee... we rented bikes, motorbike for Rat and bicycle for myself and KY. i prefer riding bicycles then to motorbikes. haiz. i dared to weave in and out of the traffic with the bicycyle but not with motor.. weird... haiz.. it was fun riding the bicycle.. i got inspired to want to get a bicycle so i can cycle to sch everyday.. think it will be healthy and cheap... hee...

Hue city was colder than HCM by a little... less traffic, but the horns were just as loud and nerve-wrecking. thank goodness it is not like this in SG. i think i will go mad... food was ok in Hue. coffee was good... the men sit in the coffee shops on small stools for long hours while the women are the ones carrying heavy baskets on their thin yet strong shoulders selling things like food and fruits... men... haiz.. lazy...

the imperial city was ok.. tot it would be more impressive and majestic... walked around and around and then we came across a big bookshop and went in.. found a place where we could sit and paint clay figures.. rat and i painted one each while ky sat there watching all the young ppl painting... it was fun.. we painted two lambs.. mine is nicer.. heee..

bought a cake from the onli cake shop that we saw in Hue City... the cake was not very nice... weird.. hee hee.. but we had to make do.. ate the cake and went to bed in a big big room...

20 dec 2007 - 23 dec 2007
Hanoi is a nice place.. it was all foggy and misty at the airport.. finally is realli is cold.. haha... about 17 degrees... woo.... finally my sweater can use.. took the airport shuttle to the Old Quarters where we called home for the past 3 days.. it's an excellent place... pricey though... and as we were all on a budget, tat meant that we could not buy many things... haiz... very little shopping done here... stamps for everyone, a teapot set, 2 pieces of cloth for making clothes for hari raya, a packet of coffee and a strainer for the coffee, some cds, a gangster cap for rat, some dragonflies and that's it... haiz... no budget and nothing much to buy.. their clothes were for the winter season so all very thick.. and they overcharge foreigners here by a lot. haiz... quite sad that everyone is trying to rip us off, even for a cup of coffee... haiz.. one day it costs 50 SG cents and they next it would be 70 SG cents.. haiz..
the lakes here are beautiful.. very nice and cold.. went on a one day trip to HaLOng Bay yeaterday and the boat ride was extremely cold... met many ppl from many places... weird pppl, some of them.. the caves were nice.. but i kind of like the ones in sarawak better...
the food here is not bad.. i like the glutinous rice very much.. excellent stuff... the rest were ok.. coffee is good too...
waiting for the taxi to take us to the airport.. will reach singapore at 0030hours on 24 dec.. cool... haha... pictures will be up once i'm back.. i miss singapore.. i am very proud to be a singaporean... seriously.... i love Singapore! haha...