Vietnam Day Four and Five: Ancient Town-Hue

One a sleeping bas, we traveled for 14 hours to the ancient town named Hue. When you get there, you will find that its way different from Hanoi.

This place is very pleasantly calm. Less traffic, smiling faces along street, and hospitality services from the hawkers and shopkeepers.

We made a deal with the hostel keeper, and they give us a motorbike tour that feature all the tourist attractions follow our time.

First, we got to the citadel. It was once the castle of the king. Much similiar to China, we have to past through a city wall and then we were like entering a time channel way back to past and saw all these ancient buildings. This place is preserved well with all these ancient surrounding still stands vivified.

They are the tour guides that bring us around the town.

They have been serving us very well, one of the guides speaks good english and i dont have any hard time to understand what he trying to say and he basically tell me his experience about this place where he was born.

This pagoda has a nice temple inside. The environment is very peaceful. There are some monks staying inside and visitors are free to pay a visit inside this place.

Soon, they brought us deep into some village to see the normal villagers' routine.

Some places produced incense, Vietnamese hat, drawings etc.

Further deep to the rural area, there lies the king's graveyard. Its very amazing inside and it is a perfect spot for photo shooting. Our great appetite of self portrait photography has been fulfilled in that place.

At last, we have our last destination in a hill side beside the perfume river. There are some leftover Americans bunker at there. According to our guide, this was once a strategic zone for American Troopers.

Lastly, we all sang two songs together while walking down the hill. Our guide sang Vietnamese version of " Ai Pia Zai Eh Nyia", i sang the original Hokkien version. But at least we shared the same melody.

Before i end, i would like to recommend this restaurant in Hue. Its called the Stop and Go restaurant. This place serves great meals and the shop keeper is very kind and helpful.

The next day, we made a bicycle tour and we cycling around the city and enjoyed every breath and view in this ancient town.

Vietnam Day Three: Wandering in Hanoi City

Noon, we got back from Halong Bay, We ve got one day to spend in Hanoi before leaving to another city. It is recommended to stay near to Hoan Kiem Lake if you are first time to Hanoi and trying to get the best out of it. Hoan Kiem Lake is a very beautiful scene at night, besides you may wander around old quarter or go to watch Water Puppet Show. In the morning, you can go for a jog around the lake and enjoy the calming scenery of lake view in the middle of a busy city.

I got myself a typical vietnamese style hostel within walking distance away from Hoan Kiem Lake. Its very convenient to me to go around city and wander in old quarter and get back easily.

In the next morning, i woke up in the Hanoi Guesthouse. Good Morning, Hanoi. Its kinda fresh everyday for me in Vietnam because Malaysia time is one hour later than Vietnam's. Hence, i woke up at 7am every day in Malaysia, but in Vietnam, the same sun position in the day but the clock ticks at 6 am. I feel that if you wake up 6am and the sky is bright. It is a very good start for the day.

My friend and i walk around the streets, we found out the best thing in the morning is get a good break fast. Along the street, we uses body language to got the followings as our breakfast. It was a superb meal.

Vietnam coffee is especially good. You pay around RM3 for 40 percent of the glass like shown. But, every drop of coffee is the essence. It is more satisfying than drinking a big glass of Nescafe in Malaysia.

It is also cool if you have an morning exercise in front of the lake like me.

We ve got to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. You dont have to rush there. We thought it will be full of people and the opening session is short. 8am to 11 am. However, as we got there around 10.15am, we still manage to get and get out before 11am. It is just a place where they store Uncle Ho body in some sorta oil to preserve. You must wear quite appropriate, walking in silently and you must have the respectful face as you pass by the guards. They looked quite serious about this in this kinda place.

We walked in and see the preserved body of Uncle Ho in a transparent tank of oil. I feel eerie in that space. Next, we went to the war museum. Probably you can see all of the planes and tanks in guide book. However, if you got time, pay a visit wont harm much. I got up to the tower like the reflected in the mirror below. There was an old man climbing up when i got to the top of the tower. He talked to me in Vietnamese. I told him i don't understand what he says, but he seems don't understand what am i talking as well. Due to his perseverance, he insist to tell me his story. I roughly got what he says: " I was a soldier during vietnam war, i fight for the North."

bla bla bla. Then we even sing in front of me. Probably the war song, i guess. I thank him for his performance in a friendly manner, and i respect him as an old man who experienced the worst moment of his lifetime during war.

Here is one of the scene i found it interesting but i feel very worry for that technician trying to tie a bulk of cables.

Lastly, before i depart, i seriously recommend this kinda dessert in Hanoi which i love very much. You can get this in old quarter, along a street among 50 streets. Good Luck.

Vietnam Day Two: Halong Dangerous

This day was my most anticipated day in my Vietnam trip. I am about to go to Halong Bay. This place is the place i fall in love at the first sight.Thousands of island in this bay is a natural miracle. It was a breath taking scenery. My eyes kept opened all the time to capture all the sights in my brain. Every scene is a beauty in my mind. Wish to come back here again with someone i loved to share this scene together.

I was sitting at the Vietnam junk with other tourists heading to stalactite caves. I was eager to seek any shapes that formed by stalactites. However, i can only recognized all those ghost faces like long noses, long chin, big mouth faces. I listened to a Chinese tour guide of a tour for Chinese tourists then i manage to find some lady sitting on a rock shape, buddha shape...etc

At the evening, the junk stopped in the middle of the bay for us to swim and kayak. I chose to kayak first due to limited canoe available and i want to do it first.

