After months of researching and planning, it is finally time for us to head to the Land of Pho!
Can’t wait to have all the delicious bowls of Pho that my tummy can hold.
Since our SilkAir flight to Hanoi is only departing at 3:25pm, we had the entire morning to finalise our luggage. I’m really glad that our flight wasn’t early in the morning but that also meant that we “wasted” a day away because it would be evening by the time we reach Hanoi.
We went to the airport slightly earlier for Check-In so that we had ample time to take a light lunch, collect my Wifi Router and do some shopping at DFS before boarding.
It’s a short 3.5hours flight from Singapore to Hanoi but we still manage to watch a full movie (“Why Him?”), have our dinner onboard, and took a short nap before landing.
 |
| SilkAir A320; Ready for Boarding. |
After clearing the customs, we met up with our driver who will be transferring us from the Airport to our Hotel. His service cost us USD$25.00, which I consider a little pricey but for the convenience, I had our hotel arranged our airport pick-up for us.
MK Premier Boutique Hotel was our choice for the first 2 nights stay even though there were not as many reviews. But it was a newer hotel around the district, there is a bathtub in every room (bubble bath time!), their lobby looks really nice and their Rooftop Bar was a beau. Hahaha. Yes, I don’t drink but we can still sit at the bar and just chill right?
 |
| Dad & Mom ♥ ; In front of MK Premier Boutique Hotel. |
So, we got upgraded from a Deluxe Room to a Luxury Deluxe Room at Level 4, which is a much larger room with a view. That was what the receptionist said. But the "view" was that we will be overlooking the residents' rooftops. HAHAHA! But that is okay because I usually prefer to leave the curtains closed most of the time. Still loving the fact that they gave us a free upgrade because there really is a lot more space for our luggage, bags, and for us to move around.
 |
| Luxury Deluxe Room. |
After settling down in our rooms, the next stop was dinner! Yes, I know we already had our dinner and that we are all pretty full, but still... FOOD. Plus, this restaurant was highly recommended by so many people online and it is only a short walk away from our hotel, so might as well? Hahaha!
We arrived at the restaurant, New Day Restaurant (Mot Ngay Moi), after walking along Ma May Street for approximately 10minutes, and boy, it was really crowded. There were so many tourists dining there. Didn't expect it to be a full-house because:-
1. It was already 8:15pm. It's past dinner time, isn't it?
2. The restaurant has quite a huge dining area, but their tables were all filled with people.
But luckily, their service was fast and efficient so we didn't even have to wait for a table. Once we arrive at their doorstep, one of the waiters ushered us to our seats, given a menu each and took our orders readily when we were done. And yes, they have many servers working there.
 |
| Fried Spring Rolls, Fresh Spring Rolls, Beef Pho. |
 |
| Fried Spring Rolls. |
 |
| Mango Salad. |
 |
| Beef Pho. |
Because I was quite full but I still wanted to eat Pho, so I shared 1 bowl with boyfriend. After dinner, we slowly walked back to our hotel, along Ma May Street and bought a huge 5-litre bottle of water to share for the next 3 days. Saw some street vendors pushing a huge cart of clothes and holding helium balloons at the same time along the road, selling them. This really reminds me of the street vendors in Taiwan. Same same but different.
See. The lady above works alone. Her cart looks really heavy and one of her hands is full as she is carrying all the balloons on her own but yet, she can still move her cart steadily along the street. I am really impressed. I'm pretty sure everything will topple over if I was the one pushing the cart with one of my hands full.
Walked my parents back to their room to rest before heading down to have a look at what the Hotel's Spa had to offer with boyfriend. I saw that their manicure and pedicure were way much cheaper than if I were to do in Singapore, so I decided to get mine done on the spot. But sadly, the manicurist had already left so there were only massages and spa services available. A little sad but it is okay. I was just trying my luck since it was almost 10pm. Shall do it tomorrow then.
We went to Circle K (mini-mart), which was just next to our hotel, to get coffee and snacks before heading back to wash up. Ending the day with an electronic birthday cake and 2 pairs of socks, which I split and re-pair them up instead because Mickey & Minnie are an inseparable pair. Now we have unmatching-but-matching couple socks!
Looking back, I realized our Day 1 here in Hanoi really wasn't much. But at the very least, we weren't rushing and we were able to take our time to ease ourselves into the night and just enjoy some Pho and spring rolls.
No comments:
Post a Comment