My Very First Blog

WARNING : This post contains disturbing images of animal carcasses hung on hooks. Please proceed with caution if you do not wish to see them. I have placed the images towards the end of the post with a warning sign beforehand so that you can skip them if you wish.

On my fourth day in Hanoi, my friend and I went for a day trip to Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong). We had booked this trip via Sinh Cafe Travel a few days earlier. The price for the one day trip was US$25 per person which include lunch, entrance fees, transport and a tour guide.

The young tour guide by the name of Nam Nam (I remember his name because it rhymes with Vietnam!) came to pick us up at our hotel at around 8.30am. We were the last few to be picked up that rainy morning so we ended up sitting at the back of the bus.





If you look at the photo above, you can see that they have cleverly maximised the space in the bus as the seats can be expanded in the standing area between the left and right rows. Well, this is still better than the buses in Guilin, China where they actually provide you with stools to sit in the standing area!

The journey by bus (which was heading southwest of Hanoi) took roughly three hours, including an unnecessary stop (read time waster) at a souvenir shop as usual. It could have been faster had the road not been so bumpy. It was especially bumpy during the last half hour of the bus journey. We even passed by a very huge pothole filled with rain water!





Luckily we survived the pothole and reached the riverside of Duc Village. From here, we entered the second phase of the journey to Perfume Pagoda. Yes, if you must know, there are no roads to Perfume Pagoda. You need to take a bus, then a boat and finally hike up the mountain to reach it. That is exactly how the Vietnamese pilgrims reach this important religious site every year after Tet (Vietnamese New Year).

Oh, but don't be put off with that hiking part - we are living in modern times even in Vietnam, so now they have cable cars to take you up, so don't worry haha! Although that sort of defeats the purpose of the pilgrimage right? OK, maybe the pilgrims should hike and we tourists take the cable car. LOL!





I was actually looking forward to this boat ride! There were rows and rows of metal-bottomed boats along the Yen River.





Each boat is rowed by two local oarswomen. We asked Nam Nam how much we should tip the oarswomen and he said US$1 would be sufficient. Unfortunately, that was not what one of the  women who rowed our boat expected from us. We had a pretty unpleasant experience with her.





These were the two women who rowed our boat. The one at the back of the boat showed us a sour face when most of us paid her US$1. She kept insisting for more and was not happy when some of us paid her in Vietnamese Dong. I mean, come on, it's just so rude to ask for more tips - it's our right to decide how much to give!





The one in grey shirt was rowing at the front. She was OK.





But this woman rowing at the back of the boat had a really bad attitude! She was smiling during most of the journey (although she wasn't in this photo) but turned sour face at the end when she saw how much we were paying her.





Sorry I have to single her out and even show her face here, but I was totally pissed off. I knew her rowing job was tough - I have to admit it is hard work rowing for more than an hour. Total that up close to 3 hours since she needs to row us to Perfume Pagoda and back.

Knowing how tough it was, I did not pay her US$1 like many others. I paid her US$10. And she still showed me a sour face!! What the hell. I wish I could have taken my 10 bucks back!





I did not know how deep the river was, but I was quite concerned that we were not given safety jackets to put on. Oh well, sometimes you just gotta take some risks...





Our boat passed by this man sleeping in his sampan. Just got to snap a picture!





Nam Nam, our tour guide - the one right in front of the lady rower and looking left.





A lot of people (especially tour agencies) had told me it would be a very scenic boat ride with views of stunning limestone karst formations and mesmerising rice paddy landscape. In fact, the boat ride was my main reason to go on this trip to Perfume Pagoda.





Never trust what the tour agencies tell you. Because as it turned out, I was not really impressed. Maybe because I have seen it all before in Guilin, China. Or maybe Guilin has nicer scenery - I am not quite sure.





But the boat ride was still pretty fun. So I was not really complaining. Just that I was not impressed. It just did not make me go "Wow!"





Nam Nam explaining some of the things we saw during the boat ride.





That poor lady rower looked pretty exhausted, so Nam Nam helped her with the rowing.





I was seated almost at the back of the boat on a higher seat, so I did not need to stand up like this lady to take pictures.





After a while, everything around us just looked the same.





It was starting to get a little boring when we saw we have reached our destination! No, not Perfume Pagoda - we still need to climb up the mountain, remember? This is the base of Huong Tich Mountain and we disembarked there.





Everyone had left the boat except the sour faced rower. Sorry just can't stop myself from calling her that although she was not showing any sour face at that time.





Took a shot of the scenery from the jetty.





WARNING : Disturbing images ALERT right after this picture below! Please skip the rest of the post if you do not wish to see the images. 

Before going up the mountain, Nam Nam told us that we would be having our lunch first at one of the restaurants there. We passed by a long row of restaurants and eateries and I was wondering which restaurant we would be going to.





And then, to my horror, I saw this ...
































And this!
































What animal was that?! Not a dog, I hope.
































