Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Danang Arrival and Hotel

Back again from another trip to Scotland, and I've decided that I'll continue on my travel blog with a Central Vietnam trip I took last year 2025 June/July period with my friend. It's amazing how one single trip cause result in me spending so much time on planning it, experiencing it, and eventually blogging about it. I must say the planning and the experiencing part took less time and more fun, and the blogging part is tedious and long. But the blogging part is essential as it allows me to relive my trip more vividly. So let's start. Above photo as our flight approaches Central Vietnam. How green!

Central Vietnam was an area I have not explored before. I've worked in Ho Chi Minh and have travelled to Hanoi, Sapa, Nga Trang before. But Central Vietnam was totally new to me. I've originally target to visit Danang and Hoi An which was the only two places I've heard about. But as I did my research, I decided to add Hue in last minute since it's a UNESCO site, and it has mausoleum! Above photo of our flight approaching Danang Airport. The airport is super close to the town, so it was a convenient place to go visit. 

Danang also has many river and bridges. We flew in via Vietjet, and it was my first time flying this airline. The booking and the check-in was a bit different from normal airlines. I think they are a budget airline? Cause when I was booking it, it default to add check-in luggage for me and proceeded to charge me for it before I realised it.....But I have one good thing to say about the flight though, the landing was one of the best I've experienced. I could hardly tell when the wheels touched the ground!

I don't remember that we have to walk down to the ground to transfer to the airport. I just remembered that the immigration there was quite horrific! There weren't much queueing system. There was just a hang of people. There were dedicated counters for foreigners, but it seems that the locals were also queueing there. Basically, it was anything goes. And it was slow too. I think it took us almost an hour just to clear immigration. I was hoping there was an ASEAN queue which Ho Chi Minh airport, and I think even Hanoi airport has. It used to be so much quicker travelling around among ASEAN countries, but it seems these days even going back to Malaysia for me is a long queue after they integrated the international passports into our e-Gate system.....

Me and my friend were going to be spending around 10 days in Vietnam. We were going to only be spending one night in Danang before we took the train to Hue. So I've booked us an expensive hotel called Mitisa Hotel. The reason I booked this was because it was within walking distance to the Dragon Bridge, yet not around that area. It was also closed to the train station. 

It looked like a typical ASEAN old hotel. Perhaps it floods a lot around the area, cause most of the shops and hotels on the road has stairs leading up to the main entrance. It was just a simple place for us to spend the night while while we explore the night scenes of Danang. The hotel cost us about 70sgd a room for the night, and it included breakfast.

Here is a photo tour of some of the facilities of the hotel. It does have a roof top area, but it was closed during the day. One thing about Vietnam is, they like roof top gardens or area where you can enjoy the view and the night sky. 

Just outside was the pool, infinity pool too! We didn't swim during our trip even though we both did brought our swim wears. I think it's so troublesome if you are visiting each places for just a few days, cause the wet swim suit seems to take forever to dry!

The view from the roof top overlooking Danang City was quite impressive. It was almost a 360 degree view. You could see the mountains, as well as all the way to the sea. 

This is the view towards the river. Ok maybe you can see all the way to the river, not the sea, my bad.

I know that there are quite a lot of investment from the Japanese in Vietnam. Was this view this view above kinda reminded me of a small town in Japan? 

As mentioned, roof top seating is a thing in Vietnam. So there were seats here, and I bet it's lovely at night. I used to spend a few nights up on the roof of our hotel when I was working in Ho Chi Minh myself. It was always quiet, and for some reason we were the only ones there. 

After checking in and freshening up, we took a short walk around the hotel area and found this Cha Cafe. It was kinda late afternoon by then, and we thought we'll look for some light lunch to eat. The small road side nearby do have local food, but somehow I didn't feel that my friend wanted to eat there. So we decided on this rather nice looking, but dessert cafe.

I got a baguette and a salted coffee latte. It was cafe price, not road side price. And I didn't have high hopes for it, but goodness, maybe ALL baguette taste awesome in Vietnam. Oh sorry, maybe I should say Banh Mi instead, which is the correct term. It was delicious! And the salted coffee just hits all the right spot after a short buy exhausting flight to Vietnam. For a fancy tea break, I would recommend this place. 

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - My Favourite Souvenirs

 

This post is about all my favourite souvenirs I got from my first trip to Scotland. I think all of them were bought on my last day there! Above is a pretty nice tea set that was an accidental buy. In fact, it was the last thing I bought, and it was an impulsive buy. It cost me 8pounds for the whole set, and I hand carried it all the way back. I bought it in a little tea shop on Victoria Street. It was such an impulsive buy that I might have not checked it properly and discovered that there is a crack on the tea cup itself. I was scared it would break, so I try to use it only on cold tea instead of hot tea. It was been more than a year now, and it's still held up pretty well! I love the colour and the design of the set, cause it reminded me of Scotland every time I use it. For sure I've used it more than 8 times now, so it has now become a value buy for me :)

