HANOI-ventures

I decided that aside from Manila, I shall visit another new place this 2016, and Hanoi it is.

Since I only have limited time for my vacation, my Hanoi trip was also done in a very limited time.

It will be a first solo travel for me. That solo travel was even accidental. The Hanoi trip was originally with another TB, however due to unforeseen circumstances, my travel dates had to change.

Fastforward to Hanoi trip. It was a rainy day so I left the house extra early to be sure that I will not have trouble meeting my flight.

My flight was at 10pm and I will arrive in Hanoi by 1am. I arranged for an airport pick up from the hotel so my mind was relaxed.

Anyways, I encountered a bit difficulty from our immigration check. I was asked why I will be in Hanoi for 3 days only. I told the officer that I am on vacation so my times to visit other place are limited too. He asked for my company ID. I gave him my residence permit because I did not bring my company ID with me. Upon seeing my residence permit, he told me, so you are not working in Philippines. I said yes sir. He now asked me, when will I go back to my work place, I told him the date, and then he asked me, where’s your ticket? In an incredulous tone I ask him, my ticket to Lagos??? Yes he replied. I told him I do not have it since I am going to Hanoi, Vietnam, but will the office email sending my e-ticket be sufficient? It sufficed. Finally!

FIRST DAY 

Immigration check with Hanoi was a breeze, and I sailed through it. I immediately saw the driver from the hotel because he was holding a placard bearing my name.

It took about 35 minutes from the airport to the Old Quarter where the hotel was.

The hotel was brightly lit, and the bellboy was ready to assist me. I arranged my tour with the reception before I went up to my room.

I was on the 6^th floor, the elevator is until 5^th floor only so I had to reach my floor through the stairs.

My room was very elegant. Very compact but perfect for me. I lodge at Golden Moon Hotel Hanoi. The room was immaculately cleaned every day. I really had a good deal with that hotel plus breakfast was already included at the price of 23usd

I’ve decided the top attractions I need to see in Hanoi would be Halong Bay, Hoan Kiem Lake and Temple of Literature.

Since I didn’t have time to shop around for a better deal, I just made the arrangement to go to Halong Bay via the hotel. I know I can get Halong Bay deals outside from 20usd, but I went ahead with the 45usd offer from the hotel.

At 8.30 am, I was picked from the hotel by the tour guide. I boarded a very new coaster. I later learned it was just a week old. That is why it was very clean and very cool. My guide’s English name is Tony. He told his local name but I forgot. It was about 4 hour’s trip from Old Quarter to Halong Bay. I was able to make some new friends. They were also Filipinos. The hours passed quickly enough.  We also stop for bathroom breaks as well as get some souvenirs. It was very pricey there. If you will have the chance to go to the market, better buy there.

 I was worried about the weather though. However, it must have been my lucky day because as soon as we stepped off from the coaster, the sky cleared!

We were directed to our boat which will eventually lead us to Halong Bay. As we cruise along the gentle waters, Tony was pointing out some of the rock formations. He also helped take some pictures.

 I had to force myself to not take pictures of all the angles of Halong Bay so I can enjoy it more. Soak the atmosphere fully. I could not believe it that I was seeing it in the flesh….or in the rocks…..hahaha!

We also went a bit of spelunking, climbing and going down about 400 plus steps. I enjoyed seeing the rock formations inside.

It was indeed a full day tour, so we were back at the Old Quarter by around 8.30 in the evening.

After that Halong Bay tour, I went out and explored a bit of the Old Quarter. I was hungry already so I had dinner first before I walked around.

I also bought cakes for dessert. I wanted to take some street scenes of people chillaxing around but wasn’t able to.

I walked for about an hour only because I didn’t want to stray far from the hotel plus I was tired already.

SECOND DAY

A colleague in Lagos, Nigeria connected me with some of his friends in Hanoi. I met the first one, Trang Lee just after breakfast. Trang is a very gentle young lady with a baby blue motorbike which we used to navigate around Hanoi city center. 

We went to Hoen Kiem Lake first then the Temple of Literature then on to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. We also went to Dong Xuan Market.

We ate lunch at Huong Lien Restaurant.  It was filled up with people. We had to go up as no vacant table downstairs. We ordered bun cha at this famous restaurant where US President Obama dined when he visited Hanoi.  Pictures of Obama were plastered around the resto. The bun cha was indeed sumptuous. It was even sold out that day.

I bought some souvenirs again from the market.  I bought wallets, shirts, and bags.

We also had our chill break since it was a very humid day. We ate these beans with ice and milk. I forgot what it is called.

I was with Trang from 8am until 3pm. After that, I went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for dinner. For dinner, I met Ming. Ming came with her friend Ha. We met about 6pm and we walk around Old Quarter a bit. The night market was also opening, so we also checked it out. I was able to sample their street foods as well as the Pho. I enjoyed going to the small shops and souvenir hunting again.

