我对北越的印象可以以几个词儿形容：交通糟、市容脏、物价贵、咖啡香。看起来好像贬义词比较多，但我们这一趟旅行非常悠闲，倒享受得很。说是北越之旅，说穿了也就只为沙坝梯田（Sapa）、下龙湾（Ha Long Bay）以及河内的“饮饮食食”。以下是简单的行程及花费供参考（一切花费以两人计）：
3月31日（Old Quarters + Hoan Kiem Lake；乘夜晚的火车到Lao Cai，睡在火车上）
我们于早上九点到达河内机场。在机场要了一辆的士到Old Quarters，然后绕着还剑湖（Hoan Kiem Lake）转，和当地人一样享受青绿公园的悠闲。午餐也就索性到City View Restaurant吃午餐继续欣赏湖景就是了。吃了午餐我们就开始在Old Quarters的街上钻，顺便物色最后一晚的住宿地点。
一来扛着重重的背囊，二来懒惰，我们找个借口到Finnegans Hotel（我们4月3日的住宿）做一些行程上的安排，然后把行囊给丢下就走。我们到酒店工作人员介绍的越南馃条档子学当地人坐在矮凳上吃晚餐，然后回酒店还借用冲凉房洗澡更衣，才乘的士到火车站去。 （taxi from airport to Old Quarters VND330,000; Coffee break near Hoan Kiem Lake VND174,000; Lunch at City View Restaurant VND280,000; Dinner - Pho at road side VND70,000; Taxi from hotel to train station VND53,000; Night train to Sapa USD86）
4月1日（Sapa；宿Sapa Garden B&B）
火车到达Lao Cai才凌晨六点，我睡得糊里糊涂的，从上铺下来时一不小心就摔了下来，吓坏了美美。我反正也跌惯了，也不觉得怎样，拿起背包就往火车站出口走去。Sapa Garden B&B已经安排了车子来接我们到民宿。一下车，迎接我们的是两只异常热情的大狗，给人一种游子和爱狗久别重逢的错觉。哈哈！民宿花丛簇锦，在凉风薄雾里显得特别漂亮温馨。我一到步，就爱上了。
我们原想随团到乡村trekking，老板说这天天气不太好，你们今天就休息休息，明天才去吧。正合我意呢！我们吃过早餐，回房间梳洗、休息，然后到院子里看书、喝咖啡，还奢侈得有机会小睡一会儿！
睡醒后我们开始步行到沙坝镇，半途下起倾盆大雨，我们俩躲在一家小旅馆的五脚基避雨。我一如往常般幸运，小旅馆老板差女儿出来请我们俩到客厅休息喝茶（改天告诉你们详情）。雨停后我们继续往上走。小镇真的没什么看头，我们绕了一圈就决定找个地方坐下来喝咖啡继续悠闲。由于我们刚看见烤狗，对于“食物安全性”存疑，决定找家西餐厅吃午餐算了。
吃了午餐，lepak够了，我们又走回舒服的Sapa Garden B&B继续lepak。老板妈妈在夜幕还没低垂就开始在壁炉起火，叫我这个热带长大的山芭佬兴奋万分！晚餐后继续在壁炉旁看书喝咖啡。
这样子就过了悠闲的一天。 （pick up from train station USD8；Sapa Garden B&B早餐USD10；Gecko Restaurant午餐VND229,000； Sapa Garden B&B 晚餐USD20；Sapa Garden住宿与隔天早餐 USD50）
4月2日（Sapa Village Trekking；乘夜晚的火车回河内，睡在火车上）
司机把我们载到老板在镇上的另一家酒店Thai Binh Sapa Hotel和guide汇合，然后随着她一家一家酒店去接其他的游客。奇怪的是，除了我们五个游客，还有一群当地少数民族对我们不离不弃地一路尾随我们到她们住的村庄去。有点尴尬哦。
我们在竹树小径上、在梯田间穿梭，虽然热得要命，又走了十多公里，但我们还是挺享受的。Trekking完毕，还有车子来把我们载回小镇哦。我们到Thai Binh Sapa Hotel抹身、换掉一身臭衣物，然后乘上我们在越南全程最‘臭脸’的司机的车子到Lao Cai。那位全车人欠他几百万美元的司机兜兜转转游花园，还绕了远路，等我们到火车站时我们就只有近30分钟的时间吃晚餐。一路上看起来脏兮兮的黑黝黝的，再加上“食物安全性”非常可疑，我们再一次选一家灯火光明的西餐厅Le Bordeaux解决晚餐。
这一趟和我们共车厢的是一对以色列退休医生老夫妇，美美对于不需要和两个‘麻甩佬’共车厢松了一口气，和他们谈得愉快呢。我则因为正读着The Story Teller，有一种抱着他们痛哭的冲动…… （Trekking tour inclusive lunch USD36； Dinner at Le Bordeaux VND189,000；train back to Hanoi USD80）
4月3日（Hanoi Cooking Center + Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long + Temple of Literature；宿Finnegans Hotel）
