this will be a looooooong post. let me recap on what i have done for 5 days out of SG
Day 1 - arrive in hanoi
Arrived in hanoi for team building. Main idea of team building is to buy stuff to dress up according to the theme of the group one is allocated in. Costumes and props purchased will be used at the dinner.
Since everyone is supposed to dress up. ME TOO. since i'm short and just recently cut my hair shorter. I'm supposed to be a tribal boy.
Here's my costume on the left.
and here's my toy. (above)
Me started to have fever upon arrival in hanoi. and it was WARM there. 32 degrees. dinner wasnt to my liking since it was viet food all the way. beef spring roll that is too beef, sharks fin soup without sharks fin, honey dew sago with only coconut milk taste. YUCKS.
After dinner, i called it a day and went back room to rest to heal the fever.
Day 2 - halong bay, laocai
depart at ard 9am (SG time) to Halong. journey took ard 3 hours to reach halong bay by car. that's the place where one can see all the small islands of all shapes and sizes that viet has. climbed up a boat for a tour around all the small islands. went into a cave to see the limestone scruptures and had lunch on board the boat. i was still feeling feverish and did not eat much. just had a lot of prawns (cos they were dumped onto my plate) and some veg and a crab.
after lunch, back to hanoi and head towards laocai by overnight train. the train was magnificent, it was like a mini hotel. i was expecting those china china type with 4 hard kok kok beds and a bumpy ride. but this train was GOOD. the sheets and pillows look clean. at least i managed to sleep 3/4 of the journey.
Day 3 - sapa, catcat
arrived in sapa a small ethnic town. there are all sorts of tribal stuff available. costumes, bags handicrafts in the marketplace. went for a short trekking trip for ard 2 hrs in the morn at catcat village. i was bending my head low to mind my steps most of the time. y? cos those are usually stone steps or mud roads. i dun want to slip and fall flat on my face. villagers always ask the same qn to tourist, "buy something from me?" although i do have cashie, but i find no use for the stuff they sell. in the end, bought nothing. ha.
after the trekking, had a massage at the hotel. i think it was quite ok. since this is the 1st time i did a body massage. although a bit itchy when they do the abds area. haha.
more shopping follows after the massage. but it started to rain and forceful winds began to come while we're in the town area. gosh. went into a cafe for a hot chocolate drink. the irony is that, admist the strong winds and a drop in temperature, they decided to sit in the outdoors area of the cafe. meaning, we're still exposed to the chilly wind and i was shivering in the wind. gosh. i still think it was crazy but ahem, it turned out ok in the end lah.
Day 4 - trekking to miniority villages
tadaaaaaaa, bought small gifts
it was the same trekking to different parts of the villages, everwhere tourist goes, locals follows and some try to sell stuff while some just walk along with us. halway thru the trekking i discovered that my pair of shoes are giving way, the side soles are coming off. praying hard that it would last me thru the trip, i followed the group during the trekking silently. on the way back, i dropped into mud. in the end, i left my pair of sports shoes in vietnam. bye bye to it. haha
since we have to go back to hanoi for day departure, we had to take a overnight train. just that this time, the train is in super bad condition. lizard's dropping, used tissue at the top of the deck. since there was still time, we decided to play cards for first half of the journey. i was the first to be knocked out. the first to be declaring for bed. the train was BUMPY during the whole journey and although i was lying down, i felt nausea in the middle of the nite. bleh bleh.
Day 5 - back to hanoi for departure
it was shopping and more shopping for the others. for me, i just can't seem to find anything useful. in the end, bought nothing.haha
headed to the airport next to check in for the flight. and it was time to fly home.
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