Halong Bay Part 2, Hanoi 2013

A highlight of the Halong Bay cruise was a stop at Hang Sung Sot or Surprise Cave. The cave was discovered in 1901 by French explorers and discovered to contain many naturally-forming rock formations. Locals have identified forms such as a dragon, a Buddha and a tortoise.

The cave was much bigger than I thought. Following the defined path, it took us about 20 minutes to walk through the various caverns, eaves-dropping whenever possible on other tour groups (because we lost our own guide) for interesting snippets about the cave, and attempting to take photographs in the dark.

We emerged out of the caves into a Halong Bay caught in the midst of a thunderstorm. Tourists were huddled tightly together in what little shelter there was available. After being squished around and already more than half wet, we decided to brave the rain and run to the jetty. I will always remember that mad crazy run down the rough hewn steps and the flooded bridge-paths to the jetty. 

Halong Bay Part 1, Hanoi 2013

Halong Bay has been on my travel bucket list for a long time and I am so glad that I finally got to check off this amazing place this year. We booked a 2-day tour with the V'Spirit Cruise company. We had asked for recommendations from our hotel, and V'Spirit was the most affordable for our means (somewhere in between budget and luxurious).

V'Spirit was a great choice! The cruise ship was clean and one of the better looking boats out there, even when compared to other cruise companies with a similar range. We were also ever so lucky to be assigned a corner room with an outdoor deck! Our fellow passengers were so jealous when they found out!

We endured the entire gamut of different weather conditions. We started the cruise with blue skies but as we sailed deeper into the bay, it started to rain heavily, rendering the bay even more mysterious and eerie. We stayed wet the rest of the day, but it just made our experience even more special.

New Perspective

More photographs taken with my new 50mm lens. The first set of photographs came back better than I expected and I am very excited to take the lens out and use it in other situations. I have been in a rut of late, and this new lens is providing me with some much-needed inspiration and energy!

Just A Minute, October 2013

I can't believe we are staring at the end of the year already! Where did August, September and October go? The days have been flashing by so fast that I can barely hold onto them. The next two months are going to be just as hectic, I am heading out to Hong Kong and Bali (again!) for year-end vacations with friends and will be attending my favourite cousin's wedding, not to mention laying the groundwork for projects at work in the new year. No end of year slowing down for me, I am afraid!

I mentioned on Twitter a few weeks ago that I had ordered my very first 50mm f1.8 lens! I received it and managed to snap a few shorts on the tail end of the current film in my camera. I developed those photographs this week and I am loving that depth of field and how much more light I can get for night shots!

Watching | Itazura Na Kiss, a Japanese drama remake. The original was the first drama I ever watched as a wee 12 year old.

Reading | Nothing at the moment but I am impatiently waiting for Julia Quinn's latest book to reach me.

Enjoying | Swimming. I recently began swimming on the weekends and I really enjoy being there early in the day, slicing through the waters and watching the kids' swimming classes around me.

Craving | Korean BBQ! Meat, glorious, meat!

French Dinner & Egg Coffee, Hanoi 2013

Arriving back in the Old Quarter after our rainy adventure to the Perfume Pagoda, we headed out to DC Bistro Boutique, a French bistro recommended by a friend of mine. Why a French bistro when there are so many other Vietnamese food to try? Because they had a three-course set meal for only 7USD!

I selected the pate rillete for starters, seafood gratin for mains and the best chocolate mousse in the world for desserts. I admit I wasn't sure what I was going to get when I said I would have the rillete and I had to look it up later. I was rather relieved to find out it was just pork pate. Not pictured was the freshly baked bread and home-made butter, because it disappeared rather quickly between the two of us.

After dinner, we headed back to the Old Quarter, soaking up the lights and sounds. We were also intent on finding a cafe to try the infamous Vietnamese Egg Coffee or Ca Phe Trung. I had no idea what to expect with this variant of coffee, in my mind I expected a raw egg whisked in with black coffee. What we got was a creamy, sweet drink with no discernible traces of raw egg. Research later told me that preparations for Vietnamese Egg Coffee begin with the egg yolk being whisked with condensed milk and a little filtered coffee. The fluffy mixture is then poured on top of the coffee. If you are in Hanoi, make sure you give it a try!