Time indeed flies fast when you are having fun. Before I knew it, it was time for me to go to the airport for my flight back to Manila.

nearing Halong Bay

Blues Clue-Less

I’ve always been sociable, always been surrounded with a lot of people. I easily make friends and perennial go-to-girl by a lot of my friends. I am reiterating these to say that boredom hardly strikes me or even loneliness. 

But recently, my best friend relocated to another city, and my fiancée was away, and even the usual chat of family members and friends cannot chase the blues away.

For the first time in a long while, I felt lost. I didn’t like it. I was weepy, and feeling clingy and a bit hopeless. These were all what I was feeling and I felt powerless. And I looked for a panacea. But nothing seems to work. I tried talking to other people and tried to convince myself it is ok that I do not talk to my usual ones, but if you want an honest answer, no dice.

I realized that though I have a lot of friends, I have a select number of people I truly trust. Those I can show my soul, and still in all confidence know that nothing will change. That in their eyes, I am the same ol’ me.

It takes certain kind of memories, or moments or even years to have this kind of bonding. When you have this kind of bonding, you are lucky. Sometimes, these are what is making us to hold on and believe that life is beautiful no matter what.

You might wonder, did I ever come out of the blues? Absolutely. The cure was the call from people I needed to talk to. 

You cannot fool yourself. If you need to talk to specific people, do so. Not to do it is just delaying the resolution of the blues.

To infinity and beyond

I have been remiss in here. A lot of small everyday things gets in the way of blogging...or so I said, hahahaah! excuses aside, I've missed being here. Putting my thoughts on paper or in this case my blog, somehow give it more clarity. Perhaps, it is also my way of immortalizing some of my memories. Photos usually do that, but writing also do that for me. 

I had one of the most surreal happening recently.

I had the most normal and ordinary Saturday last week, that being 12th March 2016. It was the usual of all usual day, I went to work, and was supposed to attend a birthday but due to Lagos traffic woes, I could not.

I was meeting my boyfriend later in the day too.

While talking about the daily events of our life that day, he asked me how is my mom, and i told him, i was busy that day i didn't have a chance to talk to  my mom. my country is 7 hours advance from Lagos, so he said, it is already morning in Manila, why don't you greet her. I texted my mom, and she responded immediately. I told him, oh my mom is awake. he now said, i want to speak with your mom. I asked him why he wanted to talk to my mom? and he said, I want to tell her I want to marry you. There it is, no preambe of sorts. Just clear, precise thought. I was caught off guard, but it is more of  the pleasant time of being non plussed. It takes a lot to shock me, but that moment was kinda high in  that grid. I know he has plans for us, but I didn't expect it that day. 

My first entry here was about Paris, and this event happened at Le Paris

Hotel in Lagos. How fitting! I wouldn't want it any other way. These two places are forever my favorites, and in their own quirky way, somehow, there is a connection for them.

And without further ado, it set the motion for initial planning for our wedding.

We are planning for a civil ceremonies, and it entails some basic legal documents. I have not really thought of marrying outside my country. well,  truth be told, slash that, i have not thought of getting married at all. i can tell you it is still a bit hazy, but i started the process of getting my birth certificate and my singleness certificate.

And as fate would have it, my last blog was about my birthday celebration. And I said my hope and wish for my new year is that it might bring a lot of good tidings not just for me but for all of us. Again, I could not help but agree, this is definitely, one of the good tidings for this year.

Amen to all of this. Indeed, how powerful the spoken and written words. 

And so,  here's a cheers to us all -may we all continue to be blessed with the sweetness that  this life has to offer!

Birthday Celebration

I have been celebrating my birthdays of the past eight years in Nigeria. This year is no different. I hosted get together with various group of friends for my birthday. Away from my family and immediate friends, the people I have met here became my very close friends that they are family. I have always said I have found an analogy for home in Nigeria, Lagos particularly. I have not planned on anything elaborate. However, my friends really know how to keep a joyful vibe. 

I treated one group of friends at Chinatown for lunch. This is a quaint restaurant at Mega Plaza. It is one of the more cost friendly Chinese restaurant in Lagos. We ordered for 2 types of noodles, 2 types of rice, spicy calamari, fried chicken and sweet and sour pork. We were five and the servings were ok for us. We even had a take out for the leftover food. For drinks, we had Chapman.

the yummy food

see the difference?

