HCMC, Hoi An, Hanoi

Ho chi Minh City was like a dream, mainly because i was still full of happy pizza. I vaguely remember Jeigh Santarina, another friend from the disc community, thoughtfully meeting us at the bus stop, ushering us to our hotel room wc he booked for us, and treating us to a delicious fare of local vietnamese cuisine. they all tasted sumptuous, and of course i was having the munchies, so i just ate everything!  thanks a lot jeigh! an added bonus-it's hanoi's 1000th anniversay, and HCMC is also celebrating. we passed by a huge stage filled w costumed performers. i would've loved to watch but i can hardly keep my eyes open. rhona and jeigh had a night cap at a nearby bar fr our hotel. i turned in early.

i woke up and was alarmed to see sunlight pouring in our window. we were aupposed to fly at 645am to danang, to hoi an. woke up rhona. it turns out that our flight got cancelled and we were moved to a 1245pm flight later that day. so i contacted another friend fr UP Samaskom, and we met for brunch. Faye Torres and husband Paolo had us taste mouth-watering pho, and very strong vietnamese coffee. gave us a quick tour of the city before we flew to danang.

Hoi-an was cozy, small and charming, with its old french facade still intact, some ancient vietnamese houses were open for a tour. Here, we enjoyed the laid-backed atmosphere, although we tried to soak as much as possible on our first day (we arrived late afternoon). we toured the entire Old Town in a couple of hours. ate rice wafer w herbs while strolling. dinner was by the river.cheap beer and cocktails!

The next morning we went to My Son, a ruin fr the Cham empire at sunrise.free breakfast of baguette w butter and jam, and lettuce, eggs, cucumber and tomatoes; and coffee. In the afternoon, we rented bikes and rode to Cua Dai Beach.got lost for a bit, poor rhona.we biked for an hour straight.the beach had a bit of a surf, rhona wished she brought her board.went back home, returned bikes, and did a bit of shopping. what i really loved abt hoi an are the artworks. there are just so many-watercolors, acrylic, silk embroidery, lacquer and w different styles at that.i bought rhona a late birthday present, a watercolor of hoi an, also as a reward for her "hard work" haha!

Our last morning, the day we had to leave for hanoi, i went to Sunday market and took pictures of the local market scene.ate pho at the sidewalk w the rest of them.

Hoi an was such a peaceful place, so much that Hanoi's boisterous birthday just shocked us. swarms of people wearing red bands over their heads. like People Power.and the motorbikes.arg.

bike commuter ako.sanay akong nabubusinahan, and i obligingly keep to my side or hug the gutter even more to make space for the bigger vehicle.pero dito- ang OA sa paggamit ng busina! at ang volume ng busina ng motorbikes nila, pang-kotse. at ang kotse, pang-bus! kaya stressed out ako nung unang araw na un, dahil kung saan saan sila galing!at walang sidewalk, kaya sa kalye talaga ang lakad namin.

buti na lang bumabawi ang hanoi sa sarap ng food.di kami umuulit ng putahe.pero namayat si rhona sa byahe na to,kasi wala kami sa oras kumain, tapos di mashado madami. parati nga kami napapa-extra rice.kaya ata payat mga vietnamese ay dahil cute lang sila kumain ng kanin. aside sa food, masarap din ang foot massage, reflexology ata ang kanilang method.and we saw the water puppet show, with traditional instruments playing alongside.

hanoi's HCM museum

we went to Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex. had pictures with the Golden Girls, a bunch of vietnamese geriatrics dressed in their traditional outfits. shopped a bit more, then rhona left for HCMC. she flies back to manila tomorrow.

saigon

hoi an lamps

to My Son

hoi an

w greg and anna at phnom penh

hoi an house

fishing at mekong

bamboo bike! eng, look!

My Son ruins

Golden Girls

Me-i had a dilemma.i was apprehensive about going to laos alone, bec of the scams going on at the borders, and the border crossings fr vietnam to laos is just plain difficult at any point of entry. with good advice fr greg, i decided to book a flight fr hanoi to luang prabang. the earliest day i could fly isn't till thursday early evening. so tomorrow i'm going to halong bay for a day.still deciding what to do in hanoi on wed and thurs.


si lola (sorry di pa ko marunong mag-crop)