Hee...Now in Da Lat.So I stopped at Hoi An last time.I forgot if I talked abt meeting a Japanese sensei in the Hoi An restaurant.Think I didnt.
At the restaurant: Me and 2 frenz were eating and looking at the lizards.I know is disgusting but there were so many!! 11 we counted.I talked abt the lizard plunging to its death at Jh's house.Haa... Anyway there was an old man sitting nearby.Actually I already knew he is a Japanese.After awhile, he asked where we from and blah.. Then my fren asked me speak Japanese..OMG.. I could only think of Vietnamese.When we were abt to leave,I went to talk to him.So funny.. I wanted to say '2 weeks later'.2 in Viet is 'hai'.My mind kept saying 'hai hai hai' but I knew was not lei.No choice so I chucked English in.He couldnt get it at first lo.. Ha...Then we rented bicycle at night. Woohoo.. Anyway that's it..
Next we took a 12 hr night coach from Hoi An to Nha Trang.OMG!!Got 2 PRCs sitting behind us.After listening, we concluded one of them was a mentor to the other guy.So the other guy was filled with anguish and u know they are talking loud normally already.This one was filled with emotions!Even louder!I can counsel him also.So loud!He said he wanted to take revenge on some girl for dont know what.No wonder he was holidaying here.After that, he talked about society.Oh..I rmb one line: "Many Chinese thought they are capable in China.But when they go out to other countries, they realize they are small" sth like that.This made most sense out of everything he said.And we were shocked to find him quite young.Ard our age I think.At first we thought he was 30plus man. We wanted to asked our frenz in front if they heard them.We used Viet to say.Foreign lang come in handy at times.
I love Nha Trang a lot!They cater to tourist but can also see some Vietnamese culture there.And the stuff there are cheaper.We had a boat tour on first day.Very fun.I tried snorkelling and I saw jellyfish, corals and fishes!!But also got stung by jellyfish.The boatmen asked us to try diving from the top of the boat but I cmi la.I need a float.They have a floating bar,which is the bar is in the sea and we have to swim to get a drink.Haa..... I got tanned a lot now.Esp from Hoi An onwards.Bought some clothes there that's all.
This morning, we took a coach from Nha Trang to Da Lat here.The weather is cooler here.I like here a lot too!!We just went to the Da Lat market.Finally saw sth which looks like spore.There are many food,snacks,clothes plus wet market..Wah!!Plus few houseflies!Haa...I went bonkers when I saw them.SHA.... Their fruits are very nice and fresh.Esp the strawberries..Think they pluck and bring to market to sell straightaway liao.. Yeah yeah.. My teacher said there is flower festival now or what.But along the way, I already saw many nice flowers.I like the flowers grown in temperate places.. Wooo WAhhahhh.. .... .... Ha...

I have stopped for a long time..Coz I had been busy with the project for the Vietnamese class.But we did last minute job la.We did on "Life after school",so it included hotel, the places that we had been to and some entertainment.Ha...
We had a drinking session on Thursday coz some of them are not coming with us.I dont know how but they asked the hotel pple to join us too.Haa.. So fun..Only a few of them la..We ranked 4 of the doormen.First handsome,2nd handsome,Funny guy and No.4.That's their nick.Haa... But in the end we changed 2nd to first, and first became 4th.A bit confusing.. Haa..Ytd b4 we left for Da Nang, I took picture of the new 1st handsome.He is cute and shy.But so sad, we got acquainted with them only 2 days or so b4 we left Hanoi.And funny guy doesnt like to take picture.Ha...This ends the life in Hanoi.
Ganxiang:Although all of us think that the old quarter at Hanoi, which is where we had been staying for 1st 3 weeks, is noisy and crowded, we miss the pple there.Now I'm beginning to miss there a little.Of course not the noise and air pollution.
We reached DaNang ytd at 645pm(VN time).We took a cab for 5-6 pple but we had 7 pple.Plus many luggages!!The only guy in our grp sat at teh back among the luggages.Ha..
OMG.. I like DaNang and the beach!It is very different from Hanoi's noisy street.We can dance across the roads there!Ha...Fast forward.
We agreed to wake up at 415am today to catch sunrise at the beach.But we woke up at 445am and we quickly washed up coz someone said the sun had risen.The sun here rises and sets very early.When we reached the beach,there were many pple there swimming and playing liao!!The sky was getting bright but the sun was behind the clouds.The sun finally rose at 515 if i'm not wrong.
I like the environment there!!After breakfast, we headed to the marble mountain.I always imagined it to be a mountain with crystal-clear coloured steps.So funny.I'm at this internet cafe now and they are playing Jang Nara's Sweet dream in Vietnamese.And is by guys.Just now got SHE's Xing Guang. Anyway,it was not as what I imagined.Got many Buddhist temples at the mountain.
We left DaNang and reached Hoi An at 1pm.Now we got to leave.. Ja ne..

