Hello Hanoi!

Travel dates: 13th September 2013 - 16th September 2013
Location: South East Asia


The trip began on the early morning of 13th September 2013, 6:45 am flight with Airasia Thailand. The flight was pleasant except a heavy rain! Flying during rainy season can be a nightmare. As some people may know, taking off is not as dangerous as landing. I did give my confidence in the pilot!

Arrived at Noi Bai International airport around 8:30 am. It was a sunny day in Hanoi. On the internet, they recommend you to have US dollars and exchange them at the airport. It is the easiest way. However, Dong or the Vietnamese currency is really confusing when calculating it to US or other currencies because of the "Zero". They do not use coins.

It is roughly 1 US dollar is 21,095 VND (Vietnamese Dong)
I am sure most travelers arrived in Vietnam as Millionaire :-) I was one as well.

Because of green space in Hanoi, the weather is generally nice. It is pretty much tropical but the big trees help a lot with the heat. They provide shades so walking in Hanoi is alright. People in Hanoi use motorbikes as main type of transportation. Every individual seem to have one each. There are not much traffic lights in the city. One of the most fun things in Hanoi is to cross the streets without traffic lights. It is not illegal! People do it everywhere! For me, everyday in Hanoi Old Quarter is like a festival. So many motorbikes and so many people just walk around.

I could compare the city to Chiang mai, Thailand but more traffic and more green space.


First day: a self-guided walking tour in the old quarter and around.

Arrived at the hostel around 10:30 am. Got a minibus from the airport for 5 dollars ride. (to get a minibus or a minivan: turn right once you exit the airport). The vans will wait until it is full then they leave. This can take a while so if you have a company, it would be ok. If not, you could have a nap. Prepare for a long ride from the airport to the city center. (Takes up to 1 hour)

I stayed on the first night at Hoan Kiem Backpacker hostel: 5 dollars a night! The room was clean. Generally, the city is clean. I didn't see any rats running around at all! The hostel offers free wi-fi downstairs as well as cafes in Hanoi. There are cafes in every single corner of Hanoi I would say. Don't expect a cafe like in Paris :-) Expect plastic chairs :)


I did The Temple of literature, Hoan Kiem Lake, The opera house and the Old quarter. I am impressed with how beautiful the temple of literature is. Vietnam has been influenced by China and French. The language and even the culture has its mixture of the two. The temples are obviously Chinese style: lanterns, Chinese buddhas and all that. Cafes and baguette
kind of represent a way of life adapted from the French colonial period.


Once you are in Hanoi, it is best to try street food! the famous noodle soup: PHO! The food does not have much flavour like food in Thailand. It is quite bland but I noticed the Vietnamese do eat a lot of fresh vegetables. It explains why most Vietnamese people are not overweight. Fruit are sold everywhere. There were not many fast food restaurants. You don't see Starbucks here and I am glad!

People are nice overall. Some can be rude. I guess you can find it anywhere in the world. Friendly and rude people.


Day 2: More walking: visited cafes and the French quarter.

A friend from Bangkok joined me in Hanoi today. We moved to a nice hotel called Tirant hotel. It is located just in the old quarter. We did more of self-guided walking tour: stopped and enjoyed the street food and the markets. Hearing motorbikes beeping is a signature of Hanoi. People do not get angry but it is how they signal pedestrians to be careful. Don't get angry about it. The noises can be so annoying but you will be used to it.


There are massive street markets from Friday to Sunday nights. That's the beauty of it. People in Hanoi don't go out drinking as much. Opening up a bar might not be a good business. People seem to enjoy outdoor activities: chill out by the lake, going for a run by the lake and lots of couples flirting by the lake! Lake is actually like the center for everything :-). Our plan was to visit the Revolution Museum but it was closed so we only went to Hanoi Prison. It was spooky but informative too. Well, the stories told could be a propaganda. It was interesting to see it anyway. They call it Hanoi Hilton because there was a story that the US pilots were captured and imprisoned with such good treatments. They were provided a basketball court. They were not chained up. Again, it could just be a propaganda.!


The sad thing about Hanoi is I see lots of businesses are turn into hotels and apartments now. I spent a few hours looking for a cafe called Cafe Des Arts, which was one of the oldest cafes. Saw a picture on the internet and I thought I would check it out. It is now a hotel though.

