Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

HAN-SIN (3h 20m) Airbus 321 ETD: 10.30am (GMT + 7) ETA: 2 .50pm (GMT + 8) We've finally come to the last post on my June 2019 trip. After spending another night at Noi Bai Airport Hotel , I flew back home to Singapore with Vietnam Airlines VN663 in the Economy Class. At the point of writing, the airline serves 22 domestic and 29 international destinations.

HKG-HAN (2h 10m) Airbus 330-300 ETD: 5.45pm (GMT +  8) ETA:  6.55pm (GMT + 7) Hi, everyone! I sincerely hope that it's been a wonderful Christmas season for all of us. Now that I'm back in Singapore, I shall finish off writing about my June 2019 trip before moving on to something else. As a recap, I flew with Cathay Pacific CX855 from Vancouver, Canada to Hong Kong before flying with Cathay Dragon KA299 from Hong Kong to Hanoi, Vietnam.

HAN-HKG (2h 5m) Airbus 321 ETD: 10.25am (GMT + 7)  ETA: 1 .30pm (GMT + 8) It was time for my second flight with the flag carrier of Vietnam in the Business Class cabin, the first being onboard  VN661  from Hanoi, Vietnam to Singapore in late 2014. Till date, I've never flown with any other Vietnam Airlines' aircraft but Airbus 321, thus I've never had the chance to try its personal IFE (In-Flight Entertainment).

Level 4, International Terminal, Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, Vietnam Daily: 6.00am - 2.00am Song Hong Business Lounge is "a peaceful oasis that retains cultural heritage of Hanoi" where "traditional luxury meets modern comfort". Female staff members are dressed in traditional long silk tunics, blending with the colours of nature that are purposefully chosen for the design of the lounge.

Phu Minh, Soc Son, Hanoi, Vietnam Noi Bai International Airport is the largest airport in Vietnam in terms of total capacity, but it is actually second to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City in terms of land area. The former had only one terminal building, which has now become the domestic terminal  following the inauguration of the new international terminal in January 2015.

Vo Van Kiet Street, Hanoi, Vietnam Noi Bai Airport Hotel (1*) is a budget accommodation that's reachable by foot from Noi Bai International Airport within 10 minutes. It was good enough for my BFF and me as we simply needed a place to sleep before going back to Noi Bai International Airport the next morning to catch our next flight to Hong Kong. 

SIN-HAN (3h 20m) Airbus 321 ETD: 3.50pm (GMT + 8)  ETA: 6 .10pm (GMT + 7) Welcome to another series of my travel posts! I dropped a very subtle hint in the form of a photo of a leaf that looks somewhat like a maple leaf in one of my earlier posts . My June 2019 trip to Canada began with an uneventful flight with Vietnam Airlines VN662 from Singapore to Hanoi, Vietnam. 

HAN-SIN (3h 20m) Airbus 321-200 ETD: 10.30am (GMT + 7)  ETA:  2.50pm (GMT + 8) When I flew with Vietnam Airlines three years ago, it was still a 3 Star Airline as rated by Skytrax. Today, the flag carrier of Vietnam has been certified as a 4 Star Airline, receiving the award on 12 July 2016. It continues to "strive to become one of the most favourable carriers in the Asia-Pacific region".

Level 2 (Near Gate 28), Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, Vietnam Daily: 6.00am - 2.00am Vietnam Airlines' lounge is accessible to Business and/or First Class passengers of the local flag carrier, SkyTeam partner airlines, as well as other airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. Given that international flights have now been moved to the new terminal, I'm not too sure what has happened to this particular lounge; perhaps it's used as a domestic lounge?

Phu Minh, Soc Son, Hanoi, Vietnam Noi Bai International Airport, which is situated approximately 45 km from the centre of the capital city of Hanoi, occupies an area of 650 hectares. It's the second busiest airport after Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. There are two runways serving the airport, which are only 250 m apart.

[Ngoc Son Temple] Dinh Tien Hoang, Hanoi, Vietnam Daily: 8.00am - 5.00pm Hoan Kiem Lake (lit. Lake of the Returned Sword) is arguably the most scenic spot in the old quarter of the capital city of Vietnam. Situated somewhere towards the middle of it is Thap Rua (lit. Turtle Tower), which is shown in the picture below. Read further to learn about the legend of the turtle.

58 Quoc Tu Giam, Hanoi, Vietnam Mon, Fri: 8.00am - 12 noon Tue-Thu, Sat-Sun: 8.00am - 12 noon, 2.00pm - 4.30pm Located to the south of Ba Dinh Square where the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum stands is the Temple of Literature, which is a Confucian temple built in 1070. It covers an area of over 54,000 square metres and hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first national university.

[Ho Chi Minh Museum] 19 Ngọc Ha, Hanoi, Vietnam Mon, Fri: 8.00am - 12 noon Tue-Thu, Sat-Sun: 8.00am - 12 noon, 2.00pm - 4.30pm Ho Chi Minh Museum was inaugurated on 19 May 1990 on the 100th anniversary of the late revolutionary leader of the country. As one of the most influential leaders in the world, Uncle Ho made it to the TIME magazine's list of 100 Most Important People of the Twentieth Century.

Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam, second to Ho Chi Minh City in terms of population. It was the capital of North Vietnam from 1954 to 1976, which then became the capital of a reunified Vietnam from 1976 onwards. Hanoi has been around for more than a thousand years with the millennial anniversary celebrated from 1 to 10 October 2010.

SIN-HAN (3h 20m) Airbus 321-200 ETD: 1.05pm (GMT + 8)  ETA:  3.25pm (GMT + 7) As I'm still trying to sort out the pictures I've taken during the recent mid-year trip, I'm going to write about my brief holiday to Hanoi, Vietnam for the time being. The trip was done before the birth of this blog, in November 2014 to be exact. It started with a flight with the country's blue bird, Vietnam Airlines.