Yeah! Year end holidays...又是出游的日子…当飞机师报告即将抵达河内时，从窗外望出去, 开始会很兴奋. “Hanoi, here I come!”. 事先已安排接机人员載我們到了旅舍(Hanoi Guest House), 大约１个小时的车程， 便到了位于河内旧区(Old quarters) 的Hanoi Guest House。越南的建筑物大多都是瘦瘦长长的。其实单看外貌，位于河内旧区36条古街其中之一的Hanoi Guest House并不出色, 若不留意的话肯定会错过。到了那酒店，经理出来招待我们, 带我们去看他们的房间。进了房间， 梳洗完毕，也差不多是晚餐的时间了。我想念在胡志明市鸡丝河粉 (pho ga), 所以问经理(Ms Linh) 有什么地方可以去之类的, 也可以吃到鸡丝河粉的, 经理给我们一人一张地图 , 也很好的向我们讲解河内的地图，有什么地方可以去. 我们就沿着地图的指示来到附近的餐厅吃越南出名的鸡肉果条. 河内的鸡肉果条, 原来是有另一番风味的 .. 可以配面的辣椒, 配着吃真是刺激.. 在槟城住了那么久以为外地没什么辣的东西可以难倒自己了, 没想到这个辣椒竟然比小辣椒还要有过之而无不及！（想到它的美味都流口水了）…吃饱后，继续四处走走河内旧区. 到了Dong Xuan Market, 卖手工艺品，纪念品, 小饰品的精品样样齐全. 我们没买什么东西, 走走看看就回去酒店休息. 
Beside the streets, there are many stalls like this....very cute stools!
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一大早, 我们点我们各自的早餐, 我选了pho ga和咖啡, 就这样的坐在大厅里享受着在越南里美味的第一餐。只见大厅里多出了６个人, 他们也是从我国过来这里游玩的. 吃饱了，坐了一下之后, 去下龙湾的司机已经来接我们了. 我们参加了当地的旅行团, 上了车后就开始前往我们今天的第一个目的地--下龙湾. 3个小时半的车程除了睡睡醒醒之外，欣赏路边的稻田风景和拍照是我唯一消磨时间的方式。途中会stop在一个手工艺中心休息半小时上厕所.
The craft centre with handicapped people working on the arts
巴士停在一个那地方有很多身体上有不便的人士在那边以精致的手工制作漂亮的图、手工艺品等，外面也有很多很漂亮的雕刻。这个下龙湾package是两天一夜的,之前也跟经理定好了-USD65罢了。这个USD65 也是包括 了船票， 入场票， 住宿， 膳食，tourguide，van， 但不包括饮料. 到了Halong Bay, 导游领我们上船, 我没想到竟然有机会踏上这样的中国式帆船, 还认识了可爱的MM who thought I was pretty and wanted to be my friend. 
Halong Bay-- Me on The Imperial Junk!
船分三部分，下层是两排的房间，中间是狭窄的走廊。房内摆了一张双人床，一张梳妆枱，还有风扇和冷气，厕所则是简单的马桶和花洒，还蛮干净的。中层是餐厅，厨房。上层是露天的甲板，甲板上摆了数张沙滩椅。 
Dreamy Halong Bay....A fairy land!
Dreamy Halong Bay....A fairy land!启航两个小时后，船长把船停在一座石灰山(Dong Thien Cung) 前， 导游示意我们参观山洞里的钟乳奇石。During the hiking, I saw my lovely pearls, dangling around the counter….Haiz, wish I had bought it. It’s so cheap and yet I didn’t buy it because I thought may be some other places have them too (with cheaper price). Stupid of me!!!!! Well, after visiting the cave, we went to seesea creatures like squid, prawn, angelfish and lobsters; they were quite cheap compare to the price those creatures worth in Malaysia. But to me, sea creatures are all my friends…I really wonder how could people be so cruel to kill all those cute little things. the back to our Imperial Junk. 在船上, 我们认识了一對法國夫妻攜女兒 who were travelling around Asian countries. They had been to Malaysia before. They told us that it was weird to them that our Orang Asli had hand phone even though they were staying in the jungle. C’mon, halo?! What’s wrong with the picture? Still think Malaysians live in the trees? Well, we had our lunch and dinner with them that day. At night, there was nothing to do in the junk, so we had an early bedtime.