These carcasses were hung off hooks and displayed in front of almost every shops there. Although I have heard that people in Vietnam do eat these animals, it's simply not the same as seeing the carcasses hanging like that.

Having said that, I was not particularly disturbed with what I saw. But it would surely be a shock to animal lovers and tourists not accustomed to seeing such garish display of dead animals!
































That's a deer hanging together with a bunch of bananas.

And what do we have here?
































Yikes! Giant lizards?

Is this a porcupine?
































Oh no! I would surely lose my appetite after seeing all these!
































I hoped we were not going into one of these restaurants! How could we even stand the smell?
































Then we stumbled onto these bread. What's with those "legs"? Maybe I should have bought one of these bread to try but after seeing all those carcasses, I just did not feel like having any!





So what did we eat for lunch? And did Perfume Pagoda live up to my expectation?
Stay tuned for Part 2 coming up next!

During my trip to Hanoi back in 2013,  I stayed at the Rising Dragon Palace Hotel located at Nguyen Quang Bich Street in the Old Quarter.



Although Old Quarter can be quite a chaotic place, this boutique hotel, being at a quiet street, is effectively shielded from all the noise and the hustle and bustle of the vibrant city, making it a perfect retreat for travellers like me.



There is even a spa called La Sante Spa but I did not make use of that during my stay.



Despite being hidden, the hotel is however within walking distance to Hang Da Shopping Mall, Hoan Kiem Lake and many other places in the Old Quarter area, so the location was really not bad at all!



My first impression of this hotel was the fantastic service! I was greeted very warmly by one of the staff there and was given a welcome drink on arrival. I did not expect a welcome drink from a boutique hotel!



While waiting for my turn to check in, I was seated down and one of the friendly staff explained to me about the facilities in my room, the hotel's restaurant and the breakfast time. He also provided me with a map of Hanoi city and showed me the directions to various tourist attractions. In fact, he spent about 10 minutes talking to me. I was really quite impressed!



Honestly, I have always praised the good service of the hotels I stayed in Bangkok but now I think that Vietnam (in particular Hanoi) had already surpassed Bangkok in terms of service! Perhaps the tourism industry in Hanoi is on the rise and the hotels there are facing stiff competition?



Look! The hotel was even awarded the 2012 Gold Circle Award from Agoda.com! I actually booked this hotel via Agoda and I have to admit that my decision was greatly influenced by the high number of positive customer reviews I read at the site.



I was given a Deluxe Room with a King size bed. Can't remember on which floor though.



I have to say, I was not particularly impressed with the room although it came with a rather huge toilet and bathroom. Perhaps the room looked kind of old or tired. The shower and toilet were divided into separate cubicles, which may or may not be a good thing.



The Deluxe Room did not come with city view. The tiny narrow window on the right side faces the hotel's airwell so I kept the blind closed all the time. If you would like a room with a window facing the street, you can always upgrade to higher floor rooms that have windows or balconies overlooking the street.



Toothbrushes and hand soaps were provided, so were bath gel, shampoo and towels.



Stated on a piece of paper on top of the toilet bowl : "Cleaned and Disinfected". I liked the assurance of that but I did not like the smell when I first entered the toilet, so I asked the hotel staff to spray some air freshener. That cleared away the smell but not entirely. But after a few days, I just got used to the smell.



I would prefer a bigger rain shower head, but this one would do I guess. I would say the toilet and bathroom were quite clean, though not exactly spotless.



Hair dryer was available too.



Also there's an iron and an ironing board if you want to do some ironing.



I did not really like the programs shown on TV. A far cry from Bangkok where I could stay awake the whole night watching Thai dramas and Thai music videos in the hotel room. LOL. Well, in a way it's good too - I could do with some sleep.



But the room's soundproofing was pretty bad. During one of the nights in the hotel, I had the misfortune of listening to a Western couple having sex in the room next door. The woman was moaning and the man was groaning so loudly they totally drowned out the sound from my TV. No kidding here.

Luckily, it was a short one, lasting no more than five minutes, or else I would have knocked on their door. Haha!

I loved the buffet breakfast provided by the hotel. I absolutely loved their plain yogurt which came in small cups and I ate two cups every morning. Oh how I missed the yogurt! (Sorry no photos)



I even tried their bun cha (grilled pork with rice noodles and vegetables) and it was pretty good, except that it was pricey, at 130,000 VND (US$6). Well, the hotel staff told me their hotel restaurant was ranked No. 3 on Trip Advisor at that time, so I just had to give it a try.



The above picture shows the street view from where I stood outside the front entrance of the Rising Dragon Palace Hotel. Not exactly a good view, but it was a quiet street and that's good. You do not want those crazy traffic of the Old Quarter outside the hotel.

Will I return to this hotel? Maybe. One thing's for sure - the staff go all out to meet your requests and needs. The service is better than a five-star hotel, but you pay so much less. Definitely worth the price!

Coming Up Next : My Trip To Perfume Pagoda