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 