Bento Lunchies

We're just counting the days of August and soon enough it's the start of the "ber" month... clock slays time, indeed. 

It's the start of the school year for my eight-year-old niece Gabby and so far so good. I think she's loving her new school she can't stop talking about it every day, she's ecstatic that she already met new friends. I don't think she misses her old school at all, she's excited to come to school every day. To make things get more exciting for her I started making her "Bento" lunch box. I'm a newbie at this Bento making stuff but I'm enjoying it very much because it's really fun to make. It's quite an effort to wake up as early as four in the morning so I can prepare for Gabby's Bento lunch box but at the end of the day it's all worth it especially when she tells me that her classmates envy her "Bento baon" every day they look forward to seeing what she will have the next day.  

Piggy

Cookie Monster

White Rabbit 

My interest in Bento making started when I saw pictures of Bento lunch boxes on Pinterest. I started checking out bento makers on Instagram too so I can collect ideas on how it's done. I bought a few of my Bento making kit from Japan Home Centre like deco cutters, silicone cups, and food picks. I always enjoy shopping at Japan Home because I can't get enough of Kawaii stuff and they're pretty much everywhere. Of course, bento making would not be complete if it's not colorful and enticing enough for kids so I also bought this UFC Color Crazee Banana Ketchup pack which comes in four colors: Bubbly Blue, Goofy Green, Yummy Yellow, and Radiant Red. I love the crayon tube packaging it's so cool it's really made for kids to enjoy mealtime.  

I guess I still have a lot to learn but when it comes to being creative, I'm never too old to try something new because mealtime is fun time!

Heya August

Just sharing

Gimbap Love Affair

Gimbap is love

When a Korean classmate back in high school introduced me to Gimbap (also known as Kimbap) I fell in love with the dish instantly. 

I'm no fan of authentic Asian dishes or anything with raw ingredients in it simply because I have allergies to certain seafood so I make sure that it's not something that will be harmful to me. My first attempt in making this yummy Korean dish turned out pretty okay, my siblings and 8-year-old niece loved it I didn't realize that it's actually one of her favorite Asian dishes. It's really easy to make and the main ingredients are readily available from any Korean or Japanese store. Gimbap is made from dried seaweed sheets (Kim or Gim in Korean and Nori in Japanese) steamed white rice (Bap, hence the name Gimbap) and other various ingredients rolled in and served in bite sizes. Korean stores are everywhere so don't be surprised when you find seaweed sheets and a rolling mat easily.

Gim (Seaweed sheets)

I learned to make Gimbap just by watching the Youtube tutorial here. I didn't have pickled radish (called Danmuji) during my first try, I had to use white radish but it's no big deal since it's radish family anyway. I blanched radish, carrots, and pechay (I didn't have spinach handy but this is a good substitute) separately then cooked the ground chicken I seasoned with garlic, pepper, salt and let it cool. I already have steamed rice, egg and apple strips prepared so I just put all the ingredients together and started rolling using the bamboo mat. I think I made about 50 rolls out of 5 seaweed sheets which is a lot. The only problem I had was some of the rolls didn't stick together that good because I didn't know that I need to use a little water to hold each side together I just found out after a few more research. 

Bamboo Mat

Danmuji (Pickled radish)

My second attempt is a Tuna Gimbap as per my niece's request, it came out really good this time because I didn't use substitute ingredients. I had spinach and pickled radish instead of pechay and white radish. I'm excited to try other ingredients, I promised my niece to make her Gimbap packed lunch for school one of these days. 

Movie Review: Imagine You and Me + Nestle Matcha Tea

Already?

Imagine You & Me 

Starring Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards

Rated G

It's been a while since I've been in a movie theatre because I didn't have time to do so as much as I would like to and I pretty much watch or download movies online but when my 8-year-old niece asked me to go on a movie date with her, I just couldn't say no. My niece and I happened to be fans of Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards, the phenomenal couple popularly known as ALDUB from Eat Bulaga's Kalyeserye so we decided to watch their first starring movie entitled Imagine You & Me. I've been reading a lot of good stuff about the movie on Twitter, it tickled my fancy plus I really am one proud fan I help their hashtag trend every day I also follow some of their fan pages on Facebook for updates believe or not. Every AlDub fan is talking about IYAM of course, rumor has it that they finally had a real onscreen kiss at the end of the movie so I told myself I better see it.

