Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Important Phrases

Some of the important words/phrases we must know when visiting Vietnam:

Please - xin - pronounced as (p.a.) seen

Thank you - cam on - p.a. cahm un

Hello - xin chao - p.a. seen chow

Goodbye - tam biet -p.a. tum bee-et

sorry - xin loi - p.a. seen loy

Yes - vang - p.a. vung

No - khong - p.a. khom

I want to buy - toi muon mua - p.a. toy moon mooa

How much? - bao nhieu? - p.a. bow nyew?

Expensive - dat - p.a. dut

Cheap - re - ze

We want to go - chung toi muon di - p.a. chum toy moon dee

Where is it? - o dau - p.a. er dow

Hotel - khach san - p.a. khack san

Restaurant - nha hang - p.a. nya hang

Toilet - (nha) ve sinh - p.a. (nya) ver sing

Bottled water - nuoc khoang - p.a. nook kwang

Boiled water - nuoc soi - p.a. nook soy

Tea - che - p.a. chair

Coffee - ca phe - cah-feh

Hot - nong - p.a. nom

Cold - lanh - p.a. lang

Good - tot - p.a. tote

Bad - khong tot - p.a. khom tote

Picture showing a restaurant's name which is written in Vietnamese

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Language

Vietnamese is the official language. English, French and Chinese are spoken (very) occasionally. It's a MUST to bring along a map when hiring a taxi. We were very surprised that most taxi drivers do not speak English, even some simple words. We have to arm ourselves with basic Vietnamese words and a map, so that we can show them our desired location. Most restaurant workers do not speak English too, however most menus have English written under each Vietnamese words, so we can still roughly order some food. Vietnamese food is in a way quite similar to our Chinese or Thai food but with their own style, which is a great dining experience.

Most staff in the hotels speak fair/fluent English.

Picture is showing Ryan was studying the map with Eu Anne kept asking 'where... where...' :-)

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - My Cold Hat

Do you like my cold hat? :-) I bought it for Vietnamese Dong 30,000, which is around RM7 at the roadside (which was sold by a poor middle aged lady, it wasn't even a stall, she just laid a mat and displayed a few items for sale to feed her whole family). I liked it very much, it kept me warm and bright at the same time. My very good friend, who is also a member of Fabulous Mom team, Casey (our key account executive) had borrowed it when she went to Genting Highlands last weekend, she liked it too.

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Dressing for Cold Weather

Eugene and Eu Anne who live in tropical climate like Malaysia really enjoy the cold weather in Hanoi. Basically, we need a cold hat, which will help keeping the whole body warm. We didn't bring any with us, but it's ok, as there were plenty of shops selling it with a wide variety of designs with cheap price. We bought Eugene and Eu Anne's cold hat for Vietnamese Dong 30,000 each, which is around RM7. The stretchy cold hat which Eugene and Eu Anne were wearing could be pulled down low enough to protect the ears and best of all, it's impossible to blow off in the wind. :-)

It's advisable to bring shawls or scarfs to go around our neck and keeping it warm too. Look at the happy Eugene with my shawl around his neck. :-)

Also, don't forget the sunscreen cream/lotion, as the sun's radiation is more intense in cold weather. Lip balm is very important to prevent chapped lips. For nursing moms, you may want to bring the nursing cream to keep the nipples moisturised or you will find it painful when the weather gets really cold. :-) You don't need the lip balm if you have the nursing cream with you, as most nursing cream is widely used to prevent or cure chapped lips too, and most of all, it's edible and safe for babies.

Our holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - More Scene of Hoan Kiem lake

More scene of Hoan Kiem lake, picture is taken inside the Ngoc Son temple.

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Rising Sun Bridge

This is the Rising Sun bridge which connects the Ngoc Son temple and the mainland.

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Ngoc Son Temple

Ngoc Son Temple is founded in 18th century and is located on an island in the northern part of Hoan Kiem lake. It is surrounded by water and shaded tress. It's a peaceful spot to rest while enjoying the beautiful scenes. The temple is reached via the red 'Rising Sun' bridge. The temple is dedicated to the national hero Tran Hung Dao who defeated the moguls in the 13th century.

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Hoan Kiem Lake

We strolled around Hoan Kiem lake which is 5 minutes drive from Melia Hotel (taxi fare is cheap, which is around 15,000 Vietnamese Dong = around RM3.60) to see Hanoi city life. Hoan Kiem lake is located right in the heart of the downtown of Hanoi.

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - New Friend

This is the picture of me and Liem. Liem is the staff at the executive floor. She is very friendly and helpful. She volunteered to help us in many aspects which was out of her job scope, including offering to take me behind her bike to a wholesale shop in Hanoi selling baby stuff. :-) Even though I was on holiday, I still could not resist to check out my business related stuff, which Ryan called it a kind of 'sickness'. :-) Anyway, I was too timid to get up on her bike, as the traffic in Hanoi is very busy and errr.... a little scary! :-)

Our holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Melia Hotel

We checked into Melia Hotel, which is located strategically at Hoan Kiem district, the heart of the city of Hanoi, which is very near to the very popular "Old Quarters" 36 streets business centre. We stayed in the V (Executive) level deluxe room which costs USD165 per night. We actually booked the V level room by no choice as the rest of the rooms were fully booked. However, we later found out that it was a wise decision as the facilities provided are great.

The price we pay is inclusive of free buffet breakfast, free Wi-Fi service which is great for us to do last minute web surfing on tour info, and best of all, we are also entitled for free flow of tea, coffee, juices and fruits. The lounge also provides afternoon tea and happy hours (free flow of wine, juices, etc...) which usually come along with cookies, mini sandwiches and local delights (for instance: spring rolls) which both adults and kids enjoy. Eugene and Eu Anne get to socialise with other kids too while lounging around the club.

The menu of the room service is limited in Melia Hotel. However, we can always order food from other restaurants in the hotel and get them to send to our room. It's great to dine in the room, after a long day out sometimes. :-) The Vietnamese food served in the El-Oriental Restaurant is great and at reasonable price too.

Picture showing Eu Anne playing with other kids at the lounge.

Our Holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - Weather

We flew from LCC Terminal, KLIA via Air Asia airline on the 26 December, 2007 to Hanoi, Vietnam for our year-end holiday. Our flight was scheduled at 6.05am in the morning, meaning that we all had to get up at 3.30am to get ready to go to the airport. Checking in, passing through the customs, etc. will take up time which is good to be there early, since Air Asia also requires all passengers to check in at least 45 minutes before the flight. We went through all procedures smoothly and the flight took off at 6.05am sharp. All of us slept through the flight, which took 3 hours and 30 minutes.

We touched down at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi at 8.35am local time. The time difference is one hour. Malaysia is one hour behind Vietnam. The weather is 16'c, which is very cold for us who are used to tropical climate, especially when it's very windy. The weather is cold in Vietnam from November until March, which the minimum temperature is ranging from 14'c to 18'c. This period will be quite fun to visit Vietnam, as traveling is less fatique in this nice cozy weather.

The above picture is taken from the 20th floor of Melia Hotel, it's misty and it's cold! :-)