Where Dragons Descend –Halong Bay

“ You have never been to Vietnam if you haven’t been to Halong Bay”

I heard that so many times that I just have to see what really is in Halong Bay that Vietnamese gives so much importance to it. Legend is the limestone formations were created when mythical beasts descended from the heaven spitting rock and fire to protect the Vietnamese aganst the Chinese invaders, at least thats what our guide told us. It is almost tantamount to saying ‘You have never been to the Philippines if you haven’t sung your heart out in videoke at least once’. Yep, every foreigner I meet think all Filipinos can sing, which is good but bad for me but I could not sing to save my life, does that make me less of a Filipinos then?

Halong Bay is located in Quang Ninh province, a good 3 hour drive if you’re driver will drive past 40 km/hr and will not stop for any gift shops along the way. If you book a tour, be prepared to spend a total of 8 hours travelling to and from Halong Bay and an hour of it is actually spent inside a gift shop 🙂

I took the 1 day tour for Halong because I have very limited time in Vietnam and don’t want to spend too much time in one tourist attraction, also, the day tour is a lot cheaper than going for the 2D-1N cruise. I was pretty happy with my decision to get the day tour as I have the attention span of a gnat and would probably lose interest in limestone formation in a day. But if you’re the type who like cruising and watching the sunrise and sunset stuff, then better get the overnight stay on a junk boat, at least to compensate for the long trip. And if you’re thinking that you will be staying in pirate-ship like wooden boat overnight because in the website and brochures it shows as this, then be prepared to be disappointed. All boats are painted white, as mandated by the Vietnamese government – another beautiful tradition being junked in favor of boring uniformity.

The days of brown, wooden junk boats are long gone. Welcome to boring uniformity!

Crazy things to do in Vietnam (at least things I did)

Yeah, it was my first backpacking trip alone in a foreign country and I am not exactly the most sensible person when it comes to logical travelling. I don’t have much money but I did not have any budget on anything, I have 7 days without any itinerary, I want to get out but I don’t have any plans. I just sort of went out and do whatever I want, which is not exactly a very good idea but at least I don’t have regrets or anything that I haven’t tried it at least once in my life.

• Get a haircut from a Vietnamese barber who cannot understand English on some nameless street in Hanoi without any mirror. In short, you just have to trust the barber that he is doing the right thing and he is not shearing you bald. My haircut cost about 4 USD and lasted for an hour. Yep, longest haircut in my life and I was convinced that I am going home to the Philippines bald. Boy, was I wrong, the haircut was by far, the nicest one I had in years. And I actually learned the results 30 minutes after the deed was done when I went to a coffee shop to use their toilet 🙂
• Get a herbal bath in Sapa. Okay, I was in Sapa and I was talking to these equally crazy Australian who wanted to try out the herbal bath. I was technically thinking of bathtubs with loads of oils and fragrances and all that spa stuff. Apparently, the Hmong people have another idea on that. Instead of oils and fragrances, they boiled a lot of herbs, put it in a big wooden barrel and put yourself inside that barrel. I was okay with it since I am tiny but how the Australian guy got into it, I have no idea, he said he was in upside down fetal position. When I got out of that barrel, I was feeling refreshed but smelling like I soaked myself on tea leaves haha.

Herbal bath, anyone?

• Go on a Sapa trek using Sanuk shoes. Up until now I could not believe I was that stupid to even try this. Trekking in Sapa during the rainy season would require rain boots and all the necessary trekking gears. It was muddy and so slippery that I fell on my ass so many times I can count that in the end I finally decided to stop walking and just slide down using my butt, seriously, that was easier. I have to retire my Sanuk shoes and my jeans though.

My dear Sanuk, you and I have been to 4 countries now, I’m afraid I have to retire you after this.

• Go around Hanoi without any map. Yep, I am a geographic idiot but I really am a bigger idiot to forget to bring the city map and not know the street of the hostel I was staying in. So there I was at 11 PM walking on some deserted street in Hanoi, feeling very lost but looking very much like I know where I was going.  It was just by luck that I found Dong Xuan market and remembered that my hostel is just a block away from it.
• Get on a motorbike at 5 am in the morning and go around Hanoi. Pretty easy right? Except that I just came from a 12 hour bus ride without any sleep and I was in danger of falling off the bike while the driver was navigating the streets of Hanoi. And the motorbike traffic in Hanoi is really unlike anything I have seen in my life. I actually closed my eyes for a couple of times because I was so scared we would actually crash. But we didn’t and that’s why I am still writing this silly blog on the stupid things I did haha.

