1st March 2008 - Day 1 (Singapore to Hanoi)

This was my first trip abroad with my family. We (total 6 members) hardly had a chance to travel together. Going to Vietnam/China was never on my mind as i am a eat-potato person (in dialect, it’s call jiat gang dang a.k.a one who prefers to speak english and eat western food). But due to the fact that my parents are coming along this time round, i decided to give in to their wishes. I don’t wish to bring them to a place where language is a great barrier to my parents, especially to my chinese speaking mum. It’s a trip to thank her and dad for all their hard work in keeping the family together all these years and it’s surely not for my own personal enjoyment.

At the boarding gate, I could see their excitement when they stepped into the plane. My mum has never ever stepped into a plane in her whole life! Not even a plane model. So this time, it’s really an eye opener for her. Even though this trip has burnt a rather big hole in my pocket (probably will take months to mend), but seeing her excitement makes me feel that it’s all worth it.

This was the shortest flight i’ve ever taken so far. We reached Hanoi within 3 hours and our first stop was at Ba Dinh Square. It is situated in the center of Hanoi.

It is a meeting place for the great important events of Vietnam. President Ho Chi Minh at the Ba Dinh Square on Sep 2, 1945 read the Declaration of Independence. giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

- quoted from ASAHolidays

Ho Chi Minh was a good leader. We even went to visit his residential area around the vicinity. According to the tour guide, he led a simple life during his ruling period. He did not want to stay in a luxurious place while his countrymen are suffering from lack of food or accommodations. He only had 2 simple meals a day and decides to save up the excess for the rest of his people. Wow…….. rather touching….

We only spend two days and one night at Vietnam; so my impression of Vietnam wasn’t that deep. But what i could say from my experience on day 1 itself is, the present Vietnam reminds me of the past Singapore where everything is so out-of-date. The basic transportation seems to be just purely motorbikes, trishaws and bicycles… The lack of traffic lights (even if there is, nobody seems to follow the rules) makes road crossing dangerous. But i was pretty amazed by the low accident rates around there when i observed how people just walk in between the flow of the heavy traffic along the main road.

Day 2 : Hanoi -> Halong Bay (To be continued)

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