Treasure Trove

Day 6,
Saturday 12th June 2010.
Mom and I had a little treat of our own. Kita coba’in makan siang di kafe otentik khas Hanoi. Kafe’nya ada di pinggir danau. I had Babi Lapis Tepung Roti!!! *Hooraah!*
Mom and I had our lunch, and Edo was Ollie Sitting.

and it was Edo’s Birthday, and he’s been dying to have a taste of local KFC. There we were, in the center of Hanoi, fulfilling his birthday wish. Head to KFC.

eTaugasiiiiiih Di KFC sana ada Egg Taaaaaaart!!! And I was literally dancing in front of the cashier!

Here we are, in the center of Hanoi Old Quarter. The lake in the photos is Hoan Kiem Lake. It has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. Simply Eclectic!

After Edo’s lunch at KFC, we headed to Hoan Kiem Lake’s Temple. At the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake is a small island with the Ngoc Son (“Jade Mountain”) Temple. The temple supposedly dates back to the fourteenth century, although the current buildings were probably built in the eighteenth century. The temple is dedicated to the hero Tran Hung Dao, who defeated a force of 300,000 sent to invade Vietnam by the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. (Source) http://asiaforvisitors.com/vietnam/north/hanoi/hoankiem/ngocson.html

And later that nite, Mom and I had a local taste of Pho, again contains Pork. LOL. Tempatnya di pinggir jalan, emperan trotoar gitu, lengkap dengan bangku2 dan meja2 kecilnya. I picked a good one! Jam makan malam 6-7, warung kecil di trotoar ini rame banged, banyak yang ga dapet meja loh!

Day 7,
It was Sunday, and we’re ready to go back to Jakaaaaaaaartaaaa. Our flight is Hanoi – Saigon – Jakarta, dengan waktu transit masing2 3-4 jam. Jadilah, Seharian di airport 3 kota.

Day 3 – Hanoi!
Akhirnya sampai juga di Hanoi setelah 2 jam penerbangan Jet Star Pacific.
Jet Star Pacific, penerbangan domestic was more than words can say. it was Worst than Air Asia. Penumpangnya bener2 kaya dari kampong ke kota. Ada yang pake kaos kutang!! *tepok jidat*
Edo bilang, kalo di pesawat boleh naikin Kambing sama Ayam, Pas deh Jet Star ini Angkutan Antar Propinsi / KRL ekonomi Bogor – Kota.
Di pesawat, malam itu banyak yang bawa batita dan balita. Saat boarding, sampe take off, suara batita dan balita menangis meraung-raung ga berenti. Hiks, ada ibu yang mukulin anaknya supaya diam. Parah. This is by far, our worst aviation experience ever.

Tiba di Hanoi malam hari, Penjemput kita dari Hanoi Fortune Hotel pun baik dan ramah.
(ah, lupa poto2 kamar di Hanoi Fortune Hotel, tapi hotel ini not bad koq, tapi make sure minta kamarnya jangan tinggi2.. soalnya makin atas, makin syereeem hihihiy).
Kamar kita seperti di gambar ini tapi lebih luas, dan sirkulasi udaranya bagus. Rate per nite, untuk triple share USD 35.

Cuma sempet moto’in Ollie aja.

Day 4 – Hanoi – Halong City – Halong Bay
Jam 7 Pagi, kita harus bangun dan sarapan buru-buru. Karena Tour ke Halong Bay akan jemput kita jam 8. Setelah selesai urus penitipan koper dan 1 nite payment, Mini Bus ke Halong City udah jemput kita di depan hotel.
Di dalemnya, sudah ada turis2 lain. Ada yang dari Spain, German, French, Beijing, and of course, us! Indonesia!

Perjalanan dari Hanoi ke Halong City, lumayan bikin pegel pantat, berdurasi 3-4 jam, dengan transit di tempat souvenir khas Hanoi. Disini beli Kopi khas Hanoi buat si Gippie, yang sampe detik ini belum juga diambil2.
Oh ya, di hari serba buru2 itu, Ollie kehabisan Diaper. Wak waaaw. Karna ga sempet beli di Hanoi, akhirnya begitu sampe di Pelabuhan Halong City, tanya kanan kiri pake bahasa tarzan. Walhasil ketemu juga ntu Diaper. *pheew* Ga kebayang kalo ga ketemu.