Imagine You & Me is a romantic comedy directed by Mike Tuviera which was shot in the scenic Como, Italy. The movie is about how Gara, a young, hardworking OFW and Andrew, a medical student crossed paths and eventually fell in love. Gara, who's never been in a relationship believes in destiny and true love while Andrew is trying to mend a broken heart when they met in Italy. Watching the movie feels like a virtual tour of Como, Italy it was so beautiful and refreshing to look at especially for travelers like myself, I wish I could go there someday. There's a lot of funny scenes as well as tearful moments but the movie ended blissfully so there's some sort of balance I think. I was really impressed with Maine's acting considering this was only her second movie following the MMFF entry My Bebe Love. There's a real good supporting cast line up especially if you put together theater actors like Irma Adlawan, Cacai Bautista and Cai Cortez, you can't go wrong. Jasmine Curtis-Smith is the best fit to portray Clarissa because of her subtle smile and you will know why when you watch the movie. Marian Rivera and Ken Chan's special appearance added icing on the cake, it was rather short but memorable so to speak.

I must say I did enjoy the movie but I didn't want to spill the beans since it's still showing so better see for yourself. Imagine You and Me is a must see, it radiates good vibes and a good way to depart from all your troubles. 

Nestle Matcha Tea Latte is Love

I love drinking coffee in the morning unfortunately, I can't enjoy it because it gives me heartburn so I decided to switch to green tea. Drinking tea is such a bore to me, thank goodness fusion teas became popular it gave me a reason to enjoy tea again. Matcha tea became my favorite may it be hot or cold because I find drinking it very relaxing.

A few weeks ago my dad bought a pack of Easy Pha-Max Wheatgrass powder for my morning drink instead of coffee or green tea but it quickly ran out so I asked my sister a favor to find me a matcha powder because it tastes like wheatgrass and she came home with a box of Nestle matcha tea latte she said she bought it from a store that sells all kinds of tea and other herbal stuff. At first, I find it too bland for my taste but when I added some more sugar it tastes just like a cup of matcha tea latte you can order from a tea shop. A box contains 9 sachets and costs Php150 which is quite expensive but it's a good alternative to coffee especially for someone with heartburn issues like me. Everything is written in Japanese except for the brand name that's why I had to Google what the exact product name is and later found out that it's called the Matcha Tea Latte from Nestle.


If you're a matcha tea fan this is something you don't want to miss. 

Yummy

Don't bother reading it

June Be Good

'Tis the season of June brides and non-stop rain.  Oh well, the rainy season is officially up and It's two more weeks to go before I bid the month of June adieu.

The June-March academic calendar is getting started for most schools in the country but not for my 8-year-old niece, thank God because she's not over with her vacation yet. Some schools adopted the new academic calendar to begin in August instead of June to avoid the height of the rainy season. Things are gonna change around here a little because my siblings and I agreed that our niece will stay with us from now on to keep her grades up and help with her studies. I hope that she'll get comfortable with her new school and have nice friends too.

I hope the month of June is gonna be a promising month for me. This whole freelance online English teaching is not working too well for me but it's worth a try so I know how it works. I've been teaching English to Japanese students for quite some time now. At the moment I only have one regular student would you believe it? I get paid Php120 per 50 minutes so imagine how little I'm earning in a month if my student will book a 25-minute class once a week, not even enough to pay my Internet bill. What I like about doing freelance work is that I have the freedom to choose when I'd like to work. It's good to have it on the side that's why I'm keeping it.

I'm really thankful for having a house that's accessible to work and everything. I've rented for a long time and it's never practical, you only make the tenant richer but at the end of the day, it's never gonna be yours unless it's a rent to own kinda thing. 