I know those things were pretty stupid and no sane person would ever do that, but hey, it really made my trip more interesting 🙂

Sleepless in Singapore Day 1

Esplanade

Nothing says ‘Singapore!’ than the Merlion Park and nothing stands out like a sore thumb that screams ‘poor tourists!’ like haggard looks, big backpacks and Changi Airport smell. We’re not broke, we’re just cheap that’s why we saved up all the cash for the taxi and decided to spend more on energy by staying at Changi till morning. McDonalds and Starbucks helped us get through the night. Not really a cheap idea though. Fastfood in Singapore cost almost 3x more than what it cost back in PH.

First, a strong cup of coffee to feed the brain false energy signals.

Exploring Balamban 2: Adventure Cafe

After my little escapade in Island in the Sky, I was starving and my first thought was actually to try out the real Balamban Liempo. Nah, there are loads of Balamban Liempo in the city, I thought I better try something new that I could actually win bragging rights. Then I distinctly remember passing by a newly opened cafe; Adventure Cafe.

Adventure Cafe

Loser mode: alone and starving

The selection was just so-so but I guess if you drove all the way up there, it must be not just for food. Price wise, umm, reasonable I guess. Not the usual cheap but yummy food I usually go for. Anyway, my order took a while but the view took my mind off from the grumbling stomach. Mind over matter stuff.

Crimson Resort and Spa Day Tour

Crimson Resort and Spa

I still could not believe I turned down a freebie; a day tour of the posh Crimson Resort and Spa. I am not normally the type to shell out for day tours to expensive resorts, I would rather wait until I could get it for free usually in the form of company outing or a wealthy relative 🙂

A day tour to Crimson Resort and Spa will set you back 1800 pesos, and that is already inclusive of buffet lunch and use of all their facilities. Not bad, but I wonder how Crimson would fare compared to Imperial Waterpark. Pricewise, they are almost the same.

Food Lovers Guide to Larsian

I don’t know why they call it Larsian but the place is probably an institution in Cebu City; it has been there even before I was born. But if you happen to be in Cebu City, it is really worth stopping by.

1. Larsian is located beside Chong Hua Hospital, you can get there by cab or by PUJ (Public Utility Jeepney). If you will opt for the cab, you can just tell the driver you want to go to Larsian, all drivers know where it is. If you want a cheaper option, look for PUJs that plies the Robinson route (if point of reference is Ayala Center Cebu, you need to walk half a block to get to Asilo Milagrosa jeepney stop and look for PUJs with signs 04C and 17C). Get down in Robinsons Place and ask for directions to Larsian. Larsian is a 5 minute walk at leisurely pace from Robinsons Place.

2. Larsian consists of many stalls, all of them selling barbecue of all kinds (intestines, gizzard, chicken, pork, liver,etc..). Once you’ve chosen your vendor of choice, you get to choose what you would like to be barbecued and then the ‘attendants’ will guide you to your table.

3. They will not take your order of hanging rice, they will automatically put a basket of it in front of you. And no, you dont have to finish all of it, they will just count how many you ate when you’re done.

4. To eat puso or hanging rice, there’s no need to untangle the weaving, the ‘puso’ is already cut in half for your convenience.

5. There are no spoon and forks around, barbecue is best eaten with your hands. You can wash your hands on designated areas or you can just use the plastic as gloves while you eat with your hands.

Ngohiong Anyone?

I like to eat and aside from travel and seeing the world in brand new eyes, I like cheap good food. The cheaper the better. I don’t eat food that tastes like cardboard unless absolutely necessary (e.g. I have to eat and there’s nothing edible within 20 km radius aside from the cardboard tasting food). And for being cheap and tasty, I will the Chineses Ngohiong space in my blog as credit for being part of my college diet.

Reasons why I like eating ngohiong:

1. It is tasty and cheap.

2. Aside from the oil, the ingredients are quite healthy.

3. And last, tasty ngohiongs are not hard to find.

It is not hard to find but the best tasting ones are usually not found in malls so if you’re up for a mini food trip for your ngohiong craving, then continue reading.

Hong Kong in a Day

Let me start my Hong Kong tour with a sleepless night thinking of how bad I messed up and I will need a mini miracle to get through this: I booked our Hong Kong tour on the wrong date! But kudos to the travel agency with their resiliency, I called up their emergency contact number at 7 AM and they were able to reschedule our tour on the same day and same schedule I originally planned. Phew! But we had to hurry, they do not do pick ups in City Plus, instead we have to walk a couple of blocks to a bigger hotel for the pick up: Stanford Hotel. I chose Asia Travel because they are the only agency to offer trips to Victoria Peak via the The Tram. Price Tag: 330 HKD for a 5 hour tour, inclusive of tickets for The Tram.

Walking around the streets of Mongkok at 7:30 in the morning, I felt like I was just walking on the streets back home. Trash were strewn everywhere and the smell is so similar to the Colon St. But I have to give credit to the Chinese people, they are really hardworking, at 7.30 AM on a Saturday morning, most of the shops are already open.