Day 3: Halong Bay

25 dollars each for the one day tour.  Some other people pay as less as 16 dollars. Make sure you negotiate! We got ripped off. It was just OK! again just OK! You can't compare it to south of Thailand. The bay was massive though. The view was brilliant. Thousands and thousands of limestone and a big cave! I don't think you can see it anywhere else. It has been listed as one of UNESCO heritage sites. It needs more maintenance. The water is not clean enough to swim. Trash was everywhere! plastic plastic and plastic!

I would not suggest anyone to go actually. I would rather suggest them to go to Sapa if they have time. I heard about a snake village as well so if you like something really really out of ordinary, the village should be a place to go. They basically kill a snake in front of you, drain the blood, let you drink it and stir fry the meat! awww.


Here are some photos taken on the trip:

Inside the temple of literature

Halong Bay

Hanoi Opera House

Buddha's hand Citron Fruit 

Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square 

Hoan Kiem Lake & A Bridge to temple of the jade mountain 

Sam & I , kayaking in Halong Bay

Halong Bay

At the temple of literature 

The Philippines (Pilipinas) - Angeles City / Vigan City

THE PHILIPPINES, the country that was once a Spanish colony. In 1521, the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan marked the beginning of an era of Spanish interest and eventual colonisation. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. The Spanish Empire began to settle with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from New Spain (present day-Mexico) in 1565 who established the first Spanish settlement in the archipelago, which remained a Spanish colony for more than 300 years, approximately from 1565 - 1821.

Travel dates: 19th July 2013 - 23th July 2013 (~4 days)
Location: South East Asia

Day 1: Arrival at Clark Airport
Arrived around 12: 55 am on the 20th July 2013 at Clark International Airport (formerly known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport). I booked a hostel called Angeles Budget Hostel. It is located around 10 minutes by a jeepney (a common type of transport) from a famous walking street in Angeles City. Angeles City was used as a US military base during World War II. Angeles city is not really a city for tourism. The city has its reputation for prostitution. However, there is a few places around the city where you can spend a day or two exploring such as Mount Pinatubo or Mount Arayat.

Clark International Airport

The reason I flew to Clark is because I found a cheap return ticket with Tigerairways for only 4,000 THB or 130 US dollars (BKK - Clark). I started my travel from there. A main transportation in Angeles city is Jeepney and tricycle. Jeeney (modified jeep) costs 8 peso for a trip. From Angeles Budget Hostel, a jeepney staiton is located on a main street called Perimeter road. A jeepney takes you to main gate, where you can take another jeepney to DAU (Da-hoo) - a bus station that goes north and south bound. 

 

Tricycle, another type of transportation in the Philippines, slightly more expensive than a Jeepney.

Manila is located around 1 hour bus ride south of Clark International airport. You can take a bus from DAU for 114 peso (no air-con).

Day 2: Manila

Manila may not be suitable for everyone. As for me, I didn't find Manila a good place for traveling. I decided to go though because I wanted to see how the city is. It is not the worst experience but surely traffic was a nightmare (coming from a person who lives in Bangkok). The best way to get around is via a light rail system (LTR) and then a jeepney to your destination since most tourist attractions are not located next to LTR stations. I only spent a few hours at Intramuros (a historic part of Manila with Spanish colonial buildings, a part of it is now a University). I really enjoyed Intramuros though. I  got a tricycle to ride me around; 200 peso for half an hour.

After spending a day in Manila, I decided to go to Vigan city. Vigan city is located roughly 10 hours north of Manila. Got a bus with a company called Partas (The only bus company that goes to Vigan from Manila). The station is located in Cubao, an area in the east of Manila. Finding the station is not easy. You have to keep asking around. This is when google maps comes in handy! just type in Partas Transportation Company then you will find out where it is. I got lost but getting lost is actually fun!

Day 3: Vigan City

The bus from Manila takes about 10 hours so I arrived late around 2 am in the morning. It was difficult to find a hotel. I asked a tricycle at the station, paid 50 peso. He took me to a place called Riverside hotel or something, 800 peso a night. Got up 9 am and went straight to the famous street "Calle Crisologo". Vigan city is a small city compare to Manila. The air is much more clean and people seem more relaxed.