Sapa Day 2
Ok.. We got to get up early coz we had to check out by 8am.All our clothes were still wet and dirty.No choice.So we said the first thing when we reached Hanoi was to send them to laundry.
I wanted to pon the trekking coz I scare my knee cmi and I preferred to shop la... Haa.. But I still went.We had to rent boots coz we were trekking along muddy trails.
When we started walking down the roads,we realized more and more pple joined us.Not tourists but the local tribal pple.They started to hover around us.. haha..They chatted with us but we knew ultimately they wanted to sell things to us.Although we knew,in the end it was very hard to escape.This is the scariest part.But we got to talk to them in Vietnamese!!!OK.. Actually my fren got to practise more coz mine is really lousy.
Sapa pple are better in foreign lang coz they see so many tourists every day.So they learn and use when they are selling stuff.Good lei.. Haa..
Now the scary part...
The hovering strated at the beginning of the trekIt was really long walk.Plus the roads are uneven and we got squishy mud for a long distance at later part of the trek.But they kept following us. 10k?I'm not sure.Then I got acquainted with a small girl.12 yrs old.She kept walking beside me and I decided to be friendly.I wanted to be dao coz I knew they wanted to sell..Haha..
I treated her and some others peaches.Fast forward..
After lunch, while we were walking,many of the tribal pple kept coming up to u and ask u to buy.The parents asked the children to sell while they make those stuff at home.Although I din feel like buying,I bought coz the children seemed quite desperate.Felt like if we dont buy, they cant go home or what.But one thing is we cannot bargain with the children.Coz their parents ask them to sell at that price and they cannot reduce,otherwise they get scoldings.Buy from older pple is better.
I lost the girl for some time and I felt bad.Coz I hadnt bought anything for her and I already planned to do so, since she followed me all the way.But she managed to catch up.
So in the end we bought so that they stopped following us.And u cannot stop!!Once others see you buying from another person, all of them will crowd around u and ask u to buy.Exactly the same stuff.Muz learn from my fren.Walk and bargain and buy at the same time.Plus they dont pester guys.Coz they sell accessories mostly. HA... But I like the accessories la. It was the way they sell that is scary.

We took train to Sapa.The houses and the rail was so near that we could see the whole house.We had to go to Lao Cai first before tsking a bus to Sapa.There were so many pple waiting for the tourists and in the midst of confusion,I was so amazed the tour guide could find us,provided he didnt know how we look like.It was really cold there.BUT!!I like my room there.It was very nice and got a very good view of the villages of the tribal pple.There was clouds drifting past the mountains and blah.. Got the pictures..Shall upload when I'm back.
Since we only had less than 2days there,we fen miao and booked a short tour to see the silver waterfall.Din know there was one till my frenz said they wanted to go.So nice!!!You cant even see the start of the waterfall coz the cloud shrouded the view.But can u imagine the sight!!!???
And there was a dog there.. So cute!!The dog was quite happy when it saw us and came to us.The funny thing is when it wiggled its tail, the whole butt moved too.So cute!!The pets in village look very different from what we see in spore.The looks are a little unique and they carry the 'village pets' air with them.U have to feel it urself.It is hard to put into words.
Next we had a trekking trip to the village.The unfortunate thing is it rained.I wore my slippers which was a good and bad thing.Good:my shoes din get muddy and wet.Bad:I slipped and fell when I was going down the stairs.OMG... Bruise.Coz of the stupid slippers plus the rain,I had to walk slowly and control the slippers.Great.While doing so,I think I hurt my knee again.Old injury.Shittie.. Got a hard time walking the slopes and the steps.Half the time I was looking at the ground, trying not to slip plus enduring the pain.But the sight was terrific!!
I was so happy when we returned to our hotel.We wanted to explore at night but it was bleak cold and our jackets were drenched!So we slept.. Haa...

