gone fishing... where next?

Last year I went to Vietnam with my friend. I've been planning for this trip since early 2010. I choose Hanoi over Ho Chi Minh because I wanted to go to Halong Bay.

I didn't made any hostel reservations, but already bookmarked some choices in the Old Quarter. Old Quarter is the heart of Hanoi. Once you arrive here, you can feel the hustle and bustle of Vietnamese. Our journey in Hanoi starts literally, when we got out of the shuttle. Trust me, within a day in Hanoi you will be an expert of crossing the street full of motorcycles! Armed with a map, we are ready to explore Hanoi! The map may say 18 minutes walk to the hostel, but it turned into 40 minutes. Old Quarter is known to make people go astray. So we found our first hostel, but turned out the price are too high for us. We walked out and found a $6/ night dorm just next door, Gecko 3 Backpackers Hostel in Bat Dan St., Hoan Kiem District. They also sell the Halong tour, we bought ours for $29/ 2D1N including meals. Tip before buying a package tour; make sure you already done some research and haggle. Some people in our boat paid $25 while other paid $60.

The next day, we went to Halong Bay. We were picked up at the hostel at 8 AM, picked up some other guests, and it took 3 hours of non-stop honking shuttle to Halong City. The Vietnamese loves to honk! If you’re planning to have a good rest along the way, just forget about it. We arrive at Halong City at 12 PM, the so-called tour guide collected our passport and we waited to get on board. Since I paid for the cheapest boat, I wasn't expecting much of what will the boat look like. We got what we pay. No problem, I was there because of the view and for bonus, I got new friends from all over the world. Kayaking and swimming (minus jumping off the boat, I chose using the ladder) in Halong Bay, checked!

I was lucky to be part of Hanoi's 1000th anniversary. There were lots of celebration and festivals. Along with the festive, there comes the crowd. People were like everywhere and it was somewhat too packed. There’s always people’s head in every picture that I took. Temple of Literature, the first university in Hanoi, is pictured as a comfort and peaceful place, and then when I arrived it was full of people. HCM Mausoleum, HCM museum, One Pillar Pagoda, Lenin Park, packed also. I think it was a great time for the locals, but not too great for the travelers. I enjoyed my time in Hanoi. The food was great! I didn’t found a dish that I didn’t like. Even the motorcycles might scares, but I will go back to Hanoi!