Thursday 15 November 2012

Hanoi & Halong Bay, Vietnam

In September 2012, purchased a Groupon Deal for a 4nights/5days package at Thaison Hotel, Hanoi inclusive one night stay in Halong Bay.

It was actually Halong Bay that caught my attention. Ha Long Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long, literally: "descending dragon bay") is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. It has an area of around 1,553 km, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. It is good enough to convince me to purchase the deal. Made the hotel booking, flight arrangements and the trip is on!

Tam Coc - Bich Dong ( Tam Cốc - Bích Động) is a popular tourist destination near the city of Ninh Binh in north. It is a 4 hours torture on your rear end each way but worth the trip. Not to be missed!
The Tam Coc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngo Dong river, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.

It rain when we touched down at Noi Bai International Airport. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told there is a typhoon coming towards Halong Bay and Hanoi. No junk boats were allowed to go out to sea. It rained and rained until the day after. We were worried that the trip to Halong Bay will not be possible and it was supposed to be the highlight of the trip to Hanoi! Although, with the change in plans, we managed to cover Tam Coc (which was a better experience) together with a day trip to Halong Bay in perfect overcast skies. In the end, a bonus as we covered another place of interests at no extra costs.

Highlights
  • exploring the 'Old Quarter' or 36 streets
  • City tour
  • Tam Coc
  • Halong Bay
Downside
Travelling to and fro to Tam Coc and Halong Bay. The roads are dual lanes and in bad conditions with plenty of potholes. Traffic is heavy with trucks, buses, vans and countless of motorcycles. So a journey of about 180 km takes at least 4 hours. Prepare for discomfort on your rear end.

Food is generally so so. More misses than hits.

Destination : Hanoi/Tam Coc/Halong Bay Vietnam
Date : 27 to 31 October 2012
Accomodation : Thaison Hotel, 3 Stars
Groupon Deal : RM948 for 2 pax, hotel stay plus breakfast, overnight excursion to Halong Bay.
Flight : MAS - RM1,544 for 2 pax wi return
Airport Transfer - USD18 each way (total RM108)
Hanoi City Day Tour - USD30 pp (total RM180)
Mum's Rating : 7/10
Conclusion : If you haven't been to Hanoi, it is worth the trip.

Our hotel, just off the 'Old Quarter'
 
Upgraded to a deluxe room at no cost!


Ho Kiem Lake

Their version of our Ramli Burger stalls

Street food Hanoi style sitting on small stools at the road side.

One of our dinner, it cost about RM16


Street pubs drinking down 'Bia Hoi' the local beer is very popular


Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

One Pillar Pagoda

Young school girls in their national costume on graduation day


2 hours boat ride in Tam Coc. See how they are rowing with their feet!

Inland version of Halong Bay. Very serene and scenic.


At Halong Bay 
Multitude of ships at the port.








No prizes for guessing what this is...

Dong Xuan Indoor Market

Shopping for souvenirs

Bought lotus seed crunchy snack

Noticed the buildings are long and narrow. Something to do with taxes on the width of buildings.

Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, Malaysia

Destination : Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, West Malaysia
Date : 21 - 23 Sept 2012

A much needed family trip (from the stress and pressures of work!) together with Lai Kheng's family to Pulau Perhentian. The Perhentian Islands lie approximately 10 nautical miles off the northeastern coast of West Malaysia in the state of Terengganu. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil. From Kuala Besut, it is only half an hour by speedboat. Our last trip to this beautiful islands was with Lawrence and family at least 12 years ago!

So, this trip was a much anticipated snorkelling trip and not knowing what to expect in terms of weather, water clarity, variety of marine life and the conditions of the corals. Our last few trips to Tioman and Redang islands left us disappointed in what we saw beneath the sea.

Our jouney to and fro was by car and the distance and monotony of the return journey and the thought of going back to work was alleviated by the choice of using an alternative route (by GPS) via Gua Musang, Cameron Highlands instead of the usual East-West highway via Grik. In the end, the journey was much quicker and shorter distance. I will probably use this route for my trips to the East Coast islands. It certainly won't be the last.

And for the first time, Mr Ong, the tour operator, managed to coax Lai Ying to actually go snorkelling, literally swimming in open sea with depths of 10 to 15 feet! She not only snorkel albeit with the life jacket on, see many fishes and corals but also managed to touch the resident turtle off the pier when it surface to breathe!!

Details:
Accomodation : Coral View Island Resort, Garden View Chalet RM240 per night w/o meals, 2 Stars
Speed boat plus 2 snorkelling trips - RM145 pp
Tour Operator : Mr Ong, 019-4475135
Mum's Rating : 7/10
Photos : Courtesy of Edward Lim
Conclusion : This is certainly not our last! But will try another resort perhaps PIR, it has a better front beach.
The pier

Coral View Island Resort

Thousands upon thousands of fishes at the pier

Resident turtle off the pier, reportedly being there for many years. That's the turtle that Lai Ying touched!

Elusive mermaids caught on camera!

Beautiful corals abound



Clown fish guarding its turf
A black clown fish. Something you don't see often.
 

A bed of anemones, awesome!

Thriving corals

The snorkellers

Mr & Mrs Jacques Cousteau


 
 


Anemone close-up