My mom's 3rd year death anniversary is coming up that's why June is also one of the most important months for me. It's been 3 years since she passed and she's turning 70 next month if she was alive. she's looking after us, I know for sure.

Time flies. 

Wake Up Call

The recently concluded CloseUp Forever Summer held at the Mall of Arena concert grounds last May 21st still sends chills down my spine.


The annual party ended tragically with 5 casualties Bianca Fontejon 18; Ariel Leal 22; Lance Garcia 36; Ken Migawa 18 and American national Eric Anthony Miller 33, all death caused by a massive heart attack. Two of the victims, Fontejon and Garcia have blackened hearts and bleeding internal organs which is highly unusual according to NBI medico-legal officer Dr. Wilfredo Tierra who conducted autopsies on their bodies. Reports say that victims ingested a designer drug that is a mixture of ecstasy and shabu called Green Amore pill.

Apparently, the concert organizer security measures were not followed that led to usage and illegal selling of party drugs in the venue. Authorities say that according to witnesses, the party drugs have been mixed with alcoholic drinks and was passed on to different partygoers. Some of the witnesses also said that the security and bouncers at the event were fully aware that there were a group of youngsters on drugs but no one kicked them out of the venue or stop them. 

When the news about fatalities from the CloseUp Forever Summer event broke out it got me really concerned. I thought what if this happens to a loved one? I'm not against youngsters partying or having fun as long as they are responsible enough and know their limits. It is a given that they are curious but they must be taught how to be vigilant.

Illegal selling of drugs victimizing the youth has been going on for ages. It is becoming more rampant, a worldwide concern actually. I hope that the government will focus on raising awareness about harmful drugs and closely monitor events that may be a target for drug syndicates to smuggle drugs.


No more precious lives wasting away.

Gone Viral

First, there was Carrot Man then comes Badjao Girl, Gasoline Boy, Jeepney Man, Good looking security guard and so on. I think anything can pretty much go viral these days. Social media is indeed a phenomenon that has taken the world by storm.

Carrot Man, before and after

DriBae from Tagaytay

Badjao Girl

From food, OOTD, makeup, places, events, etc. anyone can just post anything. I, for instance, manage my own Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. I post/repost something I like but for the most part, I log on to check what's in the news instead of watching TV. I think a lot of people are getting bored with the usual stuff they see that's why whenever there is anything they find interesting, it's all over the Internet the next day.


Is this good or bad?

Good if it will be purposeful. Who would've thought that Carrot Man will become a Boardwalk endorser or Badjao Girl will get a scholarship someday? A simple photo that's gone viral started it all or was it divine intervention? Helping someone unintentionally happens for a reason, it must be God's plan just like what happened a few weeks ago when a video of a student who was verbally abused by a man inside an fx has gone viral and with the help of another passenger who took the video he was put to jail.

What a monster

Bad if it's abused and misused. I don't understand why there are some who use social media just to spread hate or rumors with no basis. I am not in favor of cyberbullying or bashing just to get attention, that's just way too immature and barbaric. 

Social media is here to stay. Let's use it for social good. 

Happy 74th

Today is dad's 74th birthday. He's not around to celebrate because he's in Antipolo but he told us (my siblings and niece) to treat ourselves so we bought pansit and cake that left me stuffed until dinner.

 

Earlier today we heard mass then had breakfast at Don Henrico's. They only have breakfast meals available so I ordered something light and healthy. I had "Smoked chicken with white cheese on wheat bread" paired with coffee. There's really nothing special with the chicken sandwich to be honest. It's something I can make at home. It took them so long to make our sandwich I thought maybe it's a big one but to my dismay the serving is rather small. The staff is a little cold to all customers, they're not smiling at all. I'm also not happy that they don't have any fruit juice available so my 8 year old niece had no choice but to drink hot tea and she did not enjoy it. I'm not a happy camper and I may not come there anymore. 