Pelabuhan Halong City itu penuh banget, persis pelabuhan kaya lagi musim lebaran. Kapal kita namanya Marguerite Junk (MJ). Dapet 2 kamar . *Mungkin kata edo, pheew, akhirnya misah kamar juga sama mertue* wakwakakaa.

Sebelum masuk kamar, kita poto2 duluuu :-p

Setelah makan siang bersama di kapal, istirahat sebentar, kita pindah ke MJ’s Transit Boat (Kapal kecil bermesin motor, muat 16 orang), then start cruising around the bay to see the amazing karsts with different formations: Lion, Tea Pot, Toad, Dau Nguoi (Human Head) islets and then stop to visit the Sung Sot or Amazing Cave, the biggest one in Halong Bay.

Sore’nya kembali ke MJ, dan berenang! Airnya anget! Very comforting and calming. Ollie loved it too.

Setelah berenang, acara bebas sampe makan malam bersama, dilanjutin karaoke dan mancing cumi.

Day 5.
The 4th Morning in Vietnam! Morning in Halong Bay was breathtaking. It was a total tranquillity.
There was nothing rushing us, we can sleep until 8.30 am for breakfast.

After breakfast, we then transferred to MJ’s Transit Boat to cruise Lan Ha Bay, stop in Van Gia floatting village (the oldest fishing village in Ha Long Bay) where Mom went kayaking! *gee, mom kayaking!*

And it’s a free time all the way back to Halong City Port. We spent our free time up on MJ’s Deck, savouring our last sights of the Bay.

Day 2 – Saigon
Note: Saigon adalah nama / sebutan lama untuk kota Ho Chi Minh City. (HCMC). Kadang suka ada yang masih bingung antara Saigon dan Ho Chi Minh City. :p Padahal sama. Kaya misalnya, Jakarta d/h Batavia. Nah ini HCMC d/h Saigon. Begitcu.

On day 2, the 1st morning we’re in Vietnam, Ollie was feeling under the weather. Mungkin karna kecapekan lari2an di Airport, Trus semalam, begitu sampe di Saigon, mesti ikut muterin jalan di Distric 1, nyari The Sinh Tourist – operator City Tour kita untuk hari ini. – (Click saja linknya, operator tour ini very recommended koq).

Terpaksa harus sedikit kedjam pada anak sendiri, walaupun sumeng2 ga enak body, Ollie tetep diangkut ikut City Tour yang udah advance payment. (Hiks… mommy sorry lil’gal).
Tapi Thank God, she’s a cooperative little gal. Though she may be feeling under the weather, she didn’t show any crankiness. She just needs to be hold and carry the whole day of our city tour.

Perjalanan dari kantor The Sinh Tourist langsung menuju Cu Chi Tunnel, kurang lebih 2 jam, by Bus. Sampai di sana, langsung dibawa tour guide liat bekas medan perang tentara Vietkong vs USA.

Setelah Cu Chi Tunnel, balik pusat kota, menuju Reunification Palace (photo 1- 5), visit the historic War Remnants Museum, followed by the architectural treats of French colonial Notre Dame Cathedral (Photo 8.) and the Post Office (Photo 7.)

We didn’t go inside the Post Office, because Ollie was already asleep, and her fever was already worrying. By this, we went back to Nhat Thao, bath her and rest her to sleep.

Oh ya, di War Remnants Museum, ada Bapak Soekarno *bangganya*

Rencana belanja di Ben Thanh market malam itu juga harus ditunda karna Ollie harus istirahat total malam itu. Akhirnya, Mom and Me, we went out, masih sekitar tourist district cari makan malam khas Vietnam yang bisa di take away. We found ourselves, bakpau babi, kepiting soka, kue lobak, juhi panggang, dan sup jagung kepiting. Semuanya di bungkus, dan dinikmati di kamar hotel. It was pretty good.

