Tuesday, November 16, 2010

5D4N Hanoi & Halong Bay, Vietnam



Vietnam has never been in my 'places-to-visit' list but we selected this destination purely because Air Asia was then offering a great deal for the airfare. We decided on Hanoi because we could visit Halong Bay, which is a UNESCO World Heritage. There is a saying that if you had visited Vietnam but never got around to visit Halong Bay, then you have not visited Vietnam at all. Everything we want for our trip has got to be cheap and economical. As such, we did a DIY 5D4N package all by ourselves. Here's our itinerary :

In Hanoi, we visited the surrounding places of interest with the help of a representative from Hanoikids just for Day 1. She will tell us on the history and culture of Vietnam and assist in calling a cab for us for the next destination. Here's our DIY itinerary from Day 1 to Day 5:


Day 1 : Hanoi
  • Temple of Literature --must visit
  • Museum of Ethnology -- real size of houses by different ethnic groups. Must visit.
  • The Old Quarter -- we stayed in one of the hotels located in this area. An area full of shops
Day 2 : Hanoi /Halong Bay
  • Proceed 3.5 hours ride to Halong Bay
  • Pre purchased a luxury cruise : Emotion cruise for 2D1N
  • Had lunch on board while cruising towards Bai Tu Long Bay
  • Visit Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave), one of the most beautiful cave in Halong Bay, found by a Frenchman.
  • Visit Titop Beach -- you can opt to climb to the top where you will have an awesome view of Halong Bay
  • Had seafood dinner on board
  • Squid fishing at night
Day 3 : Halong Bay / Hanoi
  • Tai Chi lesson on board at 6.30am
  • International Buffet Breakfast on board
  • Visit Ba Hang floating village
  • Sit in sampan where the local fisherman will row to areas only can be reached via boat
  • Lunch in Halong city
  • Transfer back to Hanoi
Day 4 : Hanoi
  • Walk to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
  • Visit Museum of Ho Chi Minh (next to each other)
  • Visit One Pillar Pagoda (nearby)
  • Leisure walk to Hoan Kiem Lake
  • Dong Xuan wholesale market
  • Exploring and shopping in Old Quarter
  • Weekend night market in Old Quarter
Day 5 : Hanoi / Kuala Lumpur

  • Transfer back to KL early in the morning and... BACK TO REALITY

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Can you share the hotel, and halong bay tour that you took?
My email is orototo1978@gmail.com.
Thanks

Infernomingle said...

Hello. Same. Kindly fwd hotels and halong bay tour to michellecmk38@gmail.com. thanx in adv. Planning to go end of dec this year.

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