I bought my cat Atari a laser pointer from National Bookstore so we can play later. I also got myself a cute neck pillow from Blue Magic. I think I need therapy again my neck, down to my shoulder blades is starting to get stiff again. 

Misery No More with Squiggles

It's movie day weekend and I still can't get over one of my best movies of all time. It's been ages since I last saw this movie but I can still watch it over and over again. 

Misery is a 1990 American psychological horror film based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name and starring James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth, and Frances Sternhagen about a psychotic fan who holds an author captive and forces him to write her stories (Wikipedia). 

Misery, 1990

I've always been a fan of psychological horror films because I like looking through a movie character's behavior. Also, psycho horror films doesn't have predictable endings that's why I find it rather challenging for me. There are no dull moments, every scene is way too intense. My favorite is when Annie started freaking out about Paul's explanation why there's a lot of "swearing" from the characters of his untitled and unreleased new book. Kathy Bates' acting prowess was impeccable she had me believe how a psycho she can be. It's no surprise she won Best Actress in the Academy Awards (now Oscars) and started a cult following after. Annie Wilkes is just hell of a looney and one movie character I will never forget. 

*****

Squiggle gummy worms is LOVE

I've been sneaking on my niece's Squiggle gummy worms that my sister and I bought her as prize for our fish bowl game to practice what she learned in school for English and Math only. Our game mechanics is to pick one question from the fish bowl and for every correct answer she gets 1 Squiggle for English and 2 for Math. She gets to answer 3 questions per day but whenever she's not around, we take some of her Squiggle's since she wouldn't notice it anyway. You can't blame me, it's so yummy I can't help it.

Cast Your Vote

It's 2 days to go before the 2016 Presidential Election I'm getting really curious and anxious at the same time as to who will be the country's next president.


It's been over a decade since I last had that blue ink on my index finger which means that I haven't been practicing my right to vote that long. Guilty as charged, I have my reasons and I'm sure I'm not the only citizen of this country who has not voted that long and I'm not proud of it of course. I guess I just got tired of voting for whom I think will make a difference but in the end, will just leave us all hanging. I think I might have given up way too easily to the point that I don't care anymore. I think I've become someone who doesn't want to take the blame but rather be the one to say "I told you so!" But how are we supposed to know who's better or worst? Politicians are just too good to be true... promises, promises.

They say that politics is "dirty" and our government is corrupt that's why we're not as progressive compared to other southeast Asian countries like Japan, India, etc. but should we blame it all to our leaders alone? My father worked with the government for almost 30 years I still recall during one of our casual conversations as a kid when he said that he decided to have an early retirement because he disliked what was going on around him and he didn't like to feed his family anything that's stolen from the people. I was too young to understand what he meant by what he said back then but as I was growing up I realized that maybe what happened then was too much for him to take that's why he left public service early even if it's obvious that he still enjoys what he was doing which is helping people. I guess there's just too much temptation everywhere so it's just a matter of choice between right or wrong. I just don't understand why doing the right thing still have its consequences. It's like, you did something right but it feels wrong...I don't get it. I know that there's no such thing as a perfect government but I still hope that it's not too late for someone better out there to lead this country.


I also believe that the future of this country lies in the hands of the people, not just its leaders. We can't get things done if we just blame everything on our leaders so I ask for divine providence that our next president/leaders will be the voice of the people. Someone who will make me believe that it's not too late to trust again. 

I may not cast my vote on Monday but that doesn't mean I care less about this country because I do. I know how important and historical every election is since it only happens after 6 years but like I said, I have trust issues with our government and only time will tell when I will have that faith restored.


So, are you rooting for anyone already? Tough huh.

