[Vietnam] 5-day Itinerary in Da Nang & Hoi An

{5-day Itinerary in Da Nang & Hoi An}

Let's take a short break from Russia!
The other day my friend asked me to share my itinerary in Da Nang/Hoi An with her and so she could save some time from searching it herself and she totally reminded me that I still have not yet shared with you my AMAZING TRIP to VIETNAM!!!!

My first time visiting VIETNAM!!!
And I loved it! Totally fell for the people, the food and the vibe!!!



I have never been to Vietnam before but no doubt Vietnam has left me a good impression in these short 5 days. Before I start going into details and showing you our way of exploring Da Nang & Hoi An, let me give you a bit of the background.
I went with my best friend Sarah for this AMAZING Vietnam trip. We flew in together from Hong Kong through Hong Kong Express (and yay our flight did not get cancelled!!) And oh! The context of the whole trip is that we are both keen on going to somewhere we have never been, better somewhere that has great sunshine and beach and hotties. And when Hong Kong Express is doing another mega sale we were like there's Da Nang on the sale list and it costs only 600hkd return and this is how we have settled on our Da Nang & Hoi An trip!

We went in late November/early December. It was the start of winter in Da Nang but well it feels like autumn/early summer to me only...so you would see I was still wearing tank tops while the locals were wearing jumpers...

To keep it short and brief, below are the full 5 day itinerary we have got:

Day 1: Arrived at 8 am ->taxi (Grab) to Hoi An ->bag drop at Hoi An Silk Village Resort & Spa->Street food->walk over to Hoi An old town->coffee break at Hoi An Roastery->hotel check in->pool->Pho at Chợ Hội An market->Hoi An Night market->boat ride along the river->Spa back at Hoi An Silk Village Resort & Spa

Day 2: Breakfast->pool & chill ->taxi (Grab) to Da Nang->Check in at Mandila Beach Hotel Da Nang->Da Nang Beach ->(Pinky) Da Nang Cathedral-> Pho ->Con Market-> Supermarket->Be Man Seafood dinner->Spa at Mandila Beach Hotel Da Nang

Day 3: Breakfast->Son Tra Peninsula -> Son Tra Intercontinental chill & drinks & tea ->Spa at Mandila Beach Hotel Da Nang (our planned was to go Ba Na Hills but since it was raining badly we changed our plan)

Day 4: Breakfast->pool & chill->coffee break at Cong Caphe-> Spa at Mandila Beach Hotel Da Nang-> Drinks & chill at A La Carte Da Nang Beach Hotel (with our new friend)->Da Nang beach

Day 5: Breakfast-> airport souvenirs hunt

Oh god!

I am feeling super hungry now...

I should never write at night...

I missed VIETNAMESE FOOD!!!!!!! Could you bring me back to Vietnam pleas?

And I promise, I will share more about Vietnam with you all later on (cuz I realized I got so much to share!!!)

See ya!

xoxo

[Russia] Top 5 must-go in Moscow

{{Top 5 must-go in Moscow}}

Let me share with you guys the top 5 spots that I would see as a must-go in Moscow:

Rank #1 on my list

St  Basil's Cathedral(Покровский Собор)

You may not agree with me, but I always have a thing for COLORS and BRICKS and Cathedrals.Since St Basil's Cathedral fulfills all THREE criteria, I just can't help but FALL INTO with this place!

And you have to agree with me that it looks exactly like the castle in the fairy tales! 

How can a girl not like this place? 

It's also very unique in its use of colors and patterns.It's not like every part of the cathedral is infused with the same old color and pattern.

Indeed you can see that there is a huge difference on the use of colors and shapes between the interior and exterior.

Even different floors and different alleys has its own color and patterns.

We saw people brought their own painting materials and seemed like spending hours trying to capture every part of this master piece!

Rank #2 on my list

Metro Stations in Moscow

Doesn't metro stations in Moscow look more like museums?

Seriously, metro stations in Moscow are STUNNING!

It is not doubt an art!

Every single station has its own uniqueness and you just can't help but to slow down and try to take in every bit of the art.

And it's not only about the visuals, but also about the EXPERIENCE.

