Tuesday, March 18, 2008

an early birthday

22 is old?
thanks guys for the very enjoyable. and expensive dinner!! whooping $370 must've burnt a huge hole in your pockets! and the cake? very touched. =)

Pictures From Vietnam [3]

[halong bay] the famed halong bay, and the authorities are trying to get the place voted as one of the new 7 wonders. i've heard and read so much about the place, but it was sadly, disappointing. i really don't see what's the hype? granted, it's amazing how so many islands (thousands) formed on the sea, but that's pretty much it.
[halong bay] one of the floating villages
[halong bay]according to our tour guide sang, this is the signature rock of halong bay. the one that graces the postscards that we buy
[halong bay] a view from the top
[halong bay] the cave had some pretty amazing works of nature. but the photos suck
[halong bay] daniel loved these boats
[halong bay] the sun sets as our boat makes it's way back to shore
[perfume pagoda] again, nothing much. the vietnamese managed to create much hype about such places, but it's just temples after temples on the mountains. but it was a nice boat ride, ruined by the amount of trash in the river
[perfume pagoda] delicacies on display, but you can understand when we didn't touch the meat served to us
[on the bus] on the way back to hanoi, another sunset, down the paddy fields
[hoa lu] ancient capital of vietnam, this place exudes old time charm and peace. vendors line the path to the ancient city selling drinks and tidbits. a very small area but is a nice drop by
[hoa lu] quite classic, just take away the background
[hoa lu] another boat ride near hoa lu. this one was much nicer, going into caves and very scenic. mountains line the riversides, standing tall and majestic
[hoa lu] inside a cave
[hoa lu] look ma! no hands!
[on the bus] another sunset
[hanoi] a church in hanoi
[on the bus] from hanoi to saigon
[muine] a stopover for toilet break

Monday, March 17, 2008

Pictures From Vietnam [Sapa]

their bamboo plants grew high towards the sky
one of our destinations on the first day of our tour. i've seen a few like this in cambodia, but places like these never fail to impress and amaze
few girls that belonged to the h'mong tribe, the majority in sapa
grazing cows are so common they are like fire hydrants
and that's dong, our trusty and very friendly guide who spoke english even better than us! that's despite never attending even one day of school
[silver falls]much bigger scale than the previous one we saw. we had to ride a bike up (yihao and dan rode the bikes, me and qq pillion-ed. it was freaking cold but so nice!
this was taken on the last day. dan and qq went for a massage while me and yihao took a walk down the mountains with dong
the town of sapa
one of the many random pictures i have nothing to say about. lol. but it looks quite nice don't you think?
i kept humming "long and winding road" on the way down..
another nice random picture
irrigation and rice plantations dominate the landscapes of sapa
a h'mong tribe lady whom i secretly took a picture of, and then she said, "hi! where are you from?"

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Pictures From Vietnam [1]

[the train] it became our most used mean of transport throughout the whole journey.
[da nang] on the way to hoi an, we stopped over at this beach for a few minutes. you won't believe how cold it actually was
[my son] pronounced as me sen, it is the remains of the ancient kingdom of Champa (4th - 13th century)
[my son] no points for guessing who has the longest hands
[my son] yihao and qq do their morning jump
[mountain church] a view from the top
[mountain church] we met this cute little puppy at the foot of the hill. he belongs to the family which owns the souvenir shop. they also have a baboon (illegal!) and a parrot. the baboon looked so sad it broke my heart
[marble mountain] magnificent & majestic caves awaits, with towering statues of religious figures
[marble mountain] this aunty was selling joss sticks, SGD $1 for a huge bunch
[hoi an] all that's missing in a box and a mushroom popping out
[hoi an] never been sexier!
[hoi an] this lady was hilarious! she called yihao handsome, horny, and she will wait for him 'long long'
[hoi an] one after another
[on the train] this was one of the most magnificent view that we had throughout the whole trip. the train was traveling through a mountain pass, and i believe we were right at the border of vietnam. it looks nothing like on this picture. the real thing just takes your breath away
[hanoi] on the streets. thank God we had cold weather for most of the trip!
[hanoi] motorbikes are aplenty, but saigon takes the cake