Hanoi Day 3: Lunch & Dinner on board

Once being transfer to our boat, we were served with lunch. 6 person shared a table of this :) 

The meal is nice and tasty.

Fried chicken. Japanese style? Crispy on the outside, soft and juicy in the inside. Nice!

Fried fish. Nice too!

Cucumber salad.

Tofu.

Mixed Vegie.

Stir fry cabbage.

And for the rest below is from our dinner :)

Salad!

Fried spring roll again.

Drunken prawn. My friend actually got drunken eating this.

Sliced roast chicken.

Drunken shells.

And stir fry beef.

The foods was very delicious although it is prepared on board. Nice!

Hanoi Day 3 & 4: Halong Bay

Day 3 &Day 4 was spent on Halong Bay. We booked Halong Bay tour with Hanoi Guesthouse as well, cost USD95/pax for superior package. It took about 3 hours to arrived to harbour before being transfer to our junk and sailed out to Halong Bay.

Arriving harbour. It's drizzling and very cold!

Our Junk - The Fantasea - which we will spend 2 day 1 night here.

The room was a bit small but considering this is on a junk .. so it's OK.

The bathroom. The hot water is so limited and water pressure is very small especially when everyone on board having shower on the same time. So, remember to be fast.

After lunch, we were brought to cruise around the Bay.

We hike up to the Sung Sot cave.

Inside the cave.

We then stop at another spot for small hiking to catch a breathtaking view.

After the hike, we were supposed to stop by the beach to have leisure swim, but due to the weather is so cold, all of us agreed to skip it.

We then proceed to kayak activity to enjoy the view. It is really mesmerizing. It's a regret that I too obey the rules of no camera. I missed out taking the breathtaking view :(

On day 4, our junk did not stop anywhere. We cruise around the bay, enjoying the view on the junk itself.

The view is really nice, especially on the cold weather and a bunch of friendly and entertaining junk-mate :)

Hanoi Day 2: Dinner @ Thai Dat BBQ & Countryside

Once our tour bus arrived Hanoi City, we requested them to stop us at Xoi Yen, local restaurant famous with sticky rice. But luck was not on our side. The shop had closed. 

So we walk around. We saw this BBQ stalls and a lot of patrons. So we decided to give it a try.

We do not know the price of the stuffs, so we do not dare to pick too much foods. Although most of the sticks look so tempting.

We picked a few, pass to the waitress. They will grill for us half cooked before pass it back to us to grilled it fully cook. We enjoyed this a lot. BBQ with a glass of local beer  :)

Total bill come up as VND275000! Which is RM48. Just for that few things in the picture.

Due to not feeling full enough, we wonder around and stop by Countryside Restaurant.

We ordered Chicken Pho. Nice!!

And grilled pork Bun Cha. This is sooo nice too!

Total bill for this 2 set is VND245000 = RM42; includes 4 glass of fruit juice. Price is OK. Not too cheap but not too expensive.

Hanoi Day 2: Hoa Lu - Tam Coc Tour

On Day 2, we went to Hao Lu - Tam Coc tour booked with Hanoi Guesthouse at USD39/pax (superior tour). The tour guide is very good and informative! He told us a lot about Vietnamese life and also some tips to have a better trip.

Tips #1: it is normal that Vietnamese will bug you to buy things from them. If you don't have intention to buy, just walk straight and don't look at them. Don't ask the price etc. It's not necessary to be polite to tell them NO. Just walk straight. 

Tips #2: the speed limit for vehicle in Hanoi City is 40km/h. So it won't hurt if there is accident. If you want to cross the road, just cross it but maintain your speed. Don't stop and don't turn your head left and right. You can observe the coming vehicle through corner of your eyes, but stay calm, maintain your speed and cross the road. The vehicle will avoid you naturally.

Hoa Lu is located 100 km south of Hanoi, was the capital city of Vietnam under the Dinh Dynasty between AD 968 and AD 980. Some of the sanctuaries and tombs have survived the countless years and can still be visited today. Apart from the historical aspects, the area is also one of astounding natural beauty with limestone peaks whose splendor is often said to surpass that of Ha Long Bay.

We departed from Hanoi City about 8am and arrived to Hoa Lu about 10am.  We visited the the two temples of King Dinh and King Le that was built in 10th century.

We then continue our journey to Tam Coc, 10km from Hoa Lu.

Once arrived, we were brought to lunch at a local restaurant. Buffet style lunch.

Fried spring roll again!

Grilled lamb meat to be wrap with spring roll skin. This is so nice.

Variety of soups. Eerr...

Some of the foods available.

After lunch, we walk to nearby pier for our bamboo boat ride.

 The boat was row through Hoang Long river to visit Tam Coc (three caves). Along the way, you also have chance to see the paddy field if you visit Tam Coc in April or September. The view is so nice and calming despite it is very cold!

Before the trip, friends told me, the local people that row the boat will stop at the middle of the river and requested you to buy something before they continue the journey. And a lot of local photographers taking your pictures and will print and sell to you as well. I was quite worry about this too.

And yep, it's true that there is local people with DSLR taking your pictures, print it out and sell to you at USD1. And also in the middle of the journey, they will stop their boat and sell souvenirs item to you. We were lucky our rower did not sell anything to us, perhaps due to I don't look good because I'm very cold.

Our friends on the other boat bought some souvenirs from the rower, as the price was not too expensive and it's just a token to help the local.

So, don't be too worry and enjoy your boat ride :)

Hanoi Day 1: Dinner @ New Day Restaurant.

After a tiring day of waking up early to catch our flight and tour directly after arriving, we settle our dinner  nearby our guesthouse; just a few shop away. This place is listed as one of the recommended restaurant in the tour guide brochure provided by guesthouse.

The place was quite crowded with people, mainly local. They provide us with menu but we had no idea what to order. Then we saw the locals went to pick their own dish from the kitchen and we asked them what is the recommended foods there. The friendly local whom we shared table with; advise us to go to the kitchen to have a look and pick our own dish just like Malaysian 'economy mix rice' style.

We picked this. Pucuk rebung.

Lemongrass fried chicken. This is sooo delicious! The taste marinated and absorb well in the chicken.

Fish. No idea what fish is this. But this is just so-so.

Caramelized pork meat. Nice.

Fried Spring Roll again.. Hehe.. Nice!

Jasmine lemon tea. This taste a bit weird because the lemon is not the lemon that I know of. Total bill for this is USD16. Yep.. can pay in USD, we counted and its cheaper than paying in VND.

New Day Restaurant

72, Ma May Road, Hanoi