emm…i am in the middle of writing the vietnam trip report when aishah suddenly showed me the southern new zealand map and the places that she has been to. So this post will consist everything we need to know for the upcoming trip:

map - http://www.backpack-newzealand.com/mapofsouthisland.html

backpacking info – http://www.backpack-newzealand.com

hi all,

we have just returned back from a very adventurous trip to hanoi, vietnam. It was not 100% pre arranged but we think we had secured one of the best deal in town. Just imagine, in that short 7 days, we have managed to cover 7 places altogether. Below is the summary of what happened in vietnam, “the land of flat butts”:

DAY 1

arrived in LCCT early, by around 12 am. Rearranged the food ration and trying to sleep but i just could not do that. Others arrived as late as 530 am and we rushed to check in the baggage. I think the guy at the counter were trying to cheat us. I think he pocketed some money from the baggage weighing machine.

wandering at noi bai international airport

anyway, we departed at 6.30 am and prayed Subuh prayer inside the plane. It was full house with vietnamese and i..myself sat beside a german/switzerland couple. After three hours of flight, we touched down at noi bai international airport in hanoi. The weather was like foggy, i am not sure, is it haze or something else.

upon embarking the arrival hall, we called ms tho but failed. Tried several times and finally we got thru. Since we have already booked thai binh hotel, we decided not to take ms tho service.  its kinda disappointment to me since i really appreciate being accompany by a local. Local people means localized information at your finger tips .

We took a van/mini bus to the city center, specifically to the mango hotel. The cost was USD 20 and i think, it is ok lah. The cost might be cheaper if we pay in dong. after 30-45 minutes of travelling, we arrived at the mango hotel. To our suprise, we do not need to pay for the train ticket, i think we will only required to pay when we arrived at the hotel. Anyway, we got a tourist class Livitrans ticket from Ha Noi to Lao Chai. But we need to wait until 8.40 am to embark on the train journey. It was still 10 am in Ha noi and we decided to put our baggage in the train station. For one locker, we pay like 17000 dong. The staffs at the train station were nice. They did not overcharge us and we just have to show the train ticket to qualify for the locker service. Thanks to Mr. Nam Hong for his tips.

nisa restaurant, hoan kiem lake, ha noi

And after that, we asked the locker man to show us the way to Hu Huan street in which Nisa restaurant is located. Although we did not understand what he said, but based on the pointers he draws on the map, we managed to reach nisa restaurant at noon. Nisa restaurant strategically located near Hoan Kiem Lake at the old capital or Old Quarter. We were greeted by the restaurant manager Mr Azhar and we quickly ordered our food. I had “pho” – pronounced as “fur”. It is basically a bowl of noodle with meat slices. Some what like “Mee Sup”. The pho was nice. 4 of us had pho while the rest enjoyed the meat beriyani. Nisa restaurant is one the two remaining Malay Moslem Halal restaurant in Ha Noi. The meal and the drink cost us around 4-5 USD per person.

after that we proceed to the one and only mosque in Hanoi. I think it was 15-20 minutes walk from Nisa Restaurant. The mosque is currently being renovated. We took a rest for 20 minutes while waiting for the Asar prayer.

On the way to the mosque, we bumped upon some tour operator. We asked for the tour to Halong Bay – pronounced in vietnamese slang “halong by”. The cheapest we can get was USD 33 for a 2 days one night tour. All meals included which means we will get lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch again. We think it was a good deal as Azhar from nisa restaurant did offer us a one day trip which is closed to USD 40 per person. We have not made our decision yet coz i would like the team member to recalculate their budget to include the halong bay trip cost.

tranquility of hoan kiem lake

After praying, we quickly search for Hanoi Youth Hotel. Hanoi youth hotel is situated at 33, Luong Van Can St. We negotiated for 2 rooms with 4 person in one room for the last day of our trip. Few steps away, there is the sinh cafe tour agent. We booked the halong bay excursion from him. We paid for USD 33 per person. After that, we quickly walked to the train station thru the Hoan Kiem Lake. Hoan kiem lake was beautiful. You can see several woman offering the service of measuring your weigh. I think this is a good service. It promotes healthy lifestyle within the hustle and bustle of the city life. A lot of hanoian run around the lake and that makes me wanna live in hanoi

we arrived at the train station early. I think around 7 pm. We had coffees and some pancake while waiting for the train. At 8 pm, we quickly moved to the Mango hotel to board on the livitrans coach to Lao Chai. As advised by apek, we did not give our baggage to stranger but unfortunately one man tries to help us by showing the way to our coach. We thought that he was one of the livitrans helper. He ended up asking for several USD for his service. Syed, i think had given him 1 USD and told him to go away from our cabin.

