Hey bloggies! Okay, this is a bit delayed.... but Happy 2014!
Hmm, there was supposed to be a Christmas post here somewhere; dunno what happened to that. Oh well.~
Anyhoos, TJ and I survived our first holiday together! Hanoi was beautiful! Loved it so much there, I hope to stay there permanently some day. Seriously. It's loads better than KL.
Yes, the streets may be filled with motorbikes and scooters and it may seem like an adventure every time you attempt to cross the street. But hey, KL's no better. In fact, Hanoi traffic is comparatively slow moving, so vehicle-pedestrian accidents are less prone to happen compared to Malaysia's insanely speeding traffic. And while KL's traffic congestion can make you crawl a bare 50m in an hour, Hanoi's traffic hardly stops moving. Definitely a win for the Vietnamese city.
It's also far safer in Hanoi than it is in KL. Of course, we didn't let our guard and was constantly wary of pick-pocketers. But we also walked in dark alleys late at night without worrying about being robbed or slashed by machete-wielding fuckwats. There was a sense of security in Hanoi that we could never feel in Malaysia anymore.
Surprisingly, Hanoi is clean. Not as freakishly-OCD clean like Singapore, but definitely cleaner than Malaysia. People there are more civic-minded than Malaysians who toss rubbish out of their cars and litter everywhere. Fucking litterbugs.
Cost of living in Hanoi is generally lower than in KL; the amount varies depending on your lifestyle and demands. We managed to snag a meal for 4 at a 'coffee-shop' for only 95,000 Vietnamese Dongs (that's about RM15). But if you're a bit more affluent, you can spend three times that amount per person for a meal at a fancy restaurant. I think it's pretty similar to what we have in Malaysia. There are options to save, and options to splurge. Really depends on what you're after. For me, I loved their street food! Especially the ones where I had to sit on a footstool next to the drain. Oh so yummy... Lol!
The most important thing I loved about Hanoi is that the trip there gave me a new perspective on my life. For as long as I can remember, I've always strived for a luxurious and lavish lifestyle. That was my ultimate goal in life. We've been conditioned to believe that with a colossal amount of money, we could get anything that we've ever wanted. And somehow that equated to happiness. I'm not gonna deny it. I'm materialistic. And along the way, I've failed to appreciate what I already have.
Hanoi has, in a way, showed me what true happiness is to me....
