My Wordless Monday Picture Blog (Week 39)

Vietnam by the Numbers

The following are statistics I diligently compiled with only $150 as my tangible pocketmoney to spend for 4 days 3 nights in Hanoi, Vietnam.

I'm expecting to spend at least $100 but to my surprise I only need about $75 to decently tour Northern Vietnam in 3 full days. I have my international ATM card and 2 credit cards with me just in case of emergencies inlcuding "emergency shopping" like what I did at Vincom Tower supermarket. A supermarket near Hoan Kiem Lake does not accept plastic money so we have to go to a mall with a large supermarket. Additionally, my companion has more than enough $ to lasts us a few more days just in case we decide to extend our vacation, hahaha! ;p

I love Vietnam as it is one of the few places on earth where my hard-earned peso is worth a fortune. So in short, it will not hurt my savings that much.

I can't exclusively trust my memory so a few of the following might be just an estimate or assumption.

So much for the introduction, let's start adding:

1 month - time spent booking tickets, hotel, tours and looking for a personal tour guide
100 hrs. - total time spent researching about the culture and places to see in North Vietnam
4 hrs. - time spent at the office before going to the airport
$15 - cost of a taxi ride from Noi Bai International Airport to downtown Hanoi
at least 100- number of times the taxi driver honked at other motorists from our hotel until we reached Halong Bay
less than 15 - hours of total sleep in 4 days of travel
2 - number of taxi rides with a functioning legal meter
8 - number of times we crossed the streets fearing for our lives
6 - friends gained from other countries
2 - times I have been to Vietnam
1 - times I have been to Hanoi
1 - times I have been to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)
2 - malls/supemarkets visited
125 pesos - spent for my roaming SMS/calls
2 - number of souvenir t-shirts bought
10,000 dong - amount given to a buddhist monk as a donation
60,000 dong - total tips given to all the tour guides/hotel maid etc.
2 - hours spent leisurely rowing around Tam Coc
$1- tip given to the old woman boat rower in Tam Coc
815,500 dong - total credit card purchases
1 - t-shirt with a big yellow star in the middle design bought
0 - number of fellow Filipinos we met while touring Northern Vietnam
0 - ghosts appeared before me (you can't blame me as the room we stayed was a little bit old)
3 - bowls of Pho (Vietnamese noodles) devoured in under 5 minutes each
18 mins. - longest ride on a xe om (motorcycle)
4 hours 50 mins - total plane ride
2 - total bus ride around Northern Vietnam
3 - number of ice cream bars eaten. Our local ice cream brands are much better.
20+ - times I said "WOW" as I'm so impressed with the beauty of Halong Bay and Tam Coc.
4 - hours cruising the world famous Halong Bay
2 - hours spent rowing in Tam Coc
____________

TOTAL: 1 unforgettable trip which I would like to do over and over again :)

I'm Off to Vietnam... I'll be Back in a Jiffy!

My long weekend will start tomorrow, Thursday, as I will set foot on Vietnamese soil for the second time but this will be my first time to be in the capital city of Hanoi. I enjoyed so much my first trip to the charming communist country Vietnam last August 2006 despite of the synchronize chaos of over 6 million people of Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon) that I can't wait to visit the country again. I'm expecting Hanoi to be less chaotic than Ho Chi Minh City merely based from the population which is only 3+ million.

I'm very excited to visit the famous Halong Bay which currently in top of the New 7 Wonders of Nature survey. I'm also excited to partake of the various noodles, vegetable wraps and other local delicacies as they are so cheap but very delicious and full of flavor.

As almost everything in Vietnam is cheap I'll bring an extra duffel bag which I intend to fill up with local groceries and of course souvenirs. The last time I was in that country I bought several packs of Vietnamese coffee, tea, Colgate herbal toothpaste, assorted candies, instant noodles, sausages and other preserved meat products, dried plums and fruits etc. etc. etc... I'm satisfied with all of them as the quality are mostly good.

This is all for this week... I'll be back in a jiffy!