Vietnam 04/09/2011 - 10/092011

Day 1

Early morning flight at 8am. Airport at 6am. Tiger Airways. First time going solo. It was on the plane where I really actually started planning my entire trip based on the photocopies of pages from the Lonely Planet. Arrived Hanoi at about 1030am Hanoi time. It is 1 hour behind Singapore. Asked the Tourist info on how to get to 91C Hang Ma Street, the address of Hanoi Hostel. There happened to be another person, Kiah, from Australia who was making her way to the same hostel. The taxi fare quoted was USD30. On hindsight it was really pricey, but we shared the cab so it was USD15 each. Ouch. Still pricey.

Checked into Hanoi Hostel, met Steve, another Australian, who's been working around Vietnam for quite awhile now. First meal in Vietnam was bun cha - bbqed chicken pieces in broth, and you dip these thick beehoon and raw vegs into the broth, take them out and eat them. Street food. Walked abit around Hanoi old district, went to the market, where people thought I was Vietnamese, and they spoke to me in Vietnamese, and expected me to translate it to Steve. :S

Booked my return night train ticket to Lao Cai, where I'd change to a bus to Sapa. Cost: 930,000VND. 6-beds in a cabin. Spent the afternoon walking around more of Hanoi old district. Attended evening Sunday Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral. Tried walking to the train station to prepare myself that night. Left for Sapa the very same night. Night train at 2140h. I was on the lowest level of the 3-beds-on-1-side. I was taken aback when other passengers sat on my bed before the train took off. I guess it was normal for them. Just carried on my stuff. The sleep was relatively peaceful, save for a few bumpy instances.