Livitrans cabin was ok. We were greeted by a beutiful lady and that just made our day…hahaha. We were given 1 small drinking water, a chocholate wafer and a wet tissue. The bed and pillow… i think was ok too as we had a good sleepover on the train. We did not have our dinner as we really need that sleep for our next day trekking up the phang xi pan mountain.

syed on his livitrans bed

day 2

at around 5 am, the “stewardess” knocked on our doors signalling that we were about to reach lao chai. We stopped at lao chai @ 540 am and find our way out of the station. I spotted a man holding a placard with my name and i quickly approach him and he excorted our entourage to the mini bus. That morning lao chai train station was busy as usual. We were not the only passengers in that van, but with us were 1 euro couple and 1 french lady.

we continue our journey to sapa. i think we took nearly 40 minutes to reach Sapa from Lao Chai. I could spot a lake on the way up to sapa. When we reached thai binh hotel, we could feel the strong wind that awaits us in the mountain. We were greeted by Mr. Pham Nam Hong and a lovely smile from Ms. Feng. We were served a welcoming drink and we took that oppurtunity to have our breakfast. And you guess what, we had high 5 bread with anchovies sambal plus beef floss. Mr Nam had given us the key to 2 rooms so that we can take our shower before climbing mount fansipan. Indeed, we really need the shower. After 2 days of not taking bath, a hot shower had really refreshened our body, mind and soul.

After bath, we quickly repacked our bag. Everybody gave all foods, sleeping bags and cooking utensils to the porter while we only carried a small bagpack with us. We had 4 porters and 1 guide. Our guide name is Mr. Nam. He is a young man, aged 26 years old and he is very energetic. He had climbed mount fansipan 40 times and with us, he is going to make his 41st. At 9, we started our journey to Tram Ton Pass. Tram Ton pass is the starting point for all climbers who want to conquer mount fansipan. We stopped by Hong Lien Son National Park office. Mr Nam handed our name and obtained the climbing permit for us.

if i am not mistaken, we reached tram ton pass by 10 pm. We didnt waste anytime and started to trek. Actually, i didnt really timed our journey up to fansipan. May be it is because, i am always late and i will be the last man to arrive at the checkpoints. hahaha.

Anyway we arrived at a campsite at 1 pm local time. we cooked our lunch i.e. rice and sardine. Actually, the porter had already cooked the rice for us. Its just that some of us who are very pious did not feel comfortable eating the rice. There is a nearby waterpoint at the campsite and also WC..(“some called it WelCome…hahaha”)

We continued our journey at 2pm and the first part was an ascend of about 20m of nearly 90 degrees. after that the journey continues on a flat land. It was like walking on a range before going through several 70 degrees ascend. We reached our campsite at about 5-6pm.

We camped inside a hut built by the monk who used to climbed fansipan. The guide said that they perform prayers at the top of fansipan because fansipan is the highest peak before you reached the sky in indocina. I think that means, by reaching fansipan summit, the closer you get to the god. Anyway, fansipan means, the stone between the earth and the sky/heavens.

We had a good dinner.,,,

day 3

day 4

day 5

day 6

day 7

day 8

Dear ecotravelogers, please checkout the items below. This is the checklist that you have to comply before we depart.

1. a valid international passport which has not expired or has more than 6 months before it expires.
2. flight ticket printed slip. for those who bought the ticket thru me, i will print them out.
3. personal medicine. please do not include viagra, otherwise your wife might be thinking you are up to something else…hehehe. And for mr waje, please dont forget your medication.
4. food. this have been taken care off by me an zani. but please do bring your own personal likings.
5. cooking utensils. cooking pan provided by syuk and paie. ( paie’s utensil is with zani ). liquid stove by arey. Remi’s MSR? tunggu…..
6. clothing – make sure to have thick clothing or just bring long sleeves shirt 2-3 pairs. The weather might be unbearable.
7. hand glove. strongly advise.
8. sleeping bag – thai binh provide sleeping bag. but it is strongly advised to bring your own sleeping bag that can resist a very low temperature say +2 to +5 degrees celcius. you can bring the cheap one, but please request extra sleeping bag from thai binh hotel later.
9. sleeping mat.
10. mess tin, fork, spoon, mug - this is for your own usage.
11. rain coat. we are still in the raining season in vietnam.
12. camera…hehehe. for those who have la. for waje, sempat ke beli dslr. hahaha.
13. headlamp or torchlight

How about food in hanoi?