Yeah yeah.. Going Sapa later. Is up in the hill and we will be sleeping overnight in the train. So fun.. First time. Quite cold there and I heard it is quite similar to Genting.
Haa.. I think Vietnamese here lead a very simple life. They dont have offices here like our Shenton Way. I think they dont have any competition in schools and work here. Ya la.. That's why they are quite slack while working. They can chit-chat or do their own stuff. If they happy, they can dont sell u the stuff. Good and bad la.. Good thing is they no need to be so stressful here trying to snatch customers to get more commission. It is enough to earn for living and they are not ambitious to take over other pple's position and blah..
Well, bad thing is if they ever go out to the real world, they will have a tough time.. All those malicious pple ard... Haa.. So tired...

Omg... The days in Hanoi are getting fewer. Just went shopping alone. Today is better. I finally can read the map and din get lost! I also bought my cap!First cap in my life. Omg.. Bought 2 and bargained with the auntie. I forgot how much I set and I agreed to her price in the end. After thinking,I realized I din get much offer. As in if I have frenz to help me or bargain more, I save more hee..... Cheapo.
Then, I went to post office to buy stamps. I wanted to practise those forms which I have learnt here about post office but when I reached there, I think speaking in English was faster.
Then then, I went to find my contact lens and solution. She din have monthly lens so i bought a small solution first. When I was shopping at this dept store, I found this optical shop lo.. This was better coz they could understand English. At least they knew I was referring to monthly lens but they only have B and L la. Thinking of buying in bulk coz is only $8/pair. Ok nothing much there..
Next I went to the bookshop to find the book on legends in VN.. Coz that time my frenz went to Co Loa and they din know there is a legend there till my teacher told us. Huh.. But the thing is, I couldnt understand the title so I bought the cheapest, thinest and most likely-to-be book.
I din want to come back so early but there is no other places to go.. Huh.. Haa....
Oh... Today we got cheated again. After lunch, I saw this auntie selling sticky muahchee-like stuff and as usual, I was attracted to it.Once we approached her, she started taking the food, prepared everything b4 I could ask her the price.But I hear was 20cents la. Anyway we ate like pig hahaha.. and still got pineapple from another auntie beside. I was getting worried that they would shoot the price up coz they too nice to us.When she heard we from spore, they said we are rich pple. My fren told me at that time she sian liao coz she knew they gonna over-charged.
Time to pay up..This was funny. The auntie showed us 10.000 dong=$1. My fren paid and I tot was settled. After that she said we got cheated coz she took $3 from us. The real thing was: she gave 20.000 dong but auntie got no change. So she gave another 10.000D, wanting to get back that 20.000D. But the auntie said 'thank you' so my fren shocked diao and plus she saw me walk away.. Haaa... I din understand wat my fren was talking so I tot settle liao.. Omg.. It was more ex than the bowl of noodle we had for lunch... That's why we are repenting now.. No dinner ... Haa.... Got snacks la... Haa......

Eating Ritz biscuits now.So happy..Today one of our teachers bought xoi(sticky rice) for us.Got red bean!!Ngon(delicious)!Supposed to go to some countryside with them but when I saw my bed,I sian diao and felt like sleeping.Been feeling tired these days.Every night drink beer and say want to go to the lake in the morning to jog.Beer plan worked but the jog plan failed.Listening to the handsome doorman talking to my fren now.Haa...Eavedrop to be exact.
Anyway,we went to see Ho Chi Minh ytd.Went to his museum sth like tat.A lot of pple.U will be filled with reverence when u enter.The guards will also make sure of that la...
They actually preserved his body so we could see him in person.He lied down in a cold room and there were 4 guards guarding him.Got a distance of abt few meters and we just walked one round to the other entrance.Wow..
After that, we went to our teacher's house.I saw them selling dog meat lo!!!I got so sad and affected!Np wonder there is no stray dog like we see in spore.Coz I saw them being caged in.Right beside them,their counterparts had already been roasted.So sad!!U know what they will become but ccannot do anything.
Our teacher's house is fun.They have a small yard,2dogs and 2cats.Cats were so cute.The dog also..Tog kept looking at me eating.Haa..But the dogs here are quite tame.She has a nephew and niece and they are so adorable.The oldest is 2+ yrs old and she said she hated us.Then my fren kept disturbing her and she flared up.So funny.She's a chilli paddi.Ha..
Then our teacher brought us to the ceramic street and I bought this bird whistle.Very amazing!The sound is very sharp and clear.Have to add water b4 blowing.Haa...
Speed up.. After that, my frenz explored other places while I returned to the hotel.Coz I wanted to buy sth and I got sian diao from the delay.So this was the first time I walked alone to the main road.I was quite scared at first coz I couldnt find the road.N I din want to keep stopping coz they would know I'm a tourist and would ask me to take taxi. :\
I found my way but I took a very long way when there is a super short one.I got my dictionary but I couldnt find any Japanese story books here.. Hmm.. Have to buy in Kino liao..
Alright..Ja ne!

