Archive for March, 2008
Day 3/4 - Mong Cai->Beilun Bridge->Dongxing->Nanning->Guilin
On day 3 , we proceeded to the border checkpoint in Mong Cai. We walked across the bridge that links the Vietnamese border town of Mong Cai on the southern bank and the China Dongxing City of the northern bank across the Beilun River.
We spend a night at Nanning before proceeding to Guilin.
Day 4: We visited the Banyan Lake scenic spot. The lake is a new landmark of Guilin. Around the lake, you could see traditional chinese landscapes.
Day 2 - Hanoi (Halong Bay) Part Three
After an hour’s climbing and walking around the cave, we finally met the sun again. The air in the cave was pretty good and fresh, but i still prefer to be out. 
I cannot imagine getting lost all alone in the cave. The stones and natural carvings seemed scary after a while.
Today’s our last day/night in Vietnam.. pretty sad but we were on schedule.
Look at the stranger at the window. They are floating fruit sellers and they climbed up to our ferry to try to sell us fruits. So amazed. This is one of the spirit of Vietnamese. They are natural entrepreneurs. They could sell anything and anywhere. Some did not own any formal stalls etc. They just use a table or stool, sit on the floor, and they could sell things.
One of my favourite stone formation is the Kissing Rocks (a.k.a Fight cock). They are many others.
Gifts from Vietnam
We left for Guangxi the next day. We took our last photo in Vietnam with the Vietnamese tour guide, Ah Xiang. She is a lovely lady and speaks average Chinese. But i truly appreciate her efforts in trying to make us understand the Vietnam culture.
Last few things to note about Vietnam, from my two days experience:
1. People there knows how to speak little English and some chinese. Maybe because Vietnam is quite near Guangxi (southern part of China)
2. Some younger salesgirls will ask for Singapore dollars as souvenirs.
3. Most shops there accept RenMingbi (RMB), USD and Vietnamese dollars. But if you are going Vietnam ALONE, better change to full Vietnamese dollars as some shops do not have change for RMB.
4. Their famous delicacy is: Green Bean cake/paste
5. Most of their fishes are fresh-water fishes, so there’re lots of bones. Be careful if you are ordering fishes from restaurants.
6. Be careful when crossing roads. Traffic came from all directions, there is no fix direction. Don’t hesitate when you start crossing the roads else you will never get to cross. (if you have been to Taiwan, you will know what i mean)
Goodbye Vietnam!
Day 2 - Hanoi (Halong Bay) Part Two
We arrived at one of the caves in Halong Bay. I don’t remember the actual name of the cave but this is the cave which the ferry from the mainland brought us to. I guess there are other caves around the bay but this is one of the popular one.
There’s one island which our tour group have the majority votes to give it a miss, that is ‘Tian Tang Dao’ a.k.a Paradise Island. Unless you are one who loves to swim or sun tan, you can probably go there and have a look. During that time when we were there, the weather was rather cold to do that though.
Upon entering the cave, i was mesmerized by the lightings. The cave itself seemed pretty normal to me but the lightings inside rather enhanced the cave structure well. The tour guide in the cave gave us a rather interesting tour.
Each stone/rock has a name and if you have good imagination, you can actually “see” different kinds of animals and legendary figures amongst the stones.
Day 2 Hanoi - Halong Bay (Part One)
Day 2 - Hanoi (Halong Bay) Part One
If you ever had a chance to go Vietnam, you will definitely NOT give Halong Bay a miss. Else you might as well don’t go Vietnam. (At least this is what colleagues told me) It’s the main tourist attraction in Vietnam.
Today we had a full day excursion to Halong Bay - the world natural heritage place. It represents the miniature Guilin in the sea and the locals called it the ” 8th wonder of the World.” You can find Halong Bay at the northeastern part of Vietnam.
We took a cruise around Halong Bay towards one of the caves in Vietnam. Some photos below for your reference.
Day 1 - Singapore to Hanoi
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….
Day 2 : Hanoi -> Halong Bay (To be continued) Tags: Home and Family, Travel, vietnam