I somewhat found the following address from this website.

1. 53 Ba Trieu, Hanoi.
2. 10 Hang Thung, Hanoi. 
3. Nisa Restaurant:

90A Nguyen Huu Huan St.
Hoan Kiem Dist.
Hanoi – Vietnam

Contact person:

- Mr. Ben Taat Haji Alias
Mobile: +84 912040537
Email: bentaat@nisa-restaurant.com
- Mr. Azhar Harris
Mobile: +84 934282813
Email: azhar@nisa-restaurant.com

info: http://www.nisa-restaurant.com

i am looking forward to visit nisa restaurant. The food is not cheap, but expected. But at least, we can start estimating the cost of living in hanoi. But i am not sure until what time that the restaurant operate. Below, 2 more malaysian restaurant, “nok make budu ko be…”:

1. Warung Sri belango ” The Malaysia Truly Asia Kitchen”
Menu: From $3US ++++
26 Ong Ich Khiem – Dien Bien – Ba Dinh – Hanoi – Vietnam
Tel/Fax : +844 734 7216
Direct voice: +84917348264
Malaysian phone: +60192710026 / Mr. Zuzainy

info: http://vietnamtouronsale.com/index.php?act=viewrestaurant&idrestaurant=43 ,

http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/en/venue/show/2009/Warung-Sri-Belango

2. Malaysia in Hanoi
136 E, Tran Vu St
Truc Bach, Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Tel: 0084 715 2512

info: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/11/24/lifeliving/19529763&sec=lifeliving ,
http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/venue/show/1196/Malaysia-in-Hanoi <– it is defunct. is this true?

and for FULL halal food / halal kitchen listing, please visit the following website:

http://asrichascroesus.blogspot.com/2008/11/halal-vegetarian-restaurants-in-hanoi.html

and this website too: http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/venue/category/66/Halal#1/66

when you look for it, insyaAllah, it will come to you.

Food Schedule

So the final food schedule will be like this:

wed – 11/2 – touch down @ hanoi, going on a train ride to lao cai at night
- breakfast: breakfast at lcct food court. if you are late, then eat on the flight
- lunch: nisa restaurant
- dinner: packed from nisa restaurant

thu - 12/2 – arrived at lao cai, proceed to sapa, and start trekking mount fansipan to 2900m
- breakfast: roti gardenia + serunding
- lunch: nasi + sardin + sayur + ikan masin
- dinner: nasi + sardin + sayur + ikan masin

fri - 13/2 – summit day, goind down to sapa, sleep over at thai binh hotel
- breakfast: roti pita + serunding
- lunch: nasi + kari ayam yeos + sayur
- dinner: nasi + brahim daging + sayur

sat - 14/2 – tavan village tour
- breakfast: fried rice
- lunch: packed lunch fried rice
- dinner: nasi + sardin gulai + sayur

sun - 15/2 – bac ha market tour, going back to hanoi in the evening
- breakfast: nasi lemak + ikan bilis (zani) + telur
- lunch: packed lunch: nasi lemak + ikan bilis (zani) + telur 
- dinner: roti pita + serunding

mon - 16/2 – sightseing hanoi / halong bay
- breakfast: nisa restaurant
- lunch: sri belango
- dinner: sri belango

tue - 17/2 – sightseing hanoi / halong bay
- breakfast: other halal restaurant
- lunch: other halal restaurant
- dinner: other halal restaurant

wed – 18/2 – 7 of us take flight back home at 9 am
- breakfast: on the flight breakfast

thu – 19/2 – todd returns to kl
- breakfast: on the flight breakfast

Note: for dine in, we estimate the cost at USD 5 per person. All dine in at your expense. Total dine in estimated at USD 50 throughout the trip. And we also need to include 2 nights of hanoi sleepover at USD 15 per night, so tatal USD 30. So our cost will be:

Total cost: ( train hanoi-laocai-hanoi + pick up + trekking + 2 nights sleepover @ sapa + tavan tour + bac ha tour) + hanoi sleepover + hanoi dine in

total cost = USD 165 + 30 + 50
                = USD 245
                = USD 245 x 3.612 
                = RM 884.94 + food we bought from kl: rm 50 per person or less.
                < than kinabalu total … hehehehe.