到达河内才凌晨五点，Finnegans 的那位小弟弟老早就站在寒风中等我们。把我们送上的士，替我们谈好价钱后，他才乘电单车尾随。服务真的很周到。到了酒店，我们获得免费提早check in，可以好好的睡上一个好觉后再次出发。睡醒后小弟弟又替我们打的，交代好价钱，让我们到Hanoi Cooking Center上课去。
上完课我们到久仰大名的“西湖”（是的，河内也有个西湖！）去走走看看，可惜没什么看头，我们又继续到Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long（其实当地旅游地图都简称之为Flag Tower啦，不过我崇拜世界文化遗产，就偏偏要世界文化遗产的正式名称）。拍了几张照片我们就累垮了，又躲在文化遗产内的咖啡厅喝咖啡去了。休息充电后再走向Temple of Literature，由于这一回到北越功课没有做足，好多东西没有多加注意，进了Temple of Literature才知道原来是孔庙啦！不过，除了是孔庙，这儿还是国子监，也是越南第一家大学。 我们走累了就要了个三轮车，在市区内走马看花一小时。
回酒店休息一阵子后我们又往市区的另一端走去，为的，就是在网上口碑不错的法国餐厅La Badiane。（越南既然曾经是法国殖民地，那，除了吃一些道地的越南餐，我们总该也尝一尝法国餐，至少我是这样想的。）餐厅情调不错，顾客服务也是越南少见的好，食物也非常好吃呢，待我下次好好的给大家介绍介绍。 （从火车站到酒店的士费VND50,000；从酒店到Hanoi Cooking Center的士费VND48,000；烹饪科学费VND2,320,000；Flag Tower入门票VND60,000； Temple of Literature VND40,000；三轮车一小时City Tour VND150,000；La Badiane VND1,870,000；Finnegans Hotel inclusive breakfast VND630,000）
4月4日（Join Buffalo Tour's L'Azalee cruise at Halong Bay）
我们吃了早餐，Buffalo Tour的司机就来接我们到下龙湾去啦～从河内到下龙湾近乎四个小时车程，开始时风景如画，绿油油的稻田在路旁无限展延，浓雾覆盖着大地，鸭群已经在戏水了。之后，我已经昏睡过去了，无法向你报告。
睡醒时已经到下龙湾海港，我们和一位菲律宾来的Microsoft Sales/Marketing的小男孩，三对澳洲来的夫妇，以及我们全程导游Hugh一起乘小船到L'Azalee Cruise去。L'Azalee Cruise外表看起来有点儿残旧，里头却应该刚装修不久，新颖而舒服。我们要么就在甲板上吹海风、要么就在船舱里听雨、要么在雨中kayaking、要么就在饭厅和大家谈天玩游戏。 （Buffalo Tour's L'Azalee Cruise twin sharing, lunch/dinner/breakfast/dinner and transportation between Hanoi - Ha Long Bay inclusive USD358 ）
4月5日（Cave of Surprises at Ha Long Bay; 宿Viethouse）
我们在浓浓晨雾中甦醒，下龙湾若隐若现。早餐后，船把我们带到Cave of Surprises看溶洞。在船上吃了午餐我们就回河内啦～这一天我们住在漂亮的小酒店Viethouse。我们住在十楼，房间有片落地窗，可以俯视河内老市区和一小片的还剑湖湖景。
我们梳洗完毕就开始寻食。我和美美心头各有所好，于是我们去我想吃的Cha Ca La Vong（我们去的不是那家出名的百年老店，而是酒店老板介绍的另一家）点了一人份儿，再到美美想吃的Quan An Ngon点了两个道地小吃。再到Radio Cafe‘叹’咖啡去。 (Viethouse Superior room USD50；Cha Ca La Vong一人套餐VND160,000；Quan An Ngon两个小吃两杯果汁VND318,000；Radio Cafe咖啡一杯VND21,000）
4月6日（回家啦）
我们用过了老板准备的早餐，就乘约一小时的的士到机场。（Continental breakfast at Viethouse USD14；从酒店到机场的士USD15）
I found certain games that the guys in The Big Bang Theory play pretty amusing. I'm not referring to the video games or board games or card games that they still playing today. I am referring to the cooler, geekier, funnier games that they played back then, in the earlier seasons.