Just went to their night market.Like our pasar malam.Nothing much.I must brush up on my Vietnamese liao... It is fun to be able to bargain using their language.But most of the time I dont understand. :<
I went to West Lake ytd and 3 of us took the swan ride at the lake.Then we enjoyed our not-so-delicious pastry in the middle of the lake.Haa....Nothing much ytd.
Quite fun today.We took 3 hrs ride to Ha Long Bay.In our bus got 3 Koreans.1 guy,2 girls.We were going to take a ship to visit the caves, but they wore heels.Nvm..1 of them wore dress and is the flowy type.Me and fren were saying we wanted to see how she was going to board the ship.Amazing.. She did it.Coz we had to climb up and down to get on the ship, and she managed with her heels!!
We sat near them in the ship so we could cont to spy them.. Haa..so 38.Anyway by then,we had concluded them as Bimbo.. Rich bimbo..And the guy was wearing pink..
After meal, we went to the deck upstairs for better view.The wind was very strong but was so comfy.I was so scared my contacts would be blown away so I avoided turning sideway.Haa...
Then, the bimbo and pink guy came up.Omg.. The wind was really strong and the girl with dress still came up.The wind lifted her skirt a little and she 'arhh' and quickly skipped her way up.When they went behind, I said that girl could do Monroe show loh...
After awhile, they came to our side.Then that 'arhh' girl stood in the way of the captain's view and got honk!Quite loud.We were sniggering.. Wahhahaaa...Along the way to the cave, there were so many steps and they were uneven and narrow.If I wear heels, I will fall into the sea liao..
Ok.. Bimbo aside... My frenz got acquainted with a Japanese guy and they asked me to talk to him.CMI.. I forgot most of my Jp liao.. I can only think of Vietnamese.I went to talk to him and he is from Waseda Uni... Jp history major... Wahhh... And he is backpacking in Vn alone.. Flying back tml.. haahaha... So cute.. Luckily got take photo with him.. hahaha
On my way back, I saw this dog caged in.So cute.It whimpered as I approached the cage, like saying 'let me out!'Then it kept staring at me with those pitiful eyes..Felt so useless..cant do anything... And they eat dog and rabbit meat!!! And the cows I saw are so skinny.U can see their rib bones liao... Although I like beef, after looking at them, I decided to follow Lin sao's path and not eat meat.Fail.. Ate kebab just now.. Haa.....

Part 2 of my blog today.Ha..
Oh.. me and my fren went jogging today!!At Hoan Kiem Lake.Coz we heard there are many pple exercising there in the morning.We set out at about 5.45am but there were already pple coming back from the jog.Hayai ne~
The path was crowded with pple already but the view was super beautiful!Breath-taking.. Scenic... Wooo hooo...
We started jogging around.Mostly old pple there.They have aerobics in the morning and their aerobics actions are so cute!They shake their butt and wave their arms left right left right... There are pple following the aerobics which is opposite the road.Ha.. The receptionist is listening to radio now and there is a familiar korean song.Think is Lang man man wu OST.But dont know is in vietnamese or not.
I enjoyed last night too.After a nap in the afternoon, 5 of us went to walked ard to buy clothes.My map reading failed at night.. Couldnt get the right direction.Anyway we bought beer and Vinamilk yoghurt(oishii).We tried those street side food like charcoal-bbq cuttlefish and sugarcane juice.We sat at the roadside and enjoyed the food at night, and talked leng xiao hua.
They have this 'sticky rice' which is called xoi here.Is one of my fav food now.Is sth like ba zhang but is not as oily as that.They are wrapped in banana leaves, which according to my fren, are recycled.They put green bean paste inside, no wonder I like.Next time I shall suggest red bean paste inside.Yes is very nice!!!! Very chewy and you can see evry single grain of rice!!!!
Later we are going to watch a vietnamese film at a French Art theatre or museum. And tml we are going to watch water puppet show!!!

