I met up with 7 other classmates of mine at the airport for lunch. We decided to sign up for this International Business Studies Mission to Vietnam together. They are Roche, Joanne, Joyce, Denny, Shane, Deone and Hui Ling.
After lunch, we congregated together with the rest of the delegation at the check in counters. We said goodbye to our loved ones before boarding the plane at 3:30. The whole journey took 3 hours before we touched down at Noi Bai, Hanoi's International Airport.
To be honest, I was expecting to land in the middle of some corn field, but Noi Bai International Airport, albeit small, do boast of good facilities and was cleaner than I expected. Clearing the customs was quite nerve wrecking actually. It felt like I was reporting for military service. The customs officials were wearing this typical green uniform with the police hats. Perhaps I've been watching too much of spy movies like James Bond where these communist police officials are usually the bad guys. Luckily they were really polite and efficient, clearing us through the customs as quickly as they can.
We met our tour guide Caahng, pronounced as Ken. We boarded the tour bus for a 45 min trip to Hanoi city, where we had our first taste of authentic Vietnamese cuisines. The most common dishes were the spring rolls, Vietnamese "Poh Piah", a dish of pork/beef/chicken/fish and soup, followed up by a platter of fresh fruits. The food, contrasting to Singapore, is simple and plain.
We then travelled another 45 mins to our hotel. The roads were crazier than expected. Motorcycles and bicycles were zooming past left right and center. The thing about Vietnam is that their motor vehicles sound their horn indiscriminately, which makes crossing traffic quite stressful.
Anyway Caahng told us to call him by his nickname, Little Buddha. His nickname came about because he is still unmarried despite being 30 odd years old. This is really old for a guy to remain unmarried since Vietnamese guys get married around 20-26 years old. There are some ages which are considered inauspicious for a guy and girl to get married. Oh yeah, I guess Caahng's parents bequeath him his nickname since he looks bubbly and chubby, like the laughing Buddha.
Travelling through the roads of Vietnam, reminds me of back home in Little India, Kampong Glam and China town where the roads are incredibly narrow, cramped with large numbers of vehicles and littered with rubbish. Our lecturers said that the current Vietnam reminds them of Singapore in the 70s. In fact, from old pictures of Singapore, it does look incredibly like the 70s, where shophouses line up along the streets.
We reached our hotel around 10 where we began to settle down. I was really surprised that our bus could squeeze through a narrow alley in order to get to our hotel. We held up traffic for a full 5 mins though. The rooms were old, and have little defects here and there, although most basic facilities were provided.
Hanoi isnt the most vibrant of cities. Most of their shops close at nightfall and the people do not speak english, so it is difficult to communicate with the locals. There were no ammenities around the hotel as well which made it feel so far from home.
My roomate was Roche, whom is my best mate in school. We turned in early since Day 2 is our longest day.
No comments:
Post a Comment