People in Vigan city are so nice. They don't try to rip you off like in people Angeles city or Manila. I got a "Kalesa", a typical horse ride for tourists on Calle Crisologo to show me around for a few hours (150 peso per hour!Great deal!). Places we went include Museums, hidden garden, beach, a zoo and a pottery. 

Unfortunately, I lost my camera so pictures taken with an iphone were available. I would have posted more beautiful pictures of Bantay bell tower, another attraction in Vigan and also a pot that I carefully made!. I based my travel attractions on tripadvisor. It is a great site I have to say!If you do have enough time, I recommend to follow Tripadvisor top 6 attractions. Once you are on a road, it is ok to get lost because then you find something else apart from what is written on the site.

It was about 8 pm when I got a bus back from Vigan to Angeles city. Again, 1 day in Vigan is kind of enough. I spent a few hours after the tour for a facial, body scrub, pedicure and a body massage, total of 800 peso (tips included!). Vigan city was indeed the highlight! beautiful city! UNESCO world heritage has its fame!

On my way back to Angeles city, I got a bus with a company called Dominion. They dropped me off at DAU. From there, got a jeepney to Fields avenue then another jeepney to Angeles Budget hotel.


Day 4: Angeles City , SM Clark, Fields Ave.

Upon my arrival in Angeles city, I arrived late again around 3 am. Explored Fields Ave. Got back to the hotel. Had a sleep and woke up to explore SM city clark.The biggest shopping mall in town! Definitely did some good purchases. I spent my last night in Angeles in the hostel, met a cool Japanese guy who is there to study English. We agreed that Pilipinas is an interesting country with its unique history. I wish I could actually spend more time exploring the beaches and volcano sites. Next time it is!

Last day:

Got up early to a water theme park "fontana". It was not impressive as it seems. However,I enjoyed a man-made hot spring on my last day before my flight home......

 

Tips: 
1. Take care of your belongings really well. There are lots of pickpockets.
2. Don't walk alone in a quiet place at night 
3. Go shopping! It is cheap to do so! SM city clark is great!
4. Eat local food. Not as great as Thai food but you can save a lot of money. Try banana and mango! 
5. Some Filipinos can speak English well but some can't so be prepared.
6. Don't lose your camera like I did! :-)


I spent only roughly 350 US dollars including a return air ticket BKK-Clark. I am sure you can find a good deal like that too! If you get lost, don't be scared. You will always find a solution. Keep asking people around! 
Happy travelling! 

And for those you need information on Angeles city, Fields Avenue, Vigan city, how to go there, what to expect and all that. Feel free to contact me! Happy to help!

Ciao for now.

อุทยานแห่งชาติหมู่เกาะอ่างทอง - Ang Thong Marine Park / จังหวัดสุราษฎร์ธานี - Surat Thani

GOING to the beach during rainy season can be a bit of a mess. We were quite lucky to experience an amazing sight of Ang Thong Marine Park without rain and storm. It took us a while to get to our destination though. It was definitely worth it.

Travel date: 21st to 23rd July 2013

Location: South of Thailand

Day 1: (Friday)

We booked our flight with Nokair.com. The flight left Don Mueang Airport at 6:10 am and arrived at Surat Thani Airport around 7:20 am. It was a short flight. Our journey didn't even start yet. After we landed at the airport, there were four of us so we hired a taxi from the airport to Don Sak Pier, located roughly 1.30 hour from the airport. We paid 600 Baht each, including the ferry from Don Sak pier to Koh Phangan.

The ferry took us the longest. It was 2.30 hours! The ferry company was Rajaferry. It left Don Sak pier at 10 am. The ferry was quite big. We got seats in the air-con room. The hightlight was this ferry trip was we saw a few dolphins welcoming us at Don Sak pier. There is the photo. It may be hard to see :-) It was not a log! I didn't hallucinate. LoL

Look closely at the Dolphin Fins!

On Koh Phangan, we booked an accomodation on Haad Mae Haad beach called Mae Haad beach view resort. It is suppposed to be the most quiet beach compare to other parts, especially Haad Rin; that's where the full moon party is. We contacted the bangalow staff to pick us up from the pier. it costs us 100 THB each which I think it is reasonable.

