Senin, 28 Desember 2009

Trip To Hanoi

After more than 13 years I left Vietnam finally I visited Hanoi in August 2009. I could see so many new buildings and the economic is growing in Vietnam

I started at 14 August 2009 from Kuala Lumpur by Air Asia with morning flight 06:00 AM so I spent the night in Sentral Hotel in Brickfield areas which located behind the KL Sentral Monorail Station, so I just walked to KL Sentral to the bus station to LCCT.

This time I joined with tour group because I went alone so it will be costly if I want to go around Hanoi and Halong...

After arrived in Hanoi Airport, the tour guide, her name is Heung still young and her English was good and I could understand clearly what she explained to me.

She picked up me with big caravan car which actually for 12 peoples but only me, the tour guide and the driver so I am like a King of Hanoi he he..., first trip she escorted me to the Ho Chi Minh Mauseloun which is located in Ba Dinh District

Ho Chi Minh's body is preserved in the cooled, central hall of the mausoleum, with a military honor guard. The body lies in a glass case with dim lights. Open daily from 9:00 am to noon to the public. Lines of visitors, including visiting foreign dignitaries, pay their respects at the mausoleum.Rules regarding dress and behavior are strictly enforced by staff and guards. Legs must be covered (no shorts or miniskirts). Visitors must be silent, and walk in two lines. Smoking, photography, and video taping are also not permitted anywhere inside the mausoleum.

The dress in pure white uniforms to add to the clandestine aura and Ho Chi Minh looks quite peaceful with his wispy white beard. It’s interesting for people watching as much as for the actual sarcophagus of the embalmed great one. From the mausoleum, I went to old building in yellow colour and used to be office of Ho Chi Minh also the fish pond and the hut of Ho Chi Minh which very simple in open space and a small aquarium when he still alive, many children came to see fish because he likes children.
After from the mausoleum, we went to Temple of Literature or Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam which located in Pho Van Mieu in the corner of Pho Quoc Tu Giam, if you go by yourslef, the direction is a short kilometre West of Hoan Kiem Lake, in a square bordered by Thai Hoc, Van Mieu, Quoc Tu Giam and Ton Duc Thang streets.Founded in 1070, it became the country’s first university in 1076 as a center for Confucian learning and it's a a must see for those who are interested in classical Chinese/vietanamese architecture.
If you're there, look out for the 82 stone diplomas on tortoises bearing the names and birthplaces of 1,306 students who scrapped through the university's tough examinations. Like the one-pillar pagoda, some parts of this place was built after the original parts were destroyed during the French War.

After from this place, we headed to the Museum of Ethnology which is located in Nguyen Van Huyen Road, Cau Giay District, open from 08:30 AM - 05.30 PM and off on Monday, really nice and complete museum and you can find indoor and open-air exhibits, reconstructions, photographs and video documentaries the Museum of Ethnology presents the lives of Vietnam's 54 Ethnic minorities, their artefacts, dress and music, and now I can understand when I was young when my teacher told us that our anchestors came from Hunan in South China and that was Vietnam? Why.. because I saw lots of similarities with many tribes in Indonesia like in Kalimantan, Sumatera.

Time for lunch hungry hungry, and I was escorted to a small and nice cafe and I could order foods as much as I could finish but should pay for drinks hmm finally I order vietnamese fried rice, spring roll and a glass of pure orange juice... finished my lunch, they escorted me to my hotel Indochina 2 Hotel... small but nice room and completed with desktop and free connection yes... yes I like this hotel and close to the Hoa Kiem Lake only 50 metres and I took shower and took a nap and will be picked up again in the afternoon for water puppet show or Mua Roi Nuoc .... I missed that show

The most famous water puppet show is in Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre which is located in 57 Dihn Tien Hoang Street by Hoan Kiem Lake.

After enjoyed the show, they escorted me for dinner in Vietnamese Style and once again they treated me as a King, with luxurious set menu dinner with 5 kinds of dishes hmm delicious and I was full...

I headed back to the Hotel and felt so tired, should sleep earlier because tommorow they picked up me at 08:00 morning for my trip to Halong..... Halong Bay I am coming....

2 komentar:

Kiekie mengatakan...

Dear Mr. Kevin,

I love the report about this Vietnam trip. It’s so informative and elaborate. The description of the mausoleum is so detailed . You didn’t miss little stuff . I was impressed to read about everything people can see at this place. They learn about the rules when they visit this place. I think it’s crucial to know about rules whenever we visit other countries. Your journal is very helpful to anybody who wants to visit this country in the future.
In addition to that, I can learn more about where to stay and eat out during your visit in Vietnam. I guess people can plan their itineraries once they are in this country. In conclusion, I can say that this journal of yours is a standard one and can be taken into consideration as a guide book. Well done!

Ceritaku mengatakan...

Many thank my teacher Miss Kunti, I just write what I knew and what I felt, I will postmore for my trip to Penang