1) To switch on light through satellite (S01E09)
The guys are in awe (and so do TBBT fans around the world) when they hooked their lights, stereo and radio-controlled cars to the Internet, allowing them to be controlled remotely. It is the idea that count, it is "because we can" :)
2) starch and water (S02E03)
How come we never had non-Newtonian fluid experiment in school? Our science labs need more fun than our current syllabus.
3) Secret Agent Laser Obstacle Lunch / Chess (S02E18)
Be it Secret Agent Laser Obstacle lunch or chess, seeing them acting like Johnny English in action with Sabre Dance as background music is hilarious. I do think these are some cool games that we can play when all my crazy cousins are around.
4) Time Machine (S01E14)
OK, honestly, I do think the idea of playing with the time machine is quite dumb. However, I somehow feel connected, seeing 4 of them being so obsessed with a game that all of them enjoy. With a little bit of imagination, it is like being a child all over again.
Earlier this month, when I were troubled by some doubts, and my faith
being challenged, I needed some "breathing window" to escape. I turned
to "The Big Bang Theory" for temporary-run-away-from-reality. Most of the time, when I'm free and alone, I would
randomly pick some scenes from Youtube and let TBBT entertains me.
There are certain scenes in The Big Bang Theory that I could watch a million times and still can't stop laughing. It's hard to choose only 10 so I decided to pick only those that you don't have to :
Here's My Top 10 Funniest Scenes:
1) The Leonard Nimoy's Napkin(The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis)
To date, this is still THE funniest scene from The Big Bang Theory. For the first 15 minutes of the show, I was anticipating what would Sheldon get for Penny and what would she give him? Apparently, Penny is the biggest winner of Christmas gifts giver! The used, autographed napkin of Leonard Nimoy!
Sheldon's reaction is definitely one of the funniest minute that I have ever seen on TV, and his little hug at the end is pure gold! It's a Saturnalia miracle :)
2) Sheldon Comforting Penny at the Hospital
Sheldon sent Penny to hospital after she slipped in the shower and dislocated her shoulder. He is as annoying as usual. However, upon Penny's request, he has to comfort her. He, even though do not know exactly what to do, actually tried very hard. The face he makes, kill!!!
3) Joker's Smile
The scariest and the most hilarious smile ever!
4) The Tall Man from Cornwall
This is classic:
There was a tall man from Cornwall, Whose length exceeded his bed, My body fits on it but barely upon it, There's no room for my big Cornish head
5) Drake Equation
First of all, it is very entertaining to see how fast Sheldon Cooper / Jim Parsons can speak.
Secondly, that satisfactory smile on his face is priceless!
6) Sheldon talks to Amy's mother
Only Sheldon can say these without being wretched. He sounds innocent and clueless :)
7) Tiger Eye
This almost-0-conversation-0-action-scene always bring me to tears
8) Sheldon's Drunk Speech
Sheldon overcame his stage freight and started to sing the Elements Song
(I googled the "Elements Song" and this song actually exist!! No joke!! Tom Lehrer must be a real-life nerdiest pianist!! I blog about this earlier this month)
9）Sheldon's Acoustic Sweet Spot
I couldn't help but pity Leonard.
10) C-Men
Being Sheldon's friends could be very dumbfounding sometimes......
After we left Big Bear Lake, we drove all the way to the Hollywood Sign for some typical tourist photo sessions. It was fun, but of course, nothing much to do after a few shots. So, we drove along Santa Monica Boulevard for almost an hour, crusing through the various rich and famous areas, including Bevely Hills.
When we finally reached Santa Monica, we were very glad! The sky and Pacific Ocean is still the typical-post-card-blue. This is the amazing weather that I would like to remember. This is the shades of blues that I would like to carve into my memory.
We were not really keen of going to Santa Monica Pier, but we were very responsible tourists. We know, that is the place that you must at least take some "I was here" photos.
I love Santa Monica. It is very California.
After a brief walk at seaside, we decided to do our last USA window shopping at 3rd Street Promenade.
Of course, as usual, we always ended up in restaurants. This round is the Cafe Monsieur Marcel that caught our attention.
This is a great place for people watching! The staffs are very friendly too.
Most importantly, the food was great!