En fin!Took me 15 min to enter this page.Today is my 5th day in Hanoi and I dont really feel like going back.Haa.. I am staying at Camellia Hotel at Luong Ngoc Quyen road. Omg.. noise pollution.. They are honking again outside.Even if there is nobody..
I was a little pissed off actually when me and my fren realized we kept getting cheated.But sometimes we dont even know the real market price and we have to judge accordingly.Just now, we walked past this group of fruit sellers.I forgot what that is called but you always see pple from the village carrying 2 baskets suspended on a pole like that.My fren was taking pic using their conical hat and that baskets.So that grp of sellers saw and asked us to take pic also.Actually they asked us to buy b4 but we rejected.After we took pic and chatted with them, cant possibly say no to them again.Can but I couldnt do it.And she wanted to sell at SGD3 for a packet of pineapple(not even the whole fruit) and 3 bananas.3, not bunch!Crazy.. That was even more ex than my lunch which consisted of noodles lo!!!
I bargained and she didnt want to accept $2.We settled at $2.50.My lunch was $2.Bo bian la!But after that I felt so cheated.Most of my money is not spent on souvenirs and clothes.Is on these stuff.... And food la.ROAR
Another time also.I wanted to buy balloon.Cuter ones la with helium.I picked Doraemon.She said $2.I thought it was weird to bargain for a balloon so I just paid.Later my fren reminded me that my shorts is cheaper than the balloon lo.Quite funny la.. We went to a fruit store to buy apple.He said $3 for a kg.I didnt know how many for a kg.So we said 1/2kg.Ha... In end is 2 apples only.DIAOZ.. But the apples looked nice and big.We thought it was funny to bargain for 2 apples lei.So in end $1.50.Ok.. Moral of the story.. Next time dont be friendly with them.. Give evil look when walking on the street.

Yoz... So fun today. Me and Mixue went to walk around Hanoi and other district on our own!!This is the first time I looked at the map so many times la. And we eventually found our way too. After our lesson, we went on our own to other district which I dont know the name. Coz our teacher told us there are many tailor shops and we can make our own clothes! $8 only!!
But we couldnt find our way so we ended up going to Army Museum. On Vietnam War and WW2. VEry interesting. And sunny. Think I can get a good tan here after 3 weeks.
After that, we anyhow walked to our hotel. Trying to find the shortest way back. BY end of 3 weeks, think my legs also become toned. GOOD!Then we went shopping again.
The pple here are so good... They can ride bikes to schools. I passed by a sec school today and the students were juz about to go home. They just hoped onto the bike and whizzzzz off liao.. Their roads have more bikes than cars. Ratio is abt 50:1?? I think so.
N their domestic dogs are so cute. They are those furry expensive kind of dogs. We were saying even the animals are the same as the pple, taking life slowly. They dont go hyper like some in spore.
We also used Vietnamese to bargain with them.. So fun! I think after the whole immersion, I only know 4 lines-How much? Too ex. (State price). TY. Haa...
Their streets are divided quite strangely..If u enter this street selling straw hats, the whole street sells the same thing. Exactly. SO we walked past the wine and snacks street today. So funny. Even the shelf which they used to place the wines are the same. Same position, same wines. So u see many duplicates from the start to the end of the street. Ha....
Ja.. I want to go back to my room liao.. Got to wake up at 630 viet time tml..

Hey hey... I am in Vietnam now~~ HAHHA.. Went to the school today.. I was so tired.. Anyway that is not the main point..
The thing is there are many shopping here n I am going to sha !!!!
And they are quite cheap here.. The people here are quite nice and their lives are so simple.. Hontooni different from Spore.
BUT... Their traffic is sugoi!.. Everyone keeps pressing their honks coz the whole traffic is anyhow~ I was so scare I would get knock down ytd but I am beginning to get used to it. They have many bikes and there are bike rentals all around. It is like renting bycycles at ECP and you ride around. Fun but scaring to be the pedestrian. No photos yet coz the cam no batt..
Later I am going shopping!!! SHA... Now is 3.37 Viet time.. 1 hr behind Spore time. Oh I realized I have auto -roaming so can sms too~~ Hee... Thinking sld buy prepaid or not lei... Meow~~

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