monitoring offshore projects wouldn’t be complete if the nomad in me wont give in to that ultimate call for an escape. and guess who flew all the way from MNL so we can travel again together??? woootwoot! my chalah buddies! sweeeet!
took a 2 hour flight to hanoi (from saigon) with S to meet them there and try to show them what made me kid mum (half meant though) when i sms her “mum, pls pack my stuff in a box, have it freighted, cuz i’m moving here(was in hanoi that time), cuz i just luv it here” she of course freaked out and called me right away to tell me things i already know – that i’m crazy beyond words! hahahaha!
weather was pleasant up there. sweet breeze of spring was unmistakable and you’d start to wonder why you’re even working in the business district of ho chi minh (but then again saigon has its own beauty sans the moody weather).
called up the homies and hung out with them for a shisha night :-) M & S are virgin peeps in shisha bars! haha!
we hit the bed at 4am and we’re lucky really to make it for the 730 (yeah! that effin early!) pick-up time of the travel agent for the ha long bay cruise! whoopee!
was really sleepy in the coach but the youngsters we last picked up were too chatty!!! pasalamat sila nagagandahan ako sa knila otherwise i’d be annoyed big time :-)
took us about 4hrs to get to the pier at ha long. didn’t manage to get a sleep not because the 3 girls are still chatting but actually because i decided that i want to actually see the countryside of viet nam.
we took a day cruise only and was glad that we made the right decision. otherwise adhd attack would be at work amongst us! hahaha!
dont get me wrong though. view was really impressive, and the thought that you’re cruisin on a UNESCO site bay with your friends was incredible!
but i have to say it fell short to what i actually expected. it’s not a mile close to our very own coron palawan kayangan lake or the barracuda lake dotted with limestone karsts just like it. yeah, i’d suppose karsts are more in ha long, but ours boast of turquoise water and exotic marine life underwater!
but anyway, if you’re into laid back escape (which i’d admit i’m guilty of), and you’re around the charming north side of the country, it’s still worth visiting & experiencing :-)
and if i may say that viet nam is not viet nam because of its beaten roads (touristy places)…its charm lies to its people, to its amazing phletora of food choices (northern gastronomic experience is tad better than that of southern me thinks!) and to its overall quirkiness :-)
coffee mug 
this is one (or more) unbelievably crazy trip, friend. sabi nga nila, it’s way better traveling with friends. wow, mega inggit ako sa trip nyo, hehehe. and our good friend, m for nz even joined you guys. it’s nice to see j, too and you syempre. bigla kong naalala ang HS days. drama aside, i’m very happy clahahs had a wonderful vacation ;)
Wow. I’m jealous. I’m Vietnamese living in the US. I don’t know much about VN places.
you are sooo lagalag talaga banggi!!!! ibang level!!
have something for you, bangge… a five star award! say mo, parang hotel, hehehe!
nel u know how mark can be…he has the addiction tendencies! hahah! and you should have seen how he lost weight all bcoz of sleepless nights before he left auckland out of super excitement of this VN trip! i would have wanted him to see anawangin though (to include a wow philippines moment at least) but geeez! work always come in between! :-(
steve oi! :-) i still am till now trying to explore hidden charms of VN. now tops my list cao bang province(north VN) to see that magnificent ban gioc waterfall 2nd being the tay ninh (near cambodia border). i cant wait for the weekend again :-)
hun, ohhh yes. i’m a lagalag more than anything else. but at least you got something to be busy about…ummm ms. IP address !@#$% :-)
i’m done with it effective today. haha not worth my time and energy. she and HE… they’re not worth the counterstalking measures :p