Seol Garden or Best Western Premier Hotel

We stayed at Seol Garden or Best Western Premier Hotel. Not really sure which name they go by. Tonight is the last night we'll be staying the night here. I've got to say that the breakfast here is really good. I really like the french toast. And they also provide vitagen like small bottle drink and yogurt for breakfast. The hotel is also 2-3 minutes walk to the MRT. I couldn't actually call this entry a hotel review because i did not even bother to check out the price and other significant details needed for a review. Anywho, do not expect any friendly faces among the Koreans because they are not known for a land of smiles. No offence.

Jeju

We are leaving Jeju island.. Jeju airport is so crowded..

We are flying off to Seol and start our tour there. We will be going to Everland Themepark. Can't wait to try the extreme ride.

Late

I knew this is going to happen. So i did not went to my colleagues house. And guess what.?? She's late. The taxi and i have been waiting for a good 20minutes.. And i am getting anxious by the minute.. I am also worried that there will be extra waiting charges. Argh~~

Hanoi or Hanok?

 It seems like the locals pronounce Hanoi as 'Hanok'.

At times, we just stood around near the traffic light and watch the traffic and beautiful ladies riding motorcycles in their pretty/ sexy dresses& high heels while waiting for my cousins shopped their asses off.

Tips: This is the tips I’ve gotten from a couple of friends and family members that is not to spend the night at Halong Bay because it is not worth the money.

Excluding the flight tickets & Hotel accommodation, I have spent USD90 for:-

- Airport pickup from and to the airport

- Halong bay bus/ van transport, boat ride to Heaven Cave inclusive of seafood lunch on the boat (1Day) with a very competent tour guide- Ms Jong. She can speak very good English and Mandarin. She can even advise you on the local food.

- A City Tour to the Museum, a couple of temples, Temple of Literature, Hoan Kiem Lake c/w lunch (Our tour guide are a couple of kids with no tour guide experience at all). This time we actually skipped a couple of place i.e: the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum due to a million people waiting in line just to go in. couldn’t stand to wait in-line under the hot morning sun. I thought we were early enough leaving the hotel at 8am. I now think that we probably need to start queuing at 7am. We also skipped the Cultural Village.

Tips: If you plan to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, turn up early to queue. 

Comment on our Asia Hanoi Hotel

Cousin U & I are considered lucky as we got the 3^rd Floor bedroom facing the street. I can still handle the honking noise. We watched ‘The Voice- Vietnam Version’ and were appalled by the level of singing that went through to the next round. The ceiling is very high. It is a little dusty and you can tell that the toilet has never been properly cleaned since the last occupants left. The door to our room and toilet also are a bit loose. The hotel is considered to be a run-down hotel. HF got the 1F bedroom where they have the creepy bathroom and ceiling with a few man holes opening. We were taken aback when the hotel insisted that we surrendered our passport to them in case of theft while walking the street. We let them have it for half a day and collected it back at night.

Halong Bay Trip

I was expecting our bus ride to Halong Bay to be a 3 hour journey.

It turns out that it took 3-4 hrs from Hanoi to Halong Bay with 20minutes halfway stop at a souvenir shop. We left our hotel at 8am and reached around 1pm.

It took 4-5hrs from Halong Bay to Hanoi with the same 20minutes halfway stop at the same souvenir shop.

This is probably because our bus is super slow. The bus is going at 60km per hour and less with no traffic. My butt was sored from sitting so long. We took off from Halong Bay around 4pm and reached Hanoi around 9pm! We were edgy and hungry. Not a good combination. People were about to blow their tops from hunger and frustration of finding and deciding on a good dining place. 

Anyway, to be so near to these natural wonders the view of Halong Bay is breath taking. We paid another USD5 each person for a row boat that fit 6 people. The rower just took us through the opening of one bay and that was it. He then turned the boat around and went to the other bay. This is not really worth it. You do have a choice of kayaking and you can go and leave whenever you want. The water is filled with jelly fish. Urgh..~ Scary.. The bay was once where one of the James Bond movies was filmed. I cannot recall which though.

We had our seafood lunch on the boat. The USD90 package is including the seafood lunch but exclude drinks. They even sell pearl on the boat.

After lunch, we went to the Heaven Cave. I thought we were going to climb far up just to get to the entrance of the cave. I was already having trouble catching my breath. But just around the corner, I saw the entrance and out came a sigh of relief. The cave was beautifully decorated with colorful lights. It was mid July, the interior of the cave is naturally ventilated but we were all still sweating bullets.

I was already expecting the weather to be hot and humid. So, I was lucky that I took an umbrella with me. We had to wait on the docks to board our boat with hundreds of other people. There were people standing around with large umbrellas for the visitors.

Fascinating Hanoi

A few unknown facts TO ME about Hanoi

1)       Hanoi actually has four seasons.

2)       It is very hard to find overweight locals.

3)      The shops/ houses are narrow, due to the width regulations set by the king.

4)      Houses with 3 stories- people only stayed at the GF level, the 1F is for storing their belongings, and the 3F is for praying.

5)      The cleanliness of the food prepared is highly questionable. I had instances where the sellers just recycle used chopstick & wipe the plate with dirty tissues before serving the next meal to the next customer. They even place back the un-eaten green veggies (witnessed near our hotel). This is because the set up where they sell their food is only the sellers with her coal & cooking stove, and 5 kids’ size chairs facing her.

They also scoured the dustbin for reusable plastic cup to re-sell sugar cane juice (witnessed in Halong Bay near the Heaven Cave).