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一早起来, 我们 上甲板拍照去了 and enjoy the sunrise view. Then after having breakfast, we returned to Hanoi. Before departing to Hanoi, we had lunch at a restaurant where we saw the preserved reptiles. It is said that when male drinks the ‘juice’, it will make them strong….yeah right… 回到Hanoi, 我们去逛在附近的还剑湖. 还剑湖（Hoan Kiam Lake） 也称为小湖，位于河内旧城的中心区， 被称为河内第一风景区，这里四周树木苍翠，湖水清澈如镜。湖内岛建有龟塔（ThapRua），塔身小巧玲珑，顶端有一颗星。关于还剑湖的传奇都不脱李太祖获得神剑的经过及他使用这把神剑抵抗明朝的侵略的过程, 当李太祖终于推翻明朝的统治后，便驾着小舟来到还剑湖的湖心，将神剑还给神龟， 据说这只神龟从李太祖手中收回神剑后，就马上潜入湖中，从此消失无踪，“还剑湖”之名便由此来。We walked around the streets of Old Quarters and there were many hawker stalls along the streets. After looking around, we finally bought a packet of glutinous rice wrapped in a leaf and it tasted heavenly. After tasting such yummy thing, we couldn’t help but wonder how many great food out there for us to explore. So, along the way, we had tasted the most moist, soft chicken porriage (chao ga) and yummy fried corn which you can never find in Malaysia. The dinner was perfect. After walking to and fro along the streets of night market, I finally bought my scarf. Late at night, we finally decided to go back to the hotel and rest.
一早起来, 我们 上甲板拍照去了 and enjoy the sunrise view. Then after having breakfast, we returned to Hanoi. Before departing to Hanoi, we had lunch at a restaurant where we saw the preserved reptiles. It is said that when male drinks the ‘juice’, it will make them strong….yeah right… 回到Hanoi, 我们去逛在附近的还剑湖. 还剑湖（Hoan Kiam Lake） 也称为小湖，位于河内旧城的中心区， 被称为河内第一风景区，这里四周树木苍翠，湖水清澈如镜。湖内岛建有龟塔（ThapRua），塔身小巧玲珑，顶端有一颗星。关于还剑湖的传奇都不脱李太祖获得神剑的经过及他使用这把神剑抵抗明朝的侵略的过程, 当李太祖终于推翻明朝的统治后，便驾着小舟来到还剑湖的湖心，将神剑还给神龟， 据说这只神龟从李太祖手中收回神剑后，就马上潜入湖中，从此消失无踪，“还剑湖”之名便由此来。We walked around the streets of Old Quarters and there were many hawker stalls along the streets. After looking around, we finally bought a packet of glutinous rice wrapped in a leaf and it tasted heavenly. After tasting such yummy thing, we couldn’t help but wonder how many great food out there for us to explore. So, along the way, we had tasted the most moist, soft chicken porriage (chao ga) and yummy fried corn which you can never find in Malaysia. The dinner was perfect. After walking to and fro along the streets of night market, I finally bought my scarf. Late at night, we finally decided to go back to the hotel and rest.
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My breakfast started with pho ga again…don’t blame me, it was the best thing I ever tasted. We had booked the Hanoi City Tour with Hanoi Guest House. So, after eating, the van came to pick us up. Our tour guide was a very young man (the only Vietnamese who spoke English that I can totally understand). In our tour group, we were glad that there were Malaysians too. They came as a family—a father and 4 kids. First stop of the tour started with zhen国古寺. The temple was a pretty place. After that, we went to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to visit Uncle Ho (that’s what the Vietnamese called him).
I thought it looked like a wax because it didn’t look real to me. We were not allowed to bring in camera, so there won’t be any photo of Uncle Ho. We also were ushered to Ho Chi Minh’s working quarter and visited his house. One Pillar Pagoda(独柱庙)was very near to that place and the temple had many visitors (most of them were childless couples) who came to pray for a child. 
After having ice-cream (kem) near the One Pillar Pagoda, we went to Museum of Ethnology to gain knowledge about their Orang Asli. (Haiz…this one I can say it was totally boring!). But we did get to see many couples taking their wedding photo there because the scenery was beautiful. Next stop—lunch time. We ate at the Ladybird Restaurant where the food was awesome! (I know, I know, by eating all the rice a.k.a carbohydrate would fatten me, but what could I possibly do to stop myself from eating that oh-so-delicious-and-pearly-white fragrant rice?) We even planned to have lunch here the next day too…hehe…After lunch, we headed to Temple of Literature (文庙). Temple of Literature is Vietnam first university. The weird thing in this so called university was that there wasn’t any classroom around….hmmm, really make me wonder how they studied? Finally our last stop—Ngoc Son Temple (玉山祠). 我们绕着湖边走向玉山祠。很中国式的庙，还有一只镶在透明柜里的巨龟标本。听说这就是还剑湖传说中的那只借剑给李太祖的神龟。 
After going back to the guest house, we took our bath and then walk towards the Hoan Kiam Lake because we wanted to watch the water puppet show. While waiting for the show to start, we had KFC for our dinner because I really didn’t know what to eat anymore…and the KFC restaurant was so near to the water puppet theaters. After watching that ‘so-boring-punya’ show, we walked around the lake and went to a nearby shopping complex to buy souvenirs. When we went back to the hotel, it was already very late.
