Visiting KL - Hanoi - Sapa - Halong Bay, Jul 2013

Kuala Lumpur


Visiting Batu Caves: We took KTM Komuter Sentul-Port Klang line (red on transit maps) north to Batu Caves Komuter station.


We stopped at Bandaraya Station on the way back from Batu Cave, visited Sogo department store and Pertama Complex, for the fish noodle soup (Kedai Makanan Noodle House Kopitiam). 




From Masjid Jamek LRT station, walked to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, next to Dataran Merdeka and KL City Gallery. More walking after that, walked all the way to China Town for dinner. Then, took LRT from Pasar Seni station to KLCC Station.



Shin Kee Beef Noodle rm7

China town Seng Kee Claypot Loh Shu Fun



Next day, we had buffet lunch at Atmosphere 360 Restaurant at Menara KL. We took the tourist KL Go City bus to reach Bukit Nanas.  There were no instructions on the bus, we had to inform the driver to stop at our destination. Lunch buffet for 2, RM197.55 inclusive of tickets to the observation deck and water. The price does not include water/beverage, food is normal.

 

Next day: Visiting Pulau Ketam, took KTM train to Pelabuhan Klang and transfer to boat into the island. The island is small and i cannot recommend the seafood, overpriced and .... Just an escape from the city.






Hanoi

We do not stay in Hanoi for many days, only as transit point to Sapa and Halong Bay. The city is noisy and full of traffic. Shopping is no fun as most products are not priced properly and most of the locals do not speak good English (they show indifference in entertaining you). Nothing much in Hanoi except eating, crossing the traffic, watching the puppet show & street view.
 





Our first meal in Vietnam, recommended by Minh Anh Hotel, at Tuyet Cin Cha 34, Hang Than. Bun cha, is the one food that I will missm priced <50 p="" vd.="">





Quan An Ngon is franchised restaurant in Vietnam. Service is good and the staff can speak English. Food: Shrimp hash fried on sugar cane and rice vermicelli wrapped with rice paper  110,000VD, Pho 55,000VD, Bun Cha 55.000VD, Hot coffee with milk 32,000VD


 Most of the street foods (shop besides the street and having no fancy decoration/ air con) are nice and sold under 50,000VD. Just walk in and point your finger to order.





Cha Ca – turmeric fish and herbs/spices (180,000VD per person), I liked it but my partner complained of the small portion of fish. I think I had most of the fish and left him with the 'leaves'. The price is expensive for single dish but it is unique in Hanoi. Note: air-conditioned restaurant




Minh Anh Hotel, US28.02. The hotel is not IN the center of tourist spot. However, it is walkable. The decoration is great except the noise insulation is bad. It was noisy as most hotels by the roadside in Hanoi have this problem. The staffs and the breakfast are great. The hotel helped us book the Sapa train ticket and allowed us to extend our stay without charge while waiting for our night train. Overall, It is appreciated to allow extension of stay for travelers taking the night train to Sapa.



Mango Hotel besides the train station, this is not the hotel that I will stay a night. We checked into this hotel for a few hours rest and shower after the night train from Sapa. Paradise bus picked us up from here at 8.15am. The room is dark, noisy and old. 300,000VD.



Found this little gem in the noisy Hanoi city, Hanoi View 2 Hotel. Low price with great quality, 472,000VD. We stayed here for the last night after returning from Halong Bay. The hotel is quiet and clean. The location is not in the center (walkable) and near the train station (station bounding to North).



 Sapa

Getting to Sapa is a long journey via train and bus. We bought Livitrain ticket though Minh Anh Hanoi hotel. The hotel charged us US350 (VIP cabin) for the ticket and service. 



Fansipan View Hotel, USD 69.44 for 3 days. The hotel gets good reviews in Agoda. The price is reasonable and they arranged everything for us (free pickup from train station - one way, trekking tour US35, shower and rest while waiting for bus to train station 50,000VD). The host, Twin speaks good English and is very helpful. The facilities in the room is a bit old, and our view of Fansipan is not that great as it was blocked by many buildings. The breakfast is quite oily me and the bread is not the French baguette as expected. Overall, it is a good stay on budget.




Sapa is a small town with only a few main roads. Most of the occupants in the town are not local as I found out that they are Vietnamese from the city. I am lucky to visit this place before they are changed by development.




We walked to Cat Cat Village. Twin advised us to take a guide but i think this trek is easy to venture on our own. Most people took the short route direct to the waterfall. We took the long one. 



The next day, we joined tour with SapaPathfinderTravel, 35USD per person (arranged by our hotel). Our guide, Lala, is a Hmong lady (7 month pregnant lady) brought us to Lao Chai village, Tavan village, bamboo forest and Giang ta Chai village.







On the second day, we went to Ta Phin Villlage.







 Lunch is inclusive in the tour. Our lunch for both days, prepared by LalaL: instant pho and sandwich


Most of the meats tasted dried/over-cooked in Sapa, from expensive restaurant to budget eateries. We found no fancy food here but the view is great.  We went to the best view restaurant, Bella Villa Restaurant. Some food on the menu: Countryside grilled fish 99,000, Pork caramel 95,000, Grilled duck with honey 133,000, Local beef with ginger and lemon grass 145,000, Grilled Sapa salmon 209,000, Steam rice - fish sauce and soya sauce 20,000, Carrot juice 45,000, vietnamese traditional coffee 30,000
 





Little Sapa Restaurant, 18, Pho Cau May
Fresh beef spring roll 41,000, Fried mixed vegetable 43,000, Grilled pork Sapa 69,000,Mango 28,000, The Manbo (mango, banana, milk, sugar) 33,000, Fried seafood spring roll 49,000, Stir fried vegetable 38,000, Fried shrimp banana 39,000, Sauted deer 96,000, water 9,000.
There were charges if we order steamed rice. We did not order rice on the second visit as it came free with the dish.




Our hotel stay with Fansipan View Hotel came with breakfast. The breakfast is poor even though I read good review from TripAdvisor. I guess those reviews are for non-free meals (lunch and dinner). Some of the offerings: Vietnamese filter coffee 19,000, orange juice 32,000, Pineapple juice 25,000, chicken sandwich with fried 65,000, Pasta 85,000, Fried rice (chicken, beef pork) 59,000. No lunch or dinner here as the breakfast is really disappointing.


 Halong Bay




We booked ourselves 3D2N cruise on Paradise Luxury Cruise (US697.72). The shared bus picked us up from Mango Hotel and drops us off at Hanoi View 2 Hotel (round trip costs US40 per person). The food and the program is great.  
















Set Lunch Menu: grilled beef with lot leaf,rolled green lettuce, wok fried caramelized tiger prawn, baked oven ha long geoducks in banana leaf, braised chicken thigh ginger and lemongrass,hot and sour clams broth, stir fried seasonal vegetables


 Non-stop buffet:









End of July 2013 holiday.

Before heading back to Singapore, another feast at Matang, Taiping with my family. Had unforgettable (non) Peking duck, adding to my body fat.