Vietnam Holiday not to be repeated again!

6th Dec 2010: HANOI

7th Dec 2010: HANOI – HA LONG
After breakfast there was a morning city tour to visit some of the city's attractions including the fascinating Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. He was indeed the hero of the nation and was revered by the vietnamese for his contribution to the country; also saw the  Restored Sword Lake in the centre of modern Hanoi. Lunch at local restaurant, after lunch we managed to skip the temple of Literaeature, which is regarded as the first university in Vietnam. Proceed to Halong Bay, one of Vietnam's greatest natural wonders and was recognized as World's Natural Heritage by UNESCO.

8th Dec 2010: HA LONG – HANOI- SAPA
After breakfast we took a cruise on the emerald green waters of Halong among the 3,000 spectacular limestone islands, visit grottoes and floating village. The cruise ends with a fresh seafood lunch on board. After lunch back to Hanoi, we had to sarcifice shopping at Dong Xuan Market for a shower. We managed to do some shopping before the water puppet show and I dropped my wallet in the theatre in my hurry to go and change for the correct size. God is Good, Mr Wong LO picked it up and returned it to me. God bless him for that.Dinner at local restaurant, after dinner proceed to Hanoi railways station for the night train to Lao Cai  by Overnight on train. We were very very disappointed that we did not get the VIP cabins that we had promised. Definitely did not sleep well the whole night long and I thought of LG the whole night long. If he had come along, he would have comforted me and the disappointment would have been more bearable!

The VIP cabin we should have gotten!

9th Dec 2010: LAO CAI – CAT CAT – SIN CHAI - SAPPA

Arrive at Lao Cai and transfer to Sapa which is only 38km from Lao Cai. Breakfast at Royalview hotel. It was very cold about 10 degrees Celsius. After breakfast proceed to the valley by steps for about 2 km on a lovely trek that will take you along buffalo paths and trails and through several hill tribe villages.Overnight in Sapa.

10th Dec 2010: SAPA – TA VAN – LAO CAI

Breakfast at hotel, after breakfast .While walking to the H'mong village we had the opportunity to see  animals, such as chickens, water-buffaloes and pot - bellied pigs.

Trekking up the muddy slope in my new shoes with a bunch of the natives harrassing us to buy their trinkets was definitely not my cup of tea. After lunch we were taken to the hotel to rest while the local guide went home to shower and change. ( Personally we all thought it was rather unprofessional of him to do this) Later we were taken to the border for picture taking and 3 chaps approached Mr Justin for a super fast shoe cleaning service. The Sappa guide rejected our tips as I made a mistake in the envelope and gave his 600k to the driver earlier and he got only 150K. It was indeed appalling. Fortunately Josephine managed to get him back and Justin gave the correct amount and everyone was so nice to insist on sharing it our again!
11th Dec 2010: HANOI– Departure
Arrive  in Hanoi train station, meet and transfer to a 3* hotel for breakfast, after breakfast proceed to airport for returning flight. HOME SWEET HOME.However, due to poor visibilty our flight was delayed by 4 hours and as a result I could not attend Soo Ling's wedding. It was quite an experience to see hungry passengers grabbing white bread and cold sausages as the small cafeteria could not cope with the hundreds of stranded passengers. Mr Wong LO gave some of us a treat at the cafe downstairs where we could sit in comfort!