* hanoi sleepover can be cheaper. this is just estimation. i think we can find below USD 15 easily.
* hanoi dine in = day 1 x 2 + day 6 x 3 + day 7 x 3 = 8 x 5 = USD 40 + 10 ( over budget) = USD 50.
* — we can cut down hanoi f00ds if we would like to cook our own food, provided that we can get a hotel that allow us to cook or we just cook at the verandah.

ha noi accomodation

have been thinking of renting hanoi youth hotel. http://www.hanoiyouthhotel.com/infomation.asp?mnz=2&mno=0 . No contact number found but this is the address: 33-Luong Van Can | Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi 8404, Vietnam 

another one is  queen something2 hotel. my brother used my lappy and he shut down the browser…arrghhh. and i ve lost the link .

Prayer time

sapa kiblat direction: 282.462744 (From North Clockwise) 

sapa prayer time

hanoi kiblat direction: 283.699322 (From North Clockwise)

hanoi prayer time

thats the latest update. going to hospital…n

1. ok, i think this is the 2nd last post before we present ourselves to vietnam.
2. last night we have bought 80% of the ration needs. Spent around RM 177. Pending stuffs:
   1. aik cheong coffee
   2. all those brahims’ or yeos canned food. have brought sardines and maggi yesterday.
   3. salted fish
   4. cili api
3. zani has voluntereed to cook sambal ikan bilis.
4. syuk has bought the chicken floss and dodol too.
5. contacted thai binh hotel . Most probably will pick up the tour package from nam hong. The price is USD 167 inclusive of the following:
   1. train hanoi-lao cai-hanoi on livitrans. 4 beds per cabin.
   2. transfer lao cai-sapa-lao cai
   3. fansipan trekking for 2 days 1 night. With 1 guide + 4 porters.
   4. 2 nights sleepover for 4 rooms of twin beds.
   5. tavan village trip on saturday
   6. bac ha market trip on sunday
   7. we can cook at the hotel, gas provided
   8. cooking @ phang xi pang will use dry woods
   9. free wifi @ the hotel
   10. no need booking fees. just the 1st page of passport scan and email.
6. need someone to handle equipments. Most likely will need:
   1. tent? just for emergency. will communicate with nam hong on this.
   2. kettle
   3. cooking ware: stove, pan, etc.
7. im looking forward to buy my own backpack. my own msr ( found one irresistable 2nd hand set from ebay ). and some clothing. i need new cloth…adeh…habis la duit aku.
8. zaid has not make his passport. grrr.
9. waje might be having problem with his wife. we wish him all the best and we believe you can do it waje.
10. seriously reconsidering the personal tour guide from vietnam.

so the itenaries is like this

day 1: 11/2 – arrived in hanoi from kl, wandering around hanoi, take train to lao cai at night
day 2: 12/2 – arrive at lao cai, proceed to sapa, start trekking up to 2900m
day 3: 13/2 – summit fansipan, descent straight to sapa, overnight at sapa
day 4: 14/2 – go to tavan village, one more night in sapa
day 5: 15/2 – go to bacha – return from bacha, return to hanoi via train at night
day 6: 16/2 – arrive in hanoi, sightseing in hanoi, overnight at hanoi
day 7: 17/2 – sightseing hanoi, overnight at hanoi
day 8: 18/2 – going back to kl

after some dicussion, i think we will proceed with thai binh hotel.

6/2/2009

after reading tripadvisor’s advisories, i think, yeah, we proceed with thaibinhhotel. when i was searching for thaibinhhotel travel advise, i found out they had negative feedback. but after futher reading, the one has bad reputation is at hue, not at Sapa. The one at sapa is very good as the owner himself arranges the tour package.

thaibinhhotel is slightly off the main road in sapa. Got internet connection in which i need most later. we’ve got further discount of USD 16. Emm..ok lah. not that bad. but i read somewhere that they dont have the view like in mountain view hotel. emm. emm. this is something interesting to ponder.

actually we can lower down the cost by hopping on cheaper train. But again, livitrans looks good and actually my friend who has been on livitrans had a good experience. But still, whats inside our mind is to get things done cheaper. We want to prove that, climbing fansipan can be done under RM 800. We want to prove that climbing fansipan is cheaper than climbing mount kinabalu. grrrrrrr….everybody is complaining about the steep price hike for kinabalu climbing trip.

syed called yesterday that he can work out on better exchange rate. For every 1 RM, he can get 3.54 USD. that is like 10 sen cheaper. i think i will proceed with syed’s plan.

anyway, about the ms tho, i think i need to work out some extra budget for her. since some may not like the idea of hiring an extra tour guide as it means more money has to be forked out from their pocket. I need at least 4 people who is willing to forkout some money for her. i just feel bad when we are about to brake the promise we had.

ok, thats all for today…cya.