Finally arrived! I remember it was about 2 pm when we actually sat in front of the bangalow breathing fresh air of the south sea. It was so windy that we didn't need an air-con. The bangalow was 600THB for two nights / each person! It was fantastic! Not the best place for people who like to party because it is difficult to get around from there but those who like quiet beach, I recommend. The only thing was there were quite a long of sea urchins and rocky , dead corals on the beach so be careful. It was not that clean either when the tide comes up. Trash were all over. The beach is next to so-called Koh Mak. It is supposed to be an island but according to our guy, it is not :-) That was the reason we decided to stay because we thought we could walk to the island when the tide comes down. We never had to wait!

So we had some food just at the restaurant close by, had a nap and went swimming that day. We ended the day with a walk around the bungalow and literally slept around 9 pm!

Day 2: (Saturday) - The day of highlight

We booked a tour with (an unknown company) via the bungalow staff. A day our to Ang Thong Marine Park (Includes breakfast, lunch, snacks, snorkeling and the mask). Total of 1,700 THB, which I think it is not a lot at all for what we did.

1st stop: Snorkeling

The boat dropped us at this spot where there were many other boats dropping the tourists off for a snorkel. The visibility was not the best but once we got closer to the beach. We could see more clearly. Our boat has a slider. A few of us did a jump from the roof which was about 4 meters tall. Was indeed FUN!  We had about 30 to 40 minutres for the snorkeling & then lunch on the boat. We were served with mixture of thai curries, followed by watermelon and pineapple.

2nd stop: The Lagoon

This lagoon was actually breathtaking. We were not allowed to swim or jump into the water. It was pristine. It reminded me of a place described by the beach movie. Just no one inhabiting the place. The water was green and the plants were healthily growing. Just what we needed to see, coming from a big city like Bangkok. The walk up and down was easy. The steps were contructed for easy access.

Pristine, isn't it?

3rd stop: The Majestic view point of Ang Thong Marine park.

The boat took us to another spot, about 15 minutes away from the lagoon. I was first not allowed to do the hike. Well, because I was wearing a pair of flip flop. We convincted the tour lady to grant us eventually :-) The climb was really not that hard in the begining. Took about 1 hour I think. The last 100 metres was scary  though. You can see it from the picture. Once we got up there, it was just a paradise, we were on this platform 4 x 4 meters & standing looking at the whole thing. It was just memorable!

We travelled back to Koh Phangan, back to the bungalow around 6 pm. We had some dinner just at a place close to our accomodation and went to sleep around 11 pm. No party :-x . It was indeed an exhausting day to remember.

Day 3: Masssage by the beach

We didn't have much time to do anything today. We had to leave Koh Phangan around 13.00 for the ferry. However, we had a body massage by the beach. F*ing brilliant! They did crack our bones! LoL My attention was much into the Aloe Vera Garden! how amazing! They use it for their clients for sunburn. Most places would use artificial gel. I don't remember the name of that parlor but recommend! it is the only one by a corner of Haad Mae Haad Beach. 

So we checked out, got the ferry and got a minivan to Surat Thani to have dinner. The town was interesting. We could tell that there was a lot of Chinese influrence from seeing the Chinese temples everywhere in the center. We waited for our taxi guy from the airport to pick us up and left for Bangkok on a 9:20 pm flight.

 Budget for this trip for each person

Flight ticket: ~ 2,000 THB

Transportation:

600 THB Taxi & Ferry from Surat Airport to Don Sak

200 THB A pick-up from Koh Phagnan pier and back

420 THB A ferry from Koh Phagnan to Don sak

125 THB A Taxi from Surat Town to Surat Airport

1,700 THB Ang Thong Marine Park Day Tour

600 THB Accomodation

500 THB Food

350THB Massage

This cost is estimated.

Contact Info:

Taxi: Khun Kai 092-124-1412 From Surat Airport to Don Sak Pier, Pier to Surat Airport

 (Price is negotiatable)

www.booking.com for Mae haad beach view resort; contact Khun Kaew 089-823-9756

  



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