Day 3. Saigon – Hanoi
Our 2nd Morning in Saigon. We are blessed, ’cause Ollie is OK that morning. Panas’nya sudah turun. And she’s ready to go out and play. Ceria lagi, Cerewet lagi. Ga kaya kemaren, manyun, diem aja, maunya dipeluk, dikelonin.
Awalnya, Flight Jet Star Saigon ke Hanoi, pukul 11 siang, tapi dikabari sama Jet Star, kalo flightnya di delay sampe jam 6 sore. *pheew* Bagusnya dihubungi, Therefore, kita bisa ke Ben Thanh Market belanja oleh2 during the day (dance).
Sampe di pasar, Wiiiih, ramenya kaya pasar! *loh*. Seru banged. Sampe lupa poto2 Ada boneka2 jaitan tangan khas daerah Sapa (salah satu tourist destination di Vietnam), kaos-kaos, Magnet, Pashmina, Buah-buahan, Jajanan Snack, sampe Masakan buat Lunch/Dinner, semua di 1 tempat. Balik ke hotel, nap, Jam 4 sore kita ke airport menuju Hanoi.

Free Internet at Nhat Thao Guesthouse.

Hoaaa! Our 1st Vacation! And it’s Vietnam!
When everybody ask, “Why Vietnam?”, I will go,” Why NOT Vietnam”

Day 1.

Kita ber 4, (Mom, Edo, Ollie and Me) tiba bandara Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), namanya Tan Son Nhat International Airport. It was around 8ish PM. ‘Mayan udah malem, karna naek Air Asia, CGK – SGN yang murah itu adalah 2 penerbangan terakhir.

Sampai di exit gate, ada beberapa counter yang teriak-teriak persis di pasar ikan, semua teriak2 kurs US Dollar. “Change Dong Here!”, “Change your Dollar here!”, “Good Price!” “High Rate!” so and so. Ya udah, langsung tuker aja USD 100, ratenya malam itu cukup tinggi, sekitar (Vietnamese Dong) VND 18,845. Jadi malam itu juga kita udah ngantongin VND 1,884,500. Widiih berasa Tajiiir!!

Di tempat yang sama, mereka juga jual Sim Card provider lokal. Pas nanya, ada kartu chip Viettel ga? Katanya habis. Wah, memang Viettel itu paling laku disana. (Cocok dah sama info yang gw dapet dari Googling)
Begitu keluar, kami langsung mencari penjemput yang bawa Call Signboard dari Nhat Thao Guesthouse yang sudah saya booking di sini.

Saat itu juga mata tertuju pada Sign Board “Yenny”. Hoorah! Aman. Perjalanan dari Airport ke penginapan lantjar djaya tanpa kawatir nyasar.

Malam itu, di perjalanan Airport-Penginapan, kami belajar 1 hal. One thing for sure, Vietnamese are amazing. Mereka naek motor Cuma pake kaos kutang! *tepok jidat*

Nhat Thao Guesthouse, ada di pusat backpacker. Tapi masuk gang kecil sedikit. Which is very fine, daripada hotel2 di sepanjang jalan Bui Vien yang rame dan ga pernah sepi. At least, bisa tidur tenang tanpa bule-bule gila mabuk nyanyi2, ngakak2.
Tempatnya bersih. Runs by family. Memang ga semua member of familynya ramah. Hihihiy. Tapi yang namanya Eric, sangat2 helpful dan ramah. Rate untuk 3 Bed Private Ensuite around USD 27, termasuk standard breakfast. Hihihy, breakfastnya, sangat sangat standard. Pilihannya Cuma Mie Instant, Roti Prancis dengan pilihan isi (Telur urak arik, telur mata sapi, atau Selai2).

Call it Spring Cleaning and It’s not even spring ahahah.
Ga bener ini Pas mau cuti seminggu baru Meja kerja rapijali kaya gini.
Hasil 5 hari bersih² supaya terlihat rapi dan gampang cari file kalo nanti cuti ada penggantinya :p

Kincloong ya boooo