Our last day in Vietnam was jam-packed alright, we had wanted to hit one more tourist hotspot before returning to Singapore and we unanimously voted, actually it was more skewed towards my preference because I was exceptionally curious to check out the #1 ranking attraction in Hanoi on tripadvisor, the Women's Museum. We stopped by St. Joseph's Cathedral again since it was along the way.
While we were able to see more clearer the intricate details of the architecture during the day, it didn't look as holy without the fairy lights. Not having much time for sightseeing that morning, we hurried along to the museum.
The exterior of the Women's museum looked very modernized, and somehow rather artsy. There were 4 levels to explore, and we did a quickie, not the kind of quickie couples do when they're alone, but the kind of sightseeing couples do when time is not a luxury (lame..). We combed the place from the top to the bottom, and spent no longer than 5 minutes on any featured displays.
There was even a "secret attic floor" which showcased Singapore's culture! Actually it reminded me of a museum trip in Singapore my dear and I went sometime back. The displays were similar, with the seemingly traditional and "uniquely Singaporean" hanging chinese clogs and our local dishes (fake of course).
v
The different levels showcased different eras/sides of respectable enduring Vietnamese women... from fashion, to family, to the historical military "nu qiang rens (independent power women)", the museum was indeed a place which glorifies the local women. However, quite strangely, there weren't many tourists there, and during the first hour, it almost felt like we owned the entire place. Well I guess there's still some male chauvinism which exists in our modern day culture which explains why I don't see many couples there, mostly female tourists.
But to be brutally frank, the museum didn't make it to my list of top few attractions in Vietnam. I'm not sure if it was because the visitation was very rushed, or was it because it's too "museum-like" for me, or even because it was almost dead quiet due to lack of people... but it just reinforces my lack of love for museums. There were some interesting sights and displays, but having to walk all the way there, pay a huge admission fee (relative to the admission fees of the other attractions in Vietnam), winning the top spot for attractions in Hanoi on tripadvisor, it was just er... pretty ordinary.
The souvenir shop however, did have some interesting stuff for sale and we even bought a coconut shelled handbag!
On our way back, we also passed by a local cinema and it was rather eye-opening to see movie posters with Vietnamese text on them. However, like the Women's museum, the cinema also looked pretty deserted.
I guess it was either too early, or that young couples would rather spend time chilling out Hoan Kiem Lake or riding on bikes and eating ice-creams along the roadside. Guess their definition of romance is more traditional to Singapore's... where the majority of dates have to have some "activity" in them.
Bought a "you tiao" along the way, and which looked exactly but tasted nowhere like our local "you tiao". It was more doughnutty, sweet doughnutty and the only similarity is the amount of oil used to fry them... which as like Singapore's soaked the paper wrapper within seconds.
Hoan Kiem Lake actually looked equally picturesque in the day, even without the night lights. Our last and final attraction for the trip, and day was Ngoc Son Temple. In the temple, on display is a gargantuan bronze turtle, to pay tribute to the turtle who gave and took away Emperor Le Loi's magic sword, Heaven's Will.
There's 2 souvenir shops in there, with well-coordinated pricing which is a good place to buy some last minute souvenirs because the stuff sold there was unexpectedly cheaper than other standalone shops (we checked out the same souvenirs at different souvenir shops and the price difference was about -30%!).
There's a nice pavilion at the rear, and which faces the open waters, giving a scenic and peaceful view of Hoan Kiem Lake which is well worth the trip there. Though smaller than most temples, it gives an different, more calming feel when we're there, possibly because it oversees an enclosed lake compared to Tran Quoc Pagoda. There was a "safer" feeling of protection and was enhanced by the presence of the mythological turtle residing in the temple itself.
We had our last meal at a nearby shop selling mostly pork-y stuff and the meat was ooiiissshhiii! Grilled pork (I think it's boar meat, tougher with a stronger pork flavor) soaked in sourish dips, crispy-fried "Nyo hiang-styled" pork rolls and innocently looking dried rice noodles which tasted not-to-our-liking sour. We also met this good-looking couple from Hong Kong, which we were almost certain were models.
Even though we had intended to say farewell to Tina and the rest of the staff from Holiday Gold Hotel, we unfortunately couldn't find the time to do so. Leaving after a heartfelt meal, we grew hungry yet again at the airport. However, we didn't have much choice, so we settled for western food, burgers... and bought a couple of other souvenirs (including a cutesey mouth cover and a ship figure made from real seashells) in hope of spending all our leftover dongs.
I didn't like the waiting time we had to "waste" in wait for our flight, and though months have passed, I can still fondly remember the times we spent in Vietnam. Though it's not a common place to visit for honeymoons, and as much as I would love to convince myself that the trip there with dear was simply a pre-honeymoon, I'll have to admit I enjoyed myself so much that I'm glad to say that I chose Vietnam to be our "Honeymoon 1".
No comments:
Post a Comment