2D/2N in HANOI, Vietnam (My Birthday Getaway)

Pre-departure at NAIA T3

Twin room

We arrived at NAIA T3 past 3PM. We decided to be at the airport early so we have enough time to get some rest before our flight which is at 10:15PM (MNL). I booked us a twin room at The Wings Transit Lounge located at the 4th level of T3 and stayed a few minutes before 4PM until 7:30PM. The room was pretty basic but comfortable enough for the two of us. The twin room comes with a bunk bed, bedside table, night lamp, towels, toiletries, and slippers. The room is rather small and not air conditioned but there’s a cooler. The air coming out of the cooler isn't cold enough but bearable. There are 4 shower cubicles in the ladies room. Light snacks are available in the pantry such as bread, cereals, Lomi as well as hot and cold drinks like coffee and lemonade. It comes with your stay so you can eat anything you like. If you’re a finicky guest, staying at The Wings may not work for you, book a hotel room instead. It’s recommended to book a room in advance just to be safe. I booked our room on the website at least a month before our stay. Their twin room costs Php1,800 (900 per pax) and as per their website http://jipang-group.com/thewings/contact-us/ , the maximum stay is only good for 5 hours so I was surprised when I was told by the receptionist that I can stay until 11PM but we need to catch a flight at 10:15PM we have to check out earlier than 11. Regardless, we paid the full amount via Paypal upon booking and it’s non-refundable.

Snack bar at the Wings Transit Lounge

After we checked out from The Wings, we paid the airport terminal fee (still at Php1,620) first before falling in line at the Web Check-in counter where we got our boarding passes. Since we’re quite early we still have ample time to exchange our cash to USD and VND. I’m glad that there is VND available at the airport because we tried our luck at the black market but they don’t have it they said that the value of VND is cheap and cannot be exchanged easily. We waited for about an hour at the boarding gate until it opened at 9:45PM. Our plane left later than 10:15, I think it’s around 11PM already so we arrived in Hanoi past 1AM thank God the driver of the shuttle that will take us to our hotel in Old Quarter is patient enough to wait for us. 

No Bai International Airport

Huge closet and a full-size fridge

Our room at the Little Hanoi 
Diamond Hotel, Old Quarter

It took us about 40-45 minutes from NIA to Little Diamond Hotel at Bat Dan Street in Old Quarter. Our driver called a hotel staff on his phone but we’re quite surprised because there’s a roll-up door we didn’t realize that the hotel is right there. The male staff greeted us “Good morning" and was very accommodating. To be honest I’m not sure if he gave us his name but we just didn’t understand because of the language barrier or he forgot to give his name at all. Regardless, he was nice and asked for our passports immediately so he can give us our room key. We told him about a customized tour for our itinerary for our first day and he’s kind enough to give us useful information. I forgot to inquire via email if there’s an elevator at the hotel (my bad) and there’s none good thing there’s another male staff who carried our trolleys and walked us up to our room on the third floor. Too early for a morning workout, whew. We're settled in the room around 2AM. We immediately checked out the bathroom, veranda and then unpacked our bags. The room is kinda spacious for 2 persons and it looks renovated which is nice. I’m just not happy that there’s no safety box, the closet handles are broken and no electric pot so you have to go down to the lobby to get free coffee or tea although it’s not so much trouble, we can live with that maybe I'm just expecting too much or something. After booting up my laptop to check if the wifi works, I slept at 3AM. God, I’m so tired so I had a real good sleep until I woke up at 6AM. While I was taking a shower I noticed that the water gets too hot it's like boiling temperature, I didn't enjoy it. We went down to the hotel's

Good morning Hanoi. View from the veranda

Birthday cake

restaurant to have breakfast past 8AM. I’m not satisfied with what the hotel has to offer for breakfast because there’s nothing much actually. There’s bread, fruits, cold cuts, eggs, and coffee. I thought they have boiled eggs, but when I tried to get one the kitchen staff pointed on the digital stove which means that she will cook it for me but I’m quite hungry already so I just had toast, some fruits, and coffee. Before we finished our breakfast we were surprised when the male staff who accommodated us early that morning along with a group of the kitchen staff are coming towards our table with a birthday cake. I thought the cake is for one of the guests on another table but when they started singing the happy birthday song and placed the cake on our table we had no choice but to say “thank you." It was rather embarrassing and a sweet gesture at the same time that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I thought I should have had breakfast outside of the hotel instead, lol.

