Dear Pipsqueaks,
It was another one of those mornings where I had automatically gone through the routines and found myself at the breakfast table sipping on my noodle soup with beef and noodles. When I said I can have this for breakfast everyday, I wasn't kidding.
Not long after we swallowed our last bite of breakfast, our guide had arrived. How not exciting does a 4hr bus ride to and back (totally of 8hrs) sound? Very not exciting. But, the long hours were so worth it.
We joined the tour cruise named Alova, and the staff were fantastically friendly. Even though we were kinda fed through this touristy shop to use the toilets during drive breaks, it was kind of neat to see the local crafts. They also supported handicapped/disabled people by teaching them how to make local crafts or be a part of the sales team - so yes, wanting to put in my two cents for such a good cause, I found a piece I liked and brought it home.
(It was too bright that I couldn't open my eyes for the photo! But, what a nice weather to be out cruising in Halong Bay eh?!)
(Dock where you switch to a smaller boat to go under these openings to other pockets of the Bay)
(Would have been nice if there weren't 10 boats following us, though I gather during peak hours, there would be more boats than that, so meh!)
(My favourite photo of the whole trip!)
(USD12 - not bad if I must say so myself. Bigger pieces ranged in the USD100, but I'm alright bringing a small piece of Halong Bay back with me.)
Booking the day trip makes it easier altogether - not having to worry about scheduling bus rides, looking for restaurants, checking boat availability. Everything was handled and all we had to do was enjoy the scenery and ourselves - and really, that's what going on holidays mean!
Craving for another bowl of the best pho I've ever had, we went back to Quan An Ngon for dinner. What follows dinner? Vietnamese coffee, of course! Nothing beats having a fair-priced coffee shop - Fagioli - right across our hotel. They even sold us a bag of their ground coffee stock because they didn't think any of the coffee being sold on the streets here is good - they get their coffee directly from a coffee farm far from Hanoi. It was funny as they don't normally sell coffee like this...so I'm guessing they had to just come up with a random price. Oh wells, 170,000 dong for a 500g and a filter? Not bad at all.
Anyway, winding down now to wake up in time for postcard writing. Flight back to KL at 9:20am, so a 7am departure from hotel. 6am wake...too early for vacation! Meh, I'll just catch up on zZZz when we get home. I'll sure miss Hanoi! But, I'm sure we'll be back, some day.
Last good night from Hanoi.
Peace out!
Peace out!
P.S. I'll be writing a summary piece on Hanoi tomorrow, so if you want some quick notes, make sure to check back here. Nights, peeps!