For dinner, another set of friends were with me at a Hot Pot restaurant. We went to the Hot Pot of Lagos Oriental Hotel. We also enjoyed this dining experience, it is just some of the ingredients came a bit late than the rest. We were hungry so even if not all the ingredient were there, we started cooking. It was my first time to go there and I must say I liked it. My tongue got burned a bit but that is the hazard of enjoying the soup too much too soon. For dessert, we had cake. It was ordered thru cakes and cream. As usual, the cake tastes good.

enjoying the hotpot

the cake and the samurai :)

birthday girl and the cake

 After that dinner, we all converged in one house and the fun continued. We talked, and drink wine, and eat homemade apple cake and french fries too plus we played Jenga!

apple cake

the wine

the way the Jenga crumble!

 

Jenga!

And today, over lunch, we had lunch from KFC and The Place. We ordered asun, moi moi and native rice. My own order was actually KFC, hahaha! But I will eat the moimoi. Asun is grilled goat meat and moi moi is steamed grounded beans with crayfish, onions and other seasoning. My colleague particularly requested for The Place asun because she said it is delicious.

my colleague & friend

Asun

Well, I think that capped a wonderful birthday weekend. And it is so much fun to start a work week with a lot of felicitations and good wishes. Indeed, it is what I hoped for, that my new year bring in a lot of good tidings not just for me, but for all of us.

My Ode to Paris

I am literally far from Paris, but I felt immense sadness when I saw the news early morning of Saturday, 14 November 2015.

I have been privileged to see Paris and enjoy the city way back 2013. I have nothing but good memories of my stay there.  Reading about the horrors that have happened, I cannot help but think of my brief stay there. Maybe, I am choosing to remember the good rather than the carnage I saw.

My mind instantly wandered on my first time to see it. Let me share it because it might help ease the heaviness I am feeling

It was my first time to be there. And I was lost…lost in a beautiful city but nonetheless lost.

Paris was actually the fifth city in our mini European tour that year. I was traveling with my best friend on the Thalys. We were coming from Amsterdam, and we choose the 7.30pm train going to Paris. We were supposed to arrive in Paris by 10.30 pm. However, our train was delayed. 

 As I‘ve said was with my best friend, Janice, so I was unperturbed. Instead of being annoyed at the delayed, we kept chatting, and reviewing what we will do in Paris. 

We arrived nearly 11pm. We were immediately given food and 50 euro voucher. They said we can use it to get taxi because the trains are closed. It has not sink in yet. We were supposed to take the train that will take us to Disneyland Paris. No, we were not going to Disneyland that night but our hotel was near that Disneyland. We did not have a backup plan like in case the train is unavailable, how to get there?

We went out of the train station and one lady guard asks us where we are going, we can only say Marriot Hotel near Disneyland. She flagged a taxi, spoke briefly to the driver and ushered us in. The driver ask us, where to? And in unison we said, Marriot Hotel….to which the driver replied…which Marriot Hotel? Where? I think we must have the blankest face. The driver looked at us a tad long, and said, ok, we look via the map, and proceeded to search via his iPhone. He eventually said the address and we agreed it was the Marriot Hotel we were supposed to go. 

Janice and I were whispering about thank goodness for technology. We didn’t really want to think about further misadventures had the driver did not know where was the exact location of the Marriot Hotel we were supposed to go.

By the way, from Paris Noord Station to Disneyland, was about an hour. Well, the taxi was faster but expensive. But thanks to the voucher from Thalys, it was ok.

Past midnight, we finally arrived. My cousin was a bit frazzled already because of the delayed. We spent one full day at Disneyland Paris, and after that, we went back to the city.

Ok, so now I am about to tell you, we were lost again. It was not intentional, we were just lost, hahaha! So we kept walking and after so many twist and turn, we had to concede, we need help. We approached a couple and asked, but to be honest we thought they will ignore us. After all, there was a lot of hearsay  that French people could be snobbish to people who do not speak French. To our delight, not only that they stopped and listen to our problem, they really went out of their way to help. The guy called the hotel and asks where the hotel is. After that, they walk us a bit to where the train station that would take us to the hotel will be.

We finally arrived at our hotel, which was near the Eiffel Tower. 

We had fun exploring the city. We did the usual touristy stuff. I am unapologetic when I do that. After all, I do not pretend otherwise. I am a tourist who is keen on enjoying the cities I visit.

One of the places I wish we had more time to explore was the Versailles. We were not able to enter anymore so we had to do by looking and exploring the perimeter.

We went to see the Notre Dame, had a cruise on the River Seine, but we keep falling asleep not because it was boring but because it was so relaxing, We wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower but no more tickets on the day we were there.

We went to see Sacre Couer and Moulin Rouge, and encountered some interesting scams along the way. But if you are aware, there’s less chance you will be scammed. But that is another story.

These are the thoughts that was swirling to my mind that early Saturday. It was a place that welcomed strangers like me. Made me feel I belong and I can come back anytime. 

I do not know if there would be another attack like this, if maybe, it will happen to another city I have loved but I want say it is a cowardly act. 

May the vive of Paris lives one. Liberte, Egalite and Fraternity. Vive la France!