Ngoc Son Temple (Red Bridge) at Hoan Kiem Lake

St. Joseph's Cathedral Hanoi

Day 1

Pho Ga and Iced coffee

After breakfast we asked for a customized tour from the lady at the reception who was very helpful by the way, she gave us a map of the Old Quarter and told us that most tourist attractions are within walking distance so we  started walking from the hotel to Hoan Kiem Lake to visit the Ngoc Son Temple (Red Bridge). We had a few pictures taken but didn’t come inside the temple anymore. Since it’s lunch time we decided to grab something to eat at the Ha Noi Soul Cafe where we had Pho Ga (chicken noodles) and iced coffee. We sat at the veranda so we can enjoy the view of the Old Quarter and the lake. Initially, we plan to have lunch at the City View on the upper level but it’s closed. We also thought about trying out some of the cold drinks at Highlands Coffee (like a local Starbucks) in the lower level of the same building but we want some real food so we opted for Ha Noi Soul Cafe since they have more food choices available. 

Turtle Tower

Next stop is the Turtle Tower in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. We took very few pictures of the tower since we can’t get close it sits in the middle of the lake. We also took pictures of some nice flowers that we passed by while thinking about how we can go to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. We survived our walking tour simply by asking for help from the locals. St. Jo is kinda hard to find but we found it anyway. While at the cathedral there are cyclo drivers offering service to go to tourist attractions but we said no until we realized that all the other attractions on the map may be too far for walking and we’re both tired already so we thought we’re gonna need a ride then this old man, a cyclo driver approached us outside St. Jo and offered 400k VND to take us to the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & Museum, One Pillar Pagoda, Dong Xuan Market and Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. I asked for 350 VND at least just for the sake of haggling but he insisted 400k and we need to get something done so to cut it short we agreed at 400k VND.

Temple of Literature

There’s not much to see in the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, and One Pillar Pagoda. We had picture taking outside as usual and bought some souvenirs like fridge magnets and a cyclo replica for display. We shopped for more souvenirs at the Dong Xuan Market. Last stop for the day is the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater at the Hoan Kiem Lake area and it’s time to say goodbye to our cyclo driver. We hand him his 400k VND but he wouldn’t leave and we couldn’t understand that he’s asking for a tip we thought we had everything covered. My sister gave him $2 anyway for his effort, it’s not easy driving a cyclo for someone his age but he probably needs to work hard for his family. Anyhow, we bought tickets for the 5:20PM water puppet show (that's 100,000 VND each or $10 for 2 tickets). We still have time to eat dinner at a nearby coffee shop then we went back to the theater just in time for the show. We didn't have a good view of the show it's a little far from the stage but it was okay. After the show, we walked back to the hotel to rest and sort out the souvenirs we bought before finally packing our bags. Thank God we didn’t get lost on our way back, our map was quite helpful.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Museum

Water Puppet show at Thang Long

Water Puppet show tickets

2-hour boat ride at Trang An

At Trang An Eco-Tourism 

It's getting hot in here

Day 2

Best boating experience so far

We woke up as early as 5AM and ate what’s left of our birthday cake in the fridge because this is our last day at the hotel and we don’t want to be late for the Bai Dinh Pagoda - Trang An Eco-Tourism package we booked at the hotel. Our tour guide and the shuttle picked us up around 8AM. I thought it was a private tour for just me and my sister but the tour guide informed us inside the shuttle that we need to pick up some more guests who will join us for the tour. There’s 6 of us in total who joined the tour: a couple, an old Aussie man and a Greek guy. It was a 2 and a half hour drive to get to Trang An. Upon arrival, the tour guide handed us our tickets. We bought ourselves hats for $1 each to protect our heads from the scorching heat of the sun because we were told that the boat ride will take 2 hours and I don’t want the heat to spoil everything. We wore our hats, life jackets and enjoyed the 2-hour boat ride. Boating was fun especially going under those caves and seeing beautiful stalactites although it was a little scary if you’re not careful enough you might hit your head really bad. Good thing I wore a comfy shirt because it got really hot out there, I was hungry after that ride too. Lunch is included at the restaurant just a few minute drives from Trang An. We ate together but I wasn’t able to eat a lot because I’m not comfortable eating with strangers. The food was good but I wasn’t able to try everything, I just had a taste of whatever dish is that with pork and the other with goat meat topped with sesame seeds, it tastes good but the meat is not tender enough so I got a little constipated after.