Here are some of the ways I use it for my afternoon tea. I don't know why, but ever since I got my two tier cake plate, I've been having a lot of afternoon tea lately. It has become like a ritual, or a relaxing way to enjoy my tea and something sweet :) The two tier cake plate cost me only 10sgd from Daiso Plaza Singapura. I remember it very well cause I bought it after being frustrated when I found out afternoon at the Edinburgh Castle cost around 80pounds a set. With such ridiculous pricing, I might as well make my own afternoon tea! And I've been doing just that for a lovely year now :)  One day I'll consolidate all the tea sets on this blog to remember them by :)

Next we come to probably my most expensive souvenir, a book on the Occult, Witchcraft and Magic! How cool is that. I got this from the Museum of Context on Victoria Street too, and it cost me 30pounds! And the weird thing is, after one year, I think I've only read a few pages of it! It sits next to my bed, and I really love seeing it there. It was madness for me to buy this book, but I love it so much! It's not just a fancy book too, it detailed all the history of the said subject as well as from different counties. And there was only one book on display there, and I just decided to carry it all the way home :)

Let me show you the some sample of the inside of the book. Above some of the text and picture. It was so detailed! So much words! And so much ancient information too. Who ever compiled this book seriously have an interest on it as a historian or scholar. It wasn't one of those wishy washy witch book for teenage girls. And I am as surprised as you how such a wonderful book was found in the corny Museum of Context for Harry Potter fans..... :X  Actually I did researched on a few books before I decided on this one, cause it has the best review too. I was stunned at the price, but I had some leftover souvenir money to spend, and I didn't know if I would come across such a book again. Besides, I don't really spend much of my money buying stuff anyway. So why be so frugal if I don't treat myself from time to time?

The inside of the page after the Cover. Bright red is so striking!

Lots of these medieval looking pictures in the book too! It's almost like I bought a whole museum back. I guess 5 pounds of the cost of the book came from my savings from not visiting the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft which well, didn't look too 'dedicated' to the craft when I tried to visit it....

And lastly, one of the things I wanted was a Celtic designed pendent. I actually have one before, I think I got it from my first trip to England long time back. It was the trinity knot. I wanted something with a black stone this time, and I got the above pendent from a shop on Royal Mile. My husband actually bought it for me, and I was surprised that it was pretty reasonable priced. For my 2nd trip, I am thinking of getting a Celtic ring, something Outlander style that some ladies have recommended on social media. Let's see if I am successful in my quest :)

And so we end here for our Manchester/Scotland 2025 blog posting. I wonder which travel blog should I do next. I have so much backlog to clear! I am surprised I managed to finish this one rather efficiently and before the deadline I gave myself. I even had 1 week to spare! With being stuck at home cause transport is so darn expensive in Singapore, updating this blog has become my sideline to spend part of my days. I love going back to re-live all the memories of a trip, and I know that once I upload them here, I would constantly be able to come back and recall those wonderful trip I had :)  So it's not a wasted effort at all for me. Even if blogs don't last forever, as long as they are still here, they bring me great joy writing and re-reading them :)

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - The Usual Souvenirs

All too soon, my first trip to Scotland came to an end :(  After checking out from Premium Hub at Royal Mile, we took a short walk to the bus stop near Waverley Station, and paid 5 pounds each for the bus to the airport. It was such an easy no fuss way to get to the airport. And cheap too! 

We arrived pretty early at Edinburgh Airport, so early that I even got time to do some shopping at the mini mart there. They sold some surprisingly cheap chocolates and biscuit! While waiting to check-in, I decided to treat myself for my one last hot chocolate before leaving Scotland. Look at how lovely it looked! 

 

So this post is about all the souvenirs we got from our trip to the United Kingdom. From our friends in Manchester, Tom game me this weird Gentleman's Relish. It was actually very concentrated anchovies pate. The taste is rather intense! Luckily I have a liking to anchovies after my trips to Italy, so I used this mainly on my toast.

This was the very first toast I made using the pate. Tom said that I was supposed to only spread a thin layer! Ha! After this, I usually put a layer of it underneath my guacamole on a toast. It was awesome then. But the salt content is rather high, so I had to eat it sparingly if I wanted to keep my kidneys working for a long time....

I didn't do a lot of shopping in Scotland, mainly cause everything was expensive there. So I ended up having a lot of space in my carry on duvet. So much space that I bought back 2 big bags of these lovely crisps from M&S! I got the big bags than came with 6 smaller packs inside with assorted flavours. I really like them and they cost 2.5pounds per big bag. Here in Singapore, they cost around 7.50sgd!

I think my husband also bought these shortbread from M&S. I'm not much a fan of shortbread, but they are pretty staple food for my tea time snacks. My mother on the other hand practically devour these things in an instance. So much so that I've stopped buying them for her now cause they aren't really healthy, and she could just eat a whole pack a week! 

My husband also got these cute herd of heilan coo. But I still think mine is cuter :) 

These are some of the general things we got, along with chocolates and maybe other odd biscuits. But I did get myself some nice souvenirs too, and I'll post those up in the next post. Stay tune!