************************************************************************************* We rented a motorbike to go around Hanoi City for adventure. Hehe…it was exciting because they were so many bikes and yet, we could sway around the town like nobody’s business…We actually went to the other districts to have a look-see. When we reached the book district, we made a stop, that’s because we wanted to buy some cheap books. Well, most of the books were in Vietnamese and it was difficult to find English books. So I couldn’t buy anything. This place is not like Popular Bookstore. After searching high and low for books, we went to the Ladybird Restaurant to have lunch as planned. Then, we went to the biggest Catholic Church in town. The church is beautiful and it really has this calming effect on you. Ahhh….such bliss!
After travelling in bike for more than 7 hours, we felt tired and headed back to the hotel to pack. We had our dinner in the same restaurant (the first day one).
************************************************************************************* After having Banh Mi (French bread) for breakfast, we asked Ms Linh to call taxi for us to take to the airport. It’s time to say goodbye to Hanoi. At the airport, I was cheated on the tea that they sold. It was supposed to cost only USD2 (equivalent to 32000 dong at that time). But when I gave them 50,000 dong, they never gave me back the change. When I asked them, they just ignored me. So I took the picture of the store and well, just to remind you all: Beware of this cheating shop (No*ba* A*r Trading Enterprise)! And so my trip ended with not-so-happy ending. Sigh…
这里的建筑和邮政服务还保留着很古老的味道，里面还有旧式电话厅，好不特别。我还在这里买了几张Postcard to give to friends和邮票for my own keeping. ( Hehe, forgot to say that I was riding motorbike with a Vietnamese tour guide and he was the one who planned where to go for sight-seeing). Opposite of the post office was the Notre Dame Church(圣母大教堂). It was beautiful and I couldn’t get in because it was closed for the day. Sighhhhhhh…..
高臺教圣地就是全越南最大間的高臺教教堂了！圣地頂上有各種各樣的神像。神奇的宗教, 融合了世上的主流宗教。看看大殿盡頭的這些神像， （以下八個應該是高臺教最崇高的神祗）正中央最高層是釋迦摩尼，第二層中間分別是老子、玉皇大帝和孔子，而第三層的是观世音菩萨、耶穌和關公，第四層則是太上老君。除此之外，旁邊還有許多大大小小東西方的神話人物, 在這一切之上的是一只`大眼睛’, 被視為是人間的主宰… 逛完后, 我们就去越南战争博物馆. 
基本上，这里的展示品都是以前越南战争时代的一些资料. After the tour of the museum, I felt so sorry for those people who suffered all because of the war that happened. 在那边发现很多工作的残疾人士都是以前橙色剂（orange agent）的受害者。 橙色剂是能够抑制植物生长的化学物品。当年越战时期，橙色剂大量被用在越南的树林以对付以树林为遮蔽的游击队。橙色剂就这样大量污染了好好的一片土地，导致了许多畸形婴孩的产生。But one thing overwhelmed me was that the friendship that President Deng and President Ho built, helped the Vietnamese to overcome the hardship and the suffering of the people.
統一宮的佈局設計與周圍風景相映成輝。其中房間有總統辦公室、內閣會議室、外交大廳、總統夫人室和電影室等等。出来統一宮时, 外面下着雨. 我这真的要回去hotel冲凉了。冲完凉了, 我繼續去走走. 原来越南也有百盛的, 去逛逛走走百盛, 觉得百盛的东西不便宜, 还是大马便宜得多. 逛完后, 吃晚餐就回hotel睡觉了.
During my stay in Buon Ma Thout, not only I got to eat my pho ga (鸡丝河粉), the rest of the local delicacies like Banh Mi (法国面包), Banh Xiao, 米春卷 and com ga (Chicken rice) were so delicious, that I had put on weight when I went back to Malaysia. The only place I get to visit was called Buon Dung. It’s where I got to ride elephant. I was so shocked when the guide had to hit the poor Jumbo because it wanted to eat the sugar cane beside the road. The way the guide poked its head until it was bleeding made me realized that I should not be sitting on the elephant. They have the right to roam around the jungle and not being used by tourist like me. I felt awful that day. My lunch for that day: Bamboo rice (just like our lemang except it was without the rendang. ). In Buon Ma Thout, I had attended some Vietnamese Language class for 6 times and my Vietnamese teacher is Chi Linh. (Chi means older sister, Linh is her name). She brought me around for sight-seeing and I saw the most beautiful white house somewhere around the town when she was trying to take me to buy some noodles and bread. Vietnamese houses are long and narrow. But the bungalows in the town were so European and that they make you think you were in Europe. And everywhere you turn, you will always see those statues about soldiers. I had bought myself 5 aodais (Vietnamese costume) for my graduation. I wanted to look different for my convocation. After spending two weeks there, I just couldn’t wait to go home. For me, the stay in Vietnam is totally eye-opening and boring. The lifestyle is so simple that the people have nothing to do but drink coffee every day. (Did I mention that Buon Ma Thout is famous for its coffee product?)
And yes, I drank café day time and night time too during my stay there because like them, I had nothing to do too! It was a relaxing vacation that I really hope for.
