Monday, 28 September 2015
Updated What's in my bag
We came back from a trip from Vietnam and Hong Kong yesterday, a lot of unpacking ahead of me but I just cannot wait to share this cute new bag I purchased in Hong Kong with you.
The brand is Samantha Thavasa, which is a Japanese handbag company has 7 brands under the main brand Samantha Thavasa. They recently invited Miranda Kerr to become their ambassador to promote their brand.
http://www.samantha.co.jp/
Unfortunately we don't have their retail shops here in Australia so I am still searching a way to get it online with reasonable shipping costs. I will update you my finds later.
The bag I purchased is from one of their brand Samantha and Choulette, every of their bags have it's own little medal tag states the brand, model number and name. This bag original price is HKD 870 and luckly I got it off 30% off sale. HKD to AUD exchange rate is around 1 AUD = 5HKD, so the price is quite reasonable and there are lot and lot of options and colours to choose from. I have also purchased one of their star charms costed at HKD200, which is so pretty and sparkly to add to the cute bag.
The Shaun the Sheep was also purchased from HK, at HKD79 from Nici retail shop.
As usual, I have my red Oroton makeup pouch, my Fendi wallet and Keyholder, a pen, my Opal card holdere, Extra gum (purchased in HK, the honeysuckle flavor tastes so good), my earphone, tissue and YSL ID/card holder in my bag.
The bag might look small but it certainly holds a lot of stuff. After put all these stuff in it, I can still fit my sunnies case or a foldup umbrella.
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Your comprehensive travel guide to Hanoi, Vietnam
We have been in Hanoi Vietnam Jan 2014 for 5 days and decided to stay a little longer again this year to discover a little more about this tourist hotspot. We are staying in Hanoi 10 days in Sep 2015, I am in fact writing this on our 6th day in Hanoi.
Hanoi is capital city in Vietnam, while there are lots of tourist sites and cultural places to visit, you can also learn more about it through a more relaxed style by just walking down the streets, going to different local places and restaurants etc.
If you are someone do a lot of research like us on Tripadviser before going out for food, drink, tourist sites, please keep on reading.
Tourist Site:
- Hoan Kiem Lake - Located in the centre of Hanoi Old Quarter, it's one of the famous sites in Hanoi.The lake itself is not big, it will take you around 1 hour to walk around it. There are some French Style Historical buildings around this lake. All the old style street market streets are also in the surrounding area. We stayed in Hoan Kiem District this time, 2 mins walking to the lake. I have to say you can find anything and everything you need around here, from street food, night markets (happens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights), restaurants to fancier bars.
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - Vietnamese people surely know how to show their respect to their leader. This reminds me of Beijing Tiananmen Square but in a much smaller scale. The flags are everywhere and there are strict dress code to enter the building.
- Hai Long Bay - It's about 160km away from Hanoi centre, the view is unique and beautiful. While the 3-4 hours driving might not be the best experience we had, in fact, it's quite scary for us, but this place is definitely worth seeing. We visited Hai Long bay last time we came (Jan 2014) the weather was perfect, we had a private junk boat and did a day tour with fresh seafood lunch included in the deal. By private junk boat, the boat can easily fit 20 people with some separate bed rooms and 2 levels of deck. The boat went around the bay and we had the most amazing views, we also stopped over few caves. If you ask me if we would return, I probably would say no but if you ask us if we regret of going, definitely NO and I recommend anyone who has not been to pay it a visit. Not sure if it worth a overnight staying in the junk, but day trip, big yes!
Restaurant:
As for restaurants, I think i will list all we have been and the listed rating on Tripadviser to give you our opinions:
- The Gourmet Corner - rate #7 on TA.
I still do not understand the hype of this place, there were lot of people when we went, we had to sit on the terence for good 30 mins to get our table. View was good, but there are lot of places in Hanoi have the similar type of view with out the pricetag of overated food.
We ordered steak and it was bad, chewy and lack of flavour, both of us left more than half of the food and left. Let me be fair, if the place is a cheap eat, I might not complain much, but when you are paying a certain amount of money on food, it needs to be good.
- Purple Cherry rate #11 on TA
This place is a jem, we had two dinners in a row at this place and still wanted to come back. Every single dish we tried turned out to be yummy and the waiters understand English perfectly with an outstanding skill of making cocktails. It is a roof top restaurant, come in a cooler season might be a better option since you can be fully relaxed and enjoy the Hanoi view.
It is on the top list of places to visit this time, but when we arrived at this place, the whole building was under renovation through Sep, we left so disappointed for missing out the foodfiest.
- Cao Go Vietnamese restaurant rate # 36 on TA
If you come to Hoan Kiem lake, you will not miss this building at the big intersection with multiple levels full of bars, cafes and restaurants. This one is on top level of the building, you can enjoy the beautiful lake view with some Vietnamese food. Price is not cheap, you are looking at 150K VND plus for a main dish, 120VND for a cocktail. The serve is quite small and you will need at least 3 dishes for 2 people.
