9 Jul 13
Some random photos today.
This is Sprmrkt. Such a great space, food’s alright.
Zion Road
Favourite Fieldguided tote
Goodman Arts Centre
An outtake of my pom pom crowns
Current favourite coffee shop
No longer news now but we’re engaged! Ben proposed on 16 May 🙂 As usual, the blog tends to lag one or two months behind real life.
The ring is a custom job by Caitlin of Mociun. I love its geometric shape so much, it’s perfect! So obviously wedding plans are underway. Pinterest is my new best friend – some days I drown in it, some days I thank the internet gods for its existence. Also, I know most of you would be reading this from a rss reader and not have noticed the slight re-design of the blog. Just wanted to point it out 🙂 And say thanks to Ben for his everlasting blog support-help. Haha, love!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, nikon FM10
3 Jul 13
Consolidating all the photos of Hanoi in one last post! Also food recommendations at the end of the post 😉 We stayed two more days in the city after returning from Halong Bay.
Started the day with coffee at the Hotel Metropole Hanoi
Then took a walk around the French Quarters
And then back to the Old Quarters
Found the popular Bun Cha place and filled our stomachs
Walked back towards our hotel
To hang out at the cafe near our hotel and have more coffee
When we got hungry again, we walked to a nice place called Little Hanoi for dinner
Followed by a nightcap at Cafe Linh, a drinking hole decorated with memorabilia from the Vietnam war
The next morning, also our last day, we had a quick bite at this cafe (photo on the left) as we were running late
But give us a balcony any day and we only just end up taking things even slower. So we hopped onto a cyclo to take us towards Ba Dinh district to buy us some time. I wanted to squeeze in some last minute sightseeing of Hanoi’s landmarks!
A statue of Lenin
Urm, no clue what this is
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Lastly, some places worth eating at within the Old Quarters.
1 Pho Gia Truyen (49 Bat Dan Street) > A local place for pho. Order the ‘tai nam’ style which is rare steak and flank.
2 Bun Bo Nam Bo (67 Hang Dieu Street) > Bun Bo is another viet-style of noodles. One of my favourites on this trip.
3 Cha Ca La Vong (14 Cha Ca Street) > This place serves only one dish, grilled monkfish. Local institution that’s still good.
4 Try Banh Xeo if you can find it!
5 Highway 4 (25 Bat Su Street) > This place caters to foreigners. Food’s good, not authentic Viet but nice & clean does it.
6 Bun Cha (1 Hang Manh Street) > Another style of noodles, this one comes with pork belly and porky meatballs.
7 Little Hanoi No. 9 (23 Hang Gai Street) > For a little Western cos you might be craving it on your last day (like I did!).
8 Vietnamese coffee – Cafes are a dime a dozen, stop and have it iced or steamy. Also free wifi!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, hanoi, nikon FM10, vietnam
18 Jun 13
If you’re into eating clean, this roundup might interest you! First up is Onaka. They have two branches – one is an outdoor cafe, the other a restaurant. I ate at both and LOVED it.
Onaka Healing Cafe at Rochester Park
What’s great? The food tastes so fresh. Ben had a chicken mayo sandwich which was really yummy. My tofu avocado salad was good too but after taking a bite of his sandwich, I was willing to ditch my salad! The space is airy and peaceful, a nice hideout for a quiet lunch.
Onaka at ARC
What’s great? The food is delicious. Also I liked the ingredients that is on the menu. Basically, it’s healthy, it’s feel-good so you feel like you’re doing your body some good. But not at the expense of good flavours!
Bummer? The menu is more extensive here compared to the cafe. There are plenty of options for sides/entrées/dessert. With all the choices, I felt the menu lacked in cohesiveness and left me confused.
The Lawn
What’s great? At The Lawn, you get to create your own salad. I know there are many salad bars out there and I’ve tried my share of them which is why I know a goody when I find one. I think the magic is that they grill your protein of choice and their salad dressings are AMAZING. My favourite is the red island dressing while Ben loves his WasaHoney dressing. Prices are so reasonable for the portions too. I would eat there everyday if I could!
Till the next TOOTHSOME!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, nikon FM10, Onaka at ARC, Onaka at rochester park, The Lawn
4 Jun 13
Hang on, it’s June? Already!! I kinda can’t move any faster. Anyone feeling the same? Well, back to this. Last post on Halong Bay. Picking up from where I left off in part 02, we explored two lagoons after lunch. I love the word ‘Lagoon’, I can say it all day. ‘Sorbet’ too. So of cos I was thrilled to go kayaking in a lagoon, or two.
As we were paddling back to our day boat, it was nice to see one boat transformed into a junk! With the sail up and everything.
The following morning, there was another one with the sail up! We were up early to go see the Sung Sot Cave or Cave of Surprises.
Passed a fishing village. There’s even a bank in there, like a money bank! So, the cave. The photo below, I took after we completed the trail. I took some photos with my iPhone inside the cave too. I wished they didn’t put multi-coloured lights cos I kept thinking of ice kachang and I wanted my first cave experience to be cool like Batman and not dessert.
It is HUGE inside, I don’t know if the photos show that. Hope this helps – I placed two tiny yellow dots above two people on the path for walking in the photo below.
Some fisherwomen hawking their catch of the day at the pier. After this, it was back to mainland and back to Hanoi. Halong Bay is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen and it sparked a want to go see more beautiful parts of the world.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, halong bay, iPhone 5, nikon FM10, vietnam
27 May 13
Halong Bay cont’d from part 01 – on our second day we got onto a day boat and sailed further into the bay. We sailed for almost an hour before reaching the next destination for kayaking. I make it sound like an hour felt like forever. But that hour was the most peaceful and serene hour I’ve experienced in a long long time. No sound but the wind.
Told you there would be rocks on rocks on rocks, heh
This is the top deck where most of us sat around. As I’m typing this at my desk, there are about five different types of sounds around me. I never noticed how much noise I endure every day, it’s like I finally understand what peace means. In the sense of an environment. I thought I knew peace… but boy was I way off.
The captain anchored our boat here. Signalling it was time to get into kayaks and explore on the water.
We chilled a lot on the kayak, as best we can without capsizing, to soak up every peak and valley in the sky. In part 03 next, we explore lagoons and caves!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, halong bay, indochina sails, kayaking, kodak 400, nikon FM10, vietnam