After that, i made a "incredible leap" to the sea.

Recalling back, i would say it was a leap to death.

My somersault posture was completely wrong and i hit my chest hardly with the surface of water. Ouch!

Actually that time was around 5.30pm, it was nearly the time for sunset and current is flowing rapidly. I swam happily for a moment. Just before i decided to go onboard, my friend was having a trouble swimming towards the junk. I swam towards him trying to save him but i dont how to rescue people in swimming. At least, i gave him a hold for buoyancy. After that, both of us unable to swim towards the junk. I was nearly drowned too because my friend got his leg cramped and start drowning. I sensed danger. We are dying if we drowned.

The Vietnamese guide and ship crew were not alert of our danger, also a canoe granny refused to save us when i shouted for help. I calmed my friend down to stay relaxed. What we have to do is try to float. My friend did a great job by floating himself. I am telling myself, i am not gonna to give up, stay float to stay alive.

When the other tourist noticed our situation, what they did were also just watching us from the junk, none of them dared to jump down to rescue. Even the ship crew could only threw the float circle but seemed helpless for us.

Fortunately, a fisherman came towards us. We got rescued on board. I owed him a big thank you.

The traumatic feeling gone after i got up to the ship. I appreciated my life even more. Every breath i take in now is a blessing. Halong gave me a close to death experience.

"You may challenge the mountain but never underestimate the sea"

Vietnam Day One:3 places in one day

I am heading Ho Chi Minh City. I prebooked air ticket way half a year ago during AirAsia promotion season. I bought depart to and return from Ho Chi Minh City without thinking much.However, train from HCM to Hanoi take 33 hours, with my only 10 days trip in Vietnam, 33 hours is a disaster. So, we bought Jetstar from HCM to Hanoi.

I saw something funny in jetstar plane. Why the hell Jetstar has malay words. Jetstar is an Australian LCC and serves various destination in Vietnam. I wonder, didnt they buy old AirAsia Boeing airplane, did they?

I reached Hanoi at night, and we linger around Hanoi old quarter. Its kinda cold in the month of December and we lost in hanoi old quarter when we try to get back to our hostel.

However, Hoan Ho Kiem Lake at night is pretty nice to enjoy. It is a superb place for couple to date. Lots of couple make out there around the lake. Perhaps french colonial had left this big impact on nurturing the romantic environment for these vietnamese.

Hanoi has preserved its old vietnam style architecture in this old quarter. Though many tourists coming in, i do wish that Hanoi still remain its own style of old vietnamese atmosphere.

End of the day, i realised that i had breakfast in KL, lunch in Ho Chi Minh City and Dinner in Hanoi. Three cities are 2000 km away from each other.

Good Morning Vietnam!

USA has Uncle Sam and Vietnam has Uncle Ho.

Last year end holiday, i teamed up with my buddy backpack to visit Uncle Ho. We have yet to experience so many jaw opening phenomenons, drowning experience, strange encounter, eye opening scene, crazy bargain, all time emo and unique friendship.

Following blogposts will be my day to day diary. I am intend not to write what Lonely Planet can write at its best and so do other travel guide. i would just note down my view about the places and my personal unique experience which i hope readers would found it different from others and could not get from other places else except here from me.

Positive Energy

Atomics Physics tell us that atoms are surrounded by electrons, electrons possess energy and they jumping in and out, conducting electricity, forming bonding between another atoms and forming ions etc.

Well this is also true for human being. We have energies around us. I would like to category them into merely positive and negative energy. These energies influencing people around. Well...most of the time, people around you conducting negative energy like : oh thats difficult, oh shit, oh what the world is so unfair, you can never make it, thats sucks, forget it and give up and so on. Your friends might giving you a negative thinking and make our day down without noticing it.

Well, we should have positive energy around us. Things like we persevere, motivate, aspire and inspire are very important. You probably just wanna give a sigh on how bad your day is but this conduct some portion to other people around you.

Hence, you should keep positive, believe there is hope and the world is not as bad as you think. Change and empower will make up your day and light ups people's life and eventually they will shine you in other way some other time.

what will you do if 2012 dooms?

The movie "2012" is showing in theater soon, the trailers are indeed thrilling. We wonder, what if it is true in 3 years time. Will you still reading the textbooks in your hands, will you doing the routine activities daily, will you still keep the words you want to say, will you still restrain yourself from what you wanted to do long time ago?

If you answers Nos for above, then you haven been really doing what you want. You still have dreams to catch and wishes to achieve. Probably, you are trapped in this place, time and things.

Steve Jobs been diagnosed a heavy disease last time and he sense death. Everyday, he is thinking, if there is no tomorrow, what i want to do today. This thought lifted him to do a lot of extraordinary things and when he get back to doctor. It was a misdiagnosed. Having sensing death, he appreciated life.

Human will not change until we come to a point where change is a must to survive. Many times, we have been doing something doesnt really important in our life and keep the important ones aside for future. We would say, nah...there still a lot of time. However, mostly what left is regrets.

Hence, love your family, appreciate friends, care the youngs and respect the elders are the basics of all. Show them your love and care, live your life.