- Maison Sen rated # 73 on TA
I wonder why this is not top 10?! This buffet restaurant serves excellent Vietnamese and International food with lot lot of choices and plenty of seafood. We only paid 500K VND for 2 of us and we ordered 2 bottles of beer extra. During the meal, there are people coming around to serve your seafood - I am talking about fresh steamed crabs and prawns and some Brazillian BBQ style meat on the sticks, grilled pineapples. You will not run out of choices doesn't matter what you'd like to eat. The only downside is - this is a family restaurant, there are so many screaming kids running around, and shouting. If you are looking for a romantic dining option, this might not be it.
TO BE CONTINUED
Hanoi is capital city in Vietnam, while there are lots of tourist sites and cultural places to visit, you can also learn more about it through a more relaxed style by just walking down the streets, going to different local places and restaurants etc.
If you are someone do a lot of research like us on Tripadviser before going out for food, drink, tourist sites, please keep on reading.
Tourist Site:
- Hoan Kiem Lake - Located in the centre of Hanoi Old Quarter, it's one of the famous sites in Hanoi.The lake itself is not big, it will take you around 1 hour to walk around it. There are some French Style Historical buildings around this lake. All the old style street market streets are also in the surrounding area. We stayed in Hoan Kiem District this time, 2 mins walking to the lake. I have to say you can find anything and everything you need around here, from street food, night markets (happens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights), restaurants to fancier bars.
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - Vietnamese people surely know how to show their respect to their leader. This reminds me of Beijing Tiananmen Square but in a much smaller scale. The flags are everywhere and there are strict dress code to enter the building.
- Hai Long Bay - It's about 160km away from Hanoi centre, the view is unique and beautiful. While the 3-4 hours driving might not be the best experience we had, in fact, it's quite scary for us, but this place is definitely worth seeing. We visited Hai Long bay last time we came (Jan 2014) the weather was perfect, we had a private junk boat and did a day tour with fresh seafood lunch included in the deal. By private junk boat, the boat can easily fit 20 people with some separate bed rooms and 2 levels of deck. The boat went around the bay and we had the most amazing views, we also stopped over few caves. If you ask me if we would return, I probably would say no but if you ask us if we regret of going, definitely NO and I recommend anyone who has not been to pay it a visit. Not sure if it worth a overnight staying in the junk, but day trip, big yes!
Restaurant:
As for restaurants, I think i will list all we have been and the listed rating on Tripadviser to give you our opinions:
- The Gourmet Corner - rate #7 on TA.
I still do not understand the hype of this place, there were lot of people when we went, we had to sit on the terence for good 30 mins to get our table. View was good, but there are lot of places in Hanoi have the similar type of view with out the pricetag of overated food.
We ordered steak and it was bad, chewy and lack of flavour, both of us left more than half of the food and left. Let me be fair, if the place is a cheap eat, I might not complain much, but when you are paying a certain amount of money on food, it needs to be good.
- Purple Cherry rate #11 on TA
This place is a jem, we had two dinners in a row at this place and still wanted to come back. Every single dish we tried turned out to be yummy and the waiters understand English perfectly with an outstanding skill of making cocktails. It is a roof top restaurant, come in a cooler season might be a better option since you can be fully relaxed and enjoy the Hanoi view.
It is on the top list of places to visit this time, but when we arrived at this place, the whole building was under renovation through Sep, we left so disappointed for missing out the foodfiest.
- Cao Go Vietnamese restaurant rate # 36 on TA
If you come to Hoan Kiem lake, you will not miss this building at the big intersection with multiple levels full of bars, cafes and restaurants. This one is on top level of the building, you can enjoy the beautiful lake view with some Vietnamese food. Price is not cheap, you are looking at 150K VND plus for a main dish, 120VND for a cocktail. The serve is quite small and you will need at least 3 dishes for 2 people.
- Maison Sen rated # 73 on TA
I wonder why this is not top 10?! This buffet restaurant serves excellent Vietnamese and International food with lot lot of choices and plenty of seafood. We only paid 500K VND for 2 of us and we ordered 2 bottles of beer extra. During the meal, there are people coming around to serve your seafood - I am talking about fresh steamed crabs and prawns and some Brazillian BBQ style meat on the sticks, grilled pineapples. You will not run out of choices doesn't matter what you'd like to eat. The only downside is - this is a family restaurant, there are so many screaming kids running around, and shouting. If you are looking for a romantic dining option, this might not be it.
TO BE CONTINUED
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Ms Bunny
Bunrista.com Fashion, Travel, Makeup and Fun girly stuff.