Bai Dinh Temple 

After lunch, we visited the Bai Dinh Temple. According to Wikipedia, "Bái Đính Temple Spiritual and Cultural Complex is a complex of Buddhist temples on Bai Dinh Mountain in Gia Viễn District, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam. The compound consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and has become a popular site for Buddhist pilgrimages from across Vietnam.” Inside this temple, I saw a humongous bell called the bronze bell in the Bell Tower that weighs 36-ton. There’s a wooden staircase but we didn’t bother going up since we’re a bit tired already and we still have a lot of walking to do. There are big golden Buddhas in one or two of the temples and many more similar looking Buddhas with different names. We got lost inside the temple thank God our tour guide and group patiently waited for us because we don’t know how to get back to our hotel if they left us there since we noticed that there's no bus or any means of transportation outside the temple. After the tour, the shuttle dropped us off near our hotel. We rested for a few minutes and had our last meal in Hanoi. We ate Banh Mi and had a cup of egg coffee from a stall just across our hotel, savor our dinner and just enjoyed our last night in the Old Quarter. 


We reserved a taxi the night before. The taxi picked us up at the hotel at 10PM and we're at the airport a little before 11PM. We went straight to the web check-in counter but unlike in NAIA, there's just 1 line to get to all the other counters so even if you checked in online already you still have to endure the queue. It's very easy to get around Noi Bai International Airport I just noticed that it's a little disorganized to get passed Immigration. There's a very long queue and some foreigners who do not have discipline just simply cut the line and pretend like nothing happened, I was like seriously? After the Immigration Officer scanned my boarding pass it took me several minutes to get my bags because there's a long queue of bags left outside the Xray machine and nobody is moving those bags which is kinda annoying since it will not move on its own right? It was kinda stressful for me, the worst international airport experience so far. Don't get me wrong because NAIA has it's own flaws too when it comes to procedures and stuff but it gets straighten out immediately. Our flight is at 1:15AM (Hanoi time) and boarding time is 12:35AM but there's just way too much going on there that we didn't know about 'cuz we boarded really late I think about past 1AM already so what to expect but a few minutes delay on our flight time as well. Anyhow, I kept myself busy editing pictures on my laptop and took a nap as well 'cuz my eyes are getting heavy. We arrived in NAIA before 5AM but there's no parking space available for our plane, would you believe it? I'm thinking it's possibly due to never-ending flight delays that might've caused it, just my assumption.

Yummy egg coffee!

Delish Banh Mi for dinner

Upon arrival in NAIA T3 we're greeted by a long queue of passengers waiting to get through the health control area, what's new right? Such an eyesore so early in the morning. There's a line going here, there and everywhere and we're not even passed Immigration yet, my oh my! After Immigration we decided to have breakfast at the airport before going home. Oh boy, I was so darn exhausted.

Goodbye Hanoi

My most awaited birthday trip is over. I still can’t believe that my twin sister and I have accomplished a lot with so little time that we have spent in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was exciting and tiring at the same time but it was all worth it. I wish we stayed at least 1 more day (sigh) just to chill and explore more Hanoian dishes. If I come to visit Hanoi again in the future I may not stay at the same hotel because I'm sure there are better hotels in the area maybe I just relied on Tripadvisor reviews too much. Nevertheless, I had a great time. Hanoi is the place to be for backpackers who seek adventure and it's worth coming back. So much to see but too little time for us. I guess that pretty much wraps up my Hanoi, Vietnam birthday getaway for 2016. Where to next year? I don’t know yet but we’ll see.

View of the Old Quarter from Ha Noi Soul Cafe