Hanoi

Street paddlers hustling a gwailo

I was in Hanoi sometime in September. This was a personal trip. I did know much about the city, and this was my first time to Vietnam. Hanoi was almost like every other ASEAN cities, with dusty roads and crowded building filled with shops and the roadstalls, where the Hanois eat their daily meals, perched on low stools.

Midday meal by the roadside

I've also discovered that Hanoi retained some of the French influences in its everyday life. From the casual manner in which baguettes are sold by the roadside, to the small French cafes dotted around the city and the exquisite embroideries on linens.

Halong Bay

On our third day, me and mum visited Halong Bay. The journey takes about 2+ hours out of town. The roads were bumpy once we get closer to the countryside. Then we took a junk out to Halong Bay, which was maybe about 45 minutes out from the jetty.

The junk

Our junk inching closer to the entrance of Halong Bay

Voila! Halong Bay.

Oddly this is a scenery that I've set my eyes on before. If you've been to Langkawi at Sg Kilim, this is the exact scenery that you can see.

Fruit paddler catching up on us via bot, then my mum bought some bananas

Fruits paddler at the makeshift jetty, using a traditional boat.

Fresh seafood for our lunch onboard the junk

Bevy of activities as tourists were ushered to the smaller boats for cave exploration

Same like in Langkawi!

Island of Man

The famous fighting cocks island

Halong Bay

Too bad I didn't have the chance to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Next time, I would like to visit Ho Chi Minh city, I hear the embroideries are much cheaper than Hanoi.