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Isle of Skye Tour Pitlochry and Farm Visit

After Fort Augustus, we stopped by Pitlochry for a short toilet break. Jada our guide told us there was a nice ice cream store nearby, so instead of the toilet, I headed to the ice cream shop! Lol. I read that Pitlochry is a very beautiful town, but I have to say, the only view I had of it was this ice cream shop :P  Maybe I'll visit this town again once day in the future, but first, ice cream!

Jada recommended that we try their whisky ice cream, so of course that was what we're getting! It was a small shop, so small that it was best to wait outside when more than 2 people are already inside. They sell other sweets and candies and souvenirs too.

Here are all the interesting flavour they also offer.

Interestingly their whisky comes from a local distillery. Weird, I thought another place also have Scotland's Smallest Distillery..... Oh, I think this one is for Whiskey, and the one on my 2nd trip is for Gin..... We got our ice cream, and we enjoyed it. We enjoyed it so much that we don't even have a photo of it :P  Sorry!

After our toilet/ice cream stop at Pitlochry, Jada said we can go visit a farm to see some highland cows if the traffic was good. And guess what? We saw some heilan coos! (That's what they are called locally). Aren't they cute? Not only did we get to visit a small farm, but Jada also brought out some hay and grass where we could feed them! Jada is the best tour guide ever! Except for maybe that guy from Great Ocean Road who was also super cool! I had so much fun in their tour.

Hi hairy cows! You look so cute! I didn't feed any cows though. Jada said there are also goats on the farm, so I decided I'll go feed the goats instead. 

A baby cow on the farm :)  

We found the sheep and goats at a field further away, and above is my husband feeding the sheep. Fun Fact, did you know Dolly the Clone Sheep is from Scotland? I think you can see her still at the National Museum of Scotland. 

Here is my husband again feeding the goats/sheep. I did feed them too, but I don't have any photos of it :(

I was actually hoping that there would be baby goats, but no luck. And boy are they sloppy when they eat from your hand. My whole hand was wet from their saliva... :O

Jada feeding one of the goat. Was her name Michelle? Lol. All the animals have names, and she seems to know all of them. I guess she always stop by here to feed them, just as she did the highland horses in Glencoe. 

Next to the farm there was a cafe and a shop. Since most people went to get some hot drinks etc, we also went in to browse around. And look! So much cheese! So many flavour!!!!

I prefer these type though. They looked so much more appetising. 

Soon we were on our way again, back to Edinburgh. We went across one of the 4 bridges of Queensferry, but the weather was so bad that we can't really see it clearly. I only managed this photo from inside the bus. It was one of the highlight of the tour that I was looking forward to see, but the weather just wasn't co-operative on that day. From photos on social media, the bridges were so gorgeous, and one of them was bright red in colour. But all I saw in the rain was just shadows of a bridge.....

Here is another one.... And that was how our tour ended, gloomy and wet......

Jada dropped us at St Andrew's Square, and immediately I told my husband I wanted to go see Mr Paddington Bear before we made our way back to our hotel. I had forgotten all about Paddington Bear when I walked pass this square on our first day in Scotland. So glad that I finally found it again! By the time you read this, I hope I've also found another Paddington Bear, this time by the sea :) 

My heilan coo soft toy which my husband got for his friend, but gave it to me instead. Look how cute he is! I can't believe that my husband would think of buying this for a friend and not for his wife!!! 

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Isle of Skye Tour Fort Augustus (2/2)

 

Since we got a lot of time on our own, we decided to explore Fort Augustus by visiting all their shops and sights in the town. One of the feature was a canal right in the middle of the town. And you could actually walk across it. They have made it like a park or riverside walk. 

Here is the front view of the canal. It is elevated connected two water way together (I think).

To learn more in details, you can read the info above. I am not too interested in civil engineering or building of bridges.....zzzzzz

I did spotted a nice cafe, and for some reason, I wanted to have proper tea in a proper cafe in UK! So after my husband finished his Fish & Chips by the side of the canal, we went into this cafe called Ripples. 

It was such a sweet looking cafe. Quite small, and the prices was not too bad. I just wanted to sip tea by the window looking out from this pretty little cafe that is almost minty green in colour! Exactly my vibe!

Look at the deco! So pretty and cosy!

This the counter where you order and pay. They have homemade cakes and cookies, but all I ordered was tea.

My husband ordered a hot chocolate, and they serve it with a side of marshmallow! How sweet!

This is what it looked like after you pour all the marshmallow in. Lol. Looked like something from a Disney themed park. 

And this is my tea. The little pot only has hot water in it. I am not sure if you can refill it for free, but it's good for two cups. And I pick a very English kind of tea instead of my usual easter style tea. So happy even though it came in a tea bag. Once I pour in the hot water and sip it, my nerves were totally calmed as if time had stood still. I love that feeling when I'm drinking tea and time just suddenly slows down to a halt. Tea i magical!