Reasons why I love You, Vietnam …♥

Reason Number 1: The Halong Bay

How many places on earth that could make you feel like you live in a dream? I have been trying to find the right words to say and thinking that the best way to describe the splendor of the Halong bay from my point of view should be expressed by using a Chinese brush to paint with a black ink, sweeping layers after layers of the rock by a pure heart, showing light and shadows with endless possibilities of lines after lines …

2.5 million years of land formation that is what it takes to create this invaluable geography of the Halong Bay. More than 1,900 islands generate pictorial scenery and its stunning skyline of the limestone. On the way back to Hanoi, I still could see those rocks from distance along the road and it was so attractive and unforgettable.

How to get there:

We bought a one-day excursion with the Sinh Café. The ticket included transportation by a big van, a traditional junk boat tour in the Halong Bay, a menu set for lunch, and choosing between riding a bamboo boat or kayak in the Bay by yourself. I went there with 28 people from different countries; a radiologist doctor from Australia, a handsome French guy who worked on mining in Australia for a year before he got here, a group of young girls from Europe who will get together right after the trip for smoking weed in their hostel, a Korean guy who didn’t shower for a couple of days because he took a long train ride from Ho Chi Mihn City, etc. Overall, I enjoyed the trip and it was convenient having a van to pick you from your hotel door. The trip to the Bay would take around 3.5 hrs or 4 hrs on the way back due to traffic congestion in the evening.

My dream trip in the Halong Bay:

I would like to cruise and stay on board for a couple days. I want to swim and jump into the blue water from the boat deck. I want to have a romantic dinner under the moonlit, counting and finding the brightest stars over the Bay, wake up and enjoy the first ray of the sun as well as diving deep into the present moment of sunset when every rock in the Halong Bay will be colored into orange from the last light of the sun.

Reason Number 2: Tam Coc  

Tam Coc or Halong Bay on Land is another amazing trip started from Hanoi. David, our tour guide is very talkative and so active like a teenager. On the same minivan, we met many people such as a Japanese couple, a Korean guy accompanied by his beautiful Vietnamese friend, German couples, and other tourists who became our good company along the trip. It was also fun to introduce ourselves and talked to new friends of today.   

The first stop of this trip, we spent a short time to visit the first capital city of Vietnam and the old palace and temples. To learn about a history of the countries and the past wars is interesting. Surrounding of the green rice field seems to be a complement to refresh our energy. I feel so peaceful when we had a boat ride with the local in Tam Coc. The special thing about the boat ride is that the boatman would row their boat with feet!!!!! These should be the weirdest thing I could have experienced. LoL However, the boatmen/women seem to be really fine and really comfortable to row the boat that way. I respect them for their creative mind thinking that rowing a boat all day long should be a hard and tiring job, especially in a sunny day. Anyway, you should be aware of those who will take you pictures during the boat ride, prepare to give them a nice smile, and negotiate the price of your pictures at the end. I don’t know how come my sister is really good at reducing the price from 5 USD for one picture to 1 USD for 2 pictures since she said it was the same, just one for me and one for her. LoL

My dream trip to Tam Coc:

It would be nice to visit Tam Coc during a harvest season. I would like to see the golden rice field along the water. It should be very beautiful at that time. Next time, i would check which month is the best to visit.

Reason Number 3: Bat Trang Ceramic Village

I have heard of Bat Trang Ceramic Village before I came to Vietnam and I really wanted to make a visit. Google map suggested me to take a bus number 47 which cost only 7,000 VND per person. It takes around 30 minutes or less to get the place where the local and tourist would come for a very good quality of pottery. I like the ceramic products produced in this village. I think for such a wonderful design and quality of what they made, it can compete in international level. I just wondered if I want to buy some of them back to Thailand, it should be quite difficult to pack and carry them back home without breaking. I don’t know if they could make an international shipping for a small order. Next time, I would ask. :)

Reason Number 4: Hoan Kiem Lake

Taking a stroll a long the Hoan Kiem Lake is just as good as I imagined. The Lake is a wonderful city center where you can see lifestyle of the people and it has a good rhythm for the city vibrancy. Young kids with friends, lovers, families, tourists, and everyone in the city just come to the lake to enjoy activities. They would dance, do exercises, take a walk, jog, play chest, have artists to draw a good picture as a souvenir, or to sit for rest a bit before move on to other places. It was nice to across the red bridge and visit the temple in middle of the lake. I also loved the Water Puppet Show in the theatre near the lake. I would like to recommend you to see this lively performance. You will get the impression of the cultural way of life with lots of funny gags that the puppets would show. The songs and music of the show was incredible to my ears.

Reason Number 5: Temple of Literature

We paid the visit to the Temple of Literature on the last day of our trip. This place is simply beautiful and worth taking some time to enjoy the atmosphere. Since the place is the first university in Vietnam, you will pretty much get a sense of place. On that day, we met many high school graduates who came for taking a photo shoot with friends and family. It was a perfect day. With their gowns or traditional Vietnamese dresses they put on, there were too many beautiful smiles of graduates, full with hopes and dreams for future and I loved to witness that! :)