6)      Hanoi is not like Siem Reap, Cambodia where the US Dollar is widely used. Vietnam Dong is still a much better/ convenient choice for small scale shopping on the street. As 90% of the price tag is still in Vietnam Dong. They don’t even have small change for a USD10, and we were lunching at an upper scale restaurant- Avalon Lounge & Cafe. Chances are, you’re giving them USD100 and they will return Vietnam Dong to you.

7)      Durian is a delicacy there, some people lived their whole life only tasted the fruit twice because it is too expensive. While we are taking it for granted here in our country.

8)      Hanoi recommended food:-

-          Sticky Rice with chicken/ beef etc.

-          Pho- Noodle soup made from rice. There is a famous shop just around the corner from Cuo Dong Street. Vietnamese from other parts of the country love this.

-          Fanny Ice-Cream- very fancy Ice cream restaurant

9)     Walking around Hanoi Old Quarters is a nightmare. The traffic is crazy. Crossing the many street leaves us screaming trying to avoid cars & motorcycles that does not seem to be following the traffic rules. Most of the times we could not even walk on the sidewalk because all the motorcycle were parked there, hence more screaming and looking behind our shoulder for motorcycle when walking on the road.

    The motorcycle helmet is not like a safety helmet at all. Boy, their helmet is an art on its own. No padding on the inside to cushion any blows and it is not covering the ears. This is explained by the motorcyclist not being able to hear the honking of warning from other motorists. Thus the bowl shape helmet. Some helmet for the ladies even have a hole at the back for their ponytails!

    

    There is a significant history between Hanoi & Moscow. I just didn’t get the chance to know what because our museum tour was so brief. There were even direct flights from Moscow. I thought there was more history with France.

Let’s Go Hanoi

A few things happened during this trip that spooked me out a little. It started a mere hour before the trip officially started which was at home before our journey to the airport.

Even though I did said that I am a believer, however I am a skeptic towards this happenings with my aunt. Or to put it bluntly, I don’t believe her.

I set my alarm. I was to wake up at 3am to get ready to go to the airport.

I was woken up by the sound old people make when they brush their teeth i.e.: a lot a gagging and coughing. It went on for about 15minutes, up to a point where I felt disgusted. Huh~.  After it stopped, it was my turn in the bathroom.  I didn’t think anything of it.

Only when we were in the taxi and on our way to the airport that Cousin U told me that her mum was channeling and was blessing her and her husband but didn’t thought of calling me over for a blessing. 

Old Quarters Hanoi City Tour

First thing we did after checking in had lunch at Avalon. We had ice-cream at a fast food joint Lotteria to escape from the outside heat, just a couple of shop next to the puppet show place. Lotteria have a hamburger with rice as the bun but we did not try it.

The water puppet show was quite interesting at the beginning of it all, especially with the traditional instrument performance. DSLR/ hp cameras were clicking away and people were leaning forward in their seat. But it started going down-hill when the narrator was narrating everything in Vietnamese language. They did provide a piece of paper summarizing the performance but I dozed off more than 5 times.

Tips: Be prepared to pay for DSLR Camera fees when entering the theater. 

Tips: Buy the ticket earlier if possible because the place is always fully booked. We had a member of our tour rode a motorcycle with our hotel manager to go and buy the ticket right after we reached the hotel and told her of our intention to watch the show.

When it was all over, my aunt was feeling sick. She kept asking her daughters to hit her back real hard a few times. Her eyes are getting watery as well. She said that there was ‘something’ in there. It started right when one of the performers started beating away the drums. She said that was the part where they are calling on their deities. And she was instantly affected by it. We almost took a taxi back to our hotel. Instead, we continued walking and the further we were away from the theater, the better my aunt felt. We (my colleague-HF, her sister & dad) walked all the way to our hotel street ‘Cua Dong’. We got separated from my aunt because I was trying to stick with HF. I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to find their way back since the dad was making stops along the way to buy hats and this is actually her first time being on a holiday without having any tour guide.

Tips: Be prepared to run or show a don’t-eff-with-me facial expression to fend off traders on the street. They are ruthless and can chase you down blocks of building to sell you stuff.

Complaining again

So, i will be going to Korea next Friday. I was under the impression that i would be going to my colleague's house to wait for the taxi to the airport together. Then she told me that instead, she and her brother would drive over to my place because it would be nearer to the airport. So, i agreed.
I booked the taxi online stating my home address for the pickup point and told her about it. Then she told me that if the taxi can do two pick up points because she is worried for her car. I mean i should be more worried for my car if i parked at her apartment! So i asked the taxi service if they can do two pickup points and there will be another RM45 extra charges to the RM65! Then she said it is not worth it and if i didn't mind, i could park my car at her place since her housemate won't be around and there is an extra parking space inside.
I am tempted to say ok, because she is always late and i hate to think that it runs in the family. So i better wait at her place instead.
If so, i would have to cancel the booking that i just made and let her handle the rest since the rate is still going to be the same at RM65.

Life

I  don't know how i feel about the notion of what life after death means.

The Buddhist belief that we will continue to walk the earth after we are dead does not sit right with me.

Aren't people suppose to go straight to heaven/ hell?

Currently, i have been introduced to the possibility of staying 'alive' after death in a different dimension. That we will continue to roam the earth sort of in the realm of the living but among the dead. Sometimes, we could also try to get messages across the different dimension.

I have always wonder 'what if the soul is stuck and continue to haunt the place where the body perished? And the person couldn't find their way back to their love ones.?
And recently, i have also been exposed to the possibility that the soul of the dead will follow the body home where it is buried. This has really put my mind at ease.

Picture taken from my April-May trip to Japan

I am not a spiritual person. However i do believe in a chance of life after death.