Since the metro in Moscow is bury deep down, It has the longest escalator rides among all metro stations across the globe!

 It took like at least 5 minutes to go up/down an escalator! (vs. 40 seconds in Hong Kong!)

Rank #3 on my list

Sparrow Hills(Воробьёвыгоры)

Whenever I go to somewhere new, I have always loved to seek a place that allows you to see the whole city from the top. And apparently Sparrow Hills makes the perfect place out there in Moscow city. It's considerably a short and easy walk up to the view point of Sparrow Hills which is suitable for people of all age. Highly recommended if you are one of those people who love seeing the city from a top down angle like me! But do not expect too much, it's not like the Peak in Hong Kong which has bars and romantic restaurants, it's more like a natural setting surrounded by the greens.

Rank #4 on my list

Moskva River

I would definitely recommend you to take time out and visit the Moscow River. And of course, the best way would be to take a boat ride which was exactly what we did. It's the fastest way to see the entire RED Square and the best way I would say ( if you do not like the walking like my sisters)!

Rank #5 on my list

RED Square

Last but not least, the legendary RED SQUARE!!!

RED SQUARE is the symbol of Moscow and so is the first place to visit in Moscow of every single tourist ( same for us of course!). But, to be honest, it's not like that special compare to the metro station I would say. It's just like Times Square in New York, everyone knows about it and is the signature of the place, but you would not spend much time in the Square itself. The Night view of the Square is worth seeing though! When the lights are on, everything looks magical! I just wish I could see it covering in think snow in winter (hoping that some day I will get to see it without being frozen to death!)

[Russia] Day 2 in Russia - Moscow

{Day 2 in Russia - Moscow}

Route for day 2:

Red Square (Красная площадь)

St  Basil's Cathedral(Покровский Собор)

lunch at GUM Department Store(ГУМ GUM) - local Russian food

Lenin's Mausoleum (Мавзолей Ленина)

We started our day 2 by taking in the Russian style architecture!

Trust me, you would fall in love with the great use of colors in Moscow!

We walked all the way to the RED SQUARE but stopped quite a couple of times just to have a better look at the background!

And here we are at the legendary RED SQUARE!!!

Maybe we headed out a bit too early? Didn't seem to have many people around in the morning...

And here comes our favorite stop-overs in Russia!

When ever we see interesting Russian doll stalls, we stopped and look at the price.

Little tips here: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING IN THE RED SQUARE (except food)!!

It's super pricey compare to anywhere else! Especially the Russian dolls!!!

One point we really loved about Russia is that the must-go spots in Moscow/St. Pertersburg are all linked together within walking distance which is super convenient and time saving!

Indeed RED Square isn't that huge and it only took us like less than 15 minutes to walk across the square to the other side of the square - St  Basil's Cathedral!

Would definitely recommend you all to pay a visit to this famous church and go up to the top!

Look!

This miniature on the right side is totally adorable right?

I can't even describe how impressed I was with both the interior as well as the exterior of this church!

All I can say is that you HAVE TO GO and have a look yourself!!!

Have I hinted that I somehow do not really like Russian food that much?

But there is ONE EXCEPTION - ICE CREAM!!!

Russian ice cream is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! And SUPER CHEAP!!!

SO after a long walk around the RED Square,

we went to another must-go within the RED Square area, GUM Department Store.

And again, this HUGE and WELL-DESIGNED GUM Department Store once again shows how unique and interesting Russian architecture is.

 There was nothing much to shop, so ended up we just had a quite Russian lunch then we left.

Talking about the Russian lunch, mine looks like this...

And it was really BAD especially the beetroot soup..

One interesting thing is that we realized many Russian restaurants served pay-as-you-go meals and that is quite helpful for us at least you don't have to order out of a Russian menu but get to see the food and pick it out yourself!

After lunch, we did a bit of walking then we were somehow exhausted.

Obvious we were still not adjusted to the time difference/jet lag.

So, we went back to the hotel and took a short nap.

And then we head back out to the RED SQUARE to see its night scene!

How do you like RED Square after nightfall?

I LOVED IT!!

Even it was summer in Moscow, it was chilly at night.

With the lights on, and the chill, all I felt about RED SQUARE was purely Christmasy...

xoxo