Robyn Yong - Cyber Photo Album

MRT - Vietnam Airline - Hanoi

It's travelling time again!

For this year end trip, we headed to Northern Vietnam to soak in the fast-developing city of Hanoi, trek in the Sapa highland and immerse ourselves in the serenity of Halong Bay over Christmas.

Travel Plan
18 Dec	S'pore to Hanoi
20 Dec	Trekking in Sapa Highland
23 Dec	Hanoi
24 Dec	Christmas at Halong Bay
27 Dec	Hanoi
28 Dec	Hanoi to S'pore

First Stop: Hanoi

The very first thing that hit us was the haphazard traffic! Cars, motorbikes, bicycles, tricycles, pedestrian and occasion buses all come and go in all directions, and endlessly. It's a fine display of orderliness within seemingly chaos.

	Taking in the morning calmness of Ho Hoan Kiem or Lake of the Returned Sword, which is situated right in the middle of the city. It was a stark contrast - thousands of motorbikes and vehicles dashing in all directions around the entire circumference of the lake but the calmness within remained unmoved.

The unique sight and sounds of Hanoi are everywhere. We watched as bystanders a very different type of livelihood in the Vietnamese. More significantly, we experienced a quiet resolve amongst the people there, each working purposefully and patiently towards some collective progress.

Hawkers seem to be setting up shop anywhere along the street - they sell baguettes, vegetables and even meat!

We were elated to meet with Nhung, whom we haven't met for 3 years. She took us to experience one of the best Hanoi dish - Cha Ca. The restaurant, Cha Ca La Vong, has a 5-generation history of serving only this single dish. Oh, it must be one of the best food we've ever tasted!

Robyn, Jin, Nhung & Alvin

Cha Ca

We were happy to have met Hanh and Giao from Sapa Trading and they were really nice to show us around the Hanoi city - the French Quarter and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (in pic).

Our motorbike journey in Hanoi

Riding in the exposed motorbikes and getting head-on into the haphazard traffic was more exciting than any Disneyland rides, especially when these two riders took onboard all our heavy luggage. They said, "Can. No problem. Come!"

We enjoyed trying out the interesting variety of food by the roadside. Most of the time we didn't know what they were... Well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do! Eating out from a tiny stool, we got additional spices from the passing motorbikes' exhaust...

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