Gazpacho
Duck Confit
Argh, I can't recall the name of this beef amuse bouche
After our meal, we continue to explore the Promenade. This pedestrian only area is an shopping and dining mecca. Besides, just walking here was an interesting experience, with artists performing at the pavement and tourists/locals love them.
3rd Street Promenade in the evening
For our last hour before depart to LAX, of course, we MUST visit the Santa Monica Pier. I am not a fan, but at least I want the "been there, done that" experience :)
We didn't try any of the rides. I had enough of those through out our 3 theme parks visit. The most exciting that I have done was to take photo with the Route 66 sign, and to meet the Zoltar!! (For those that are too young to know who is Zoltar, this is the one that responsible in turning a 12-years-old into Tom Hanks in the movie Big!)
This, is how we ended our amazing 15 days road trip at South West USA!
后来我们偷听他和隔壁桌的顾客对话，方知道原来他可是个冷面笑匠。 隔壁桌来了一对六十来岁的男女，女的好说话，跟老板说：“今天对我们来说是个特别的日子。”老板问：“What's the occasion?”。女士说：“是我的丈夫的生日。”老板说：“哦，所以你把他撇在家吗？”我差点儿把口里的食物都喷了出来。后来他们又一搭没一搭的谈着，我怀疑他不喜欢叽喳的女人，句句了无痕迹‘顶住晒’。
If you think I'm going to blog about Sheldon Cooper again, I'm sorry that I have to disappoint you :)
Because of The Big Bang Theory, I googled "The Elements Song" and I accidentally came across this real life funniest, nerdiest, coolest singer / song-writer / pianist / mathematician -- Tom Lehrer!! He is SOOOO adorable!
This is the life recording of Tom Lehrer singing the Elements Song at Copenhagen in 1967. I don't understand how could the audience sit there clapping calmly. If I were there, I would roar in hysterics.
OK, now let's sing along:
ARTIST: Tom Lehrer
TITLE: The Elements
There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium
There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium
There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium
And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium
There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium
These are the only ones of which
The news has come to Ha'vard
And there may be many others
But they haven't been discava
To see more videos of Tom Lehrer's video, you can go to The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel. I'm sure you would love these!
I haven't finish the blog posts of my previous trip, and the next one is coming up soon. I know myself so well that if I don't complete it now, I'll never complete those blogs, ever!! (Just like what happened to my 江南 family trip blog posts. The titles staying in my draft folder for ever and ever). Argh!! I MUST finish the balance 3 USA blog posts, and yet, I'm here, writing about weather......
Based on my previous experience at Guilin, I know it too well that we should never under estimate "Spring". A few years ago, we happily went to the 四季如春 Guilin, and ended up caught in the 春冷冻死牛 situation. Hence, this time, I pay extra attention on the weather forecast, especially the one at Sapa.
I guess we are extremely lucky. The weather at Sapa is not bad at all (I'll assume the forecast is based on 95% confidence level. Haha!). Well, fine, I do notice there is one day of "a shower or thunderstorm possible" when we are there but I'm pretty optimistic about this.
(Since Jim Parsons turned 40 on 24th March, and since I'm currently having mind block for my travel blog, I have decided to blog about Sheldon Cooper and continue my travel blog later)
In my heart, there's always a soft spot for physicists. I always believe that in our 红尘, in the academic world, they are those that closest to the truth. I love the intelligent and child-like Einstein, I adore the multifaceted Richard Feynman, and I even understand why that young lady fall in love with Yang ZhenNing.
So, I think it is pretty logical that I love the fictional physicist, Dr. Sheldon Cooper (B.S., M.S., M.A., PhD., ScD., and OMG :p ), one of the funniest and most original character on television.
A recently discovered species of bee in Brazil was named Euglossa bazinga. An asteroid was named 247247 Sheldoncooper.
Looking at the facts above, I'm sure I am not the only one who love Sheldon Cooper.
Even though Sheldon Cooper is just one lab accident away from being a super villain, even though he is super annoying with inflated ego, still, everyone loves Dr. Sheldon Cooper. I love the geeky Sheldon. Even though I am not a Trekkie, I like the fact that he speaks Klingon. I think only person that can speak Klingon qualified to be a real Trekkie.
I love the way he is specific and accurate about everything. He would blow his nose into handkerchief and ask others whether this is moss green or forest green; When he is to pick his car colour, he specifically wanted the 'light blue of Luke's lightsaber was, before the digital remastering'; He describes Acrophobia as not a fear of heights but fear of falling; I love how he explained his spot "In the winter this seat is close enough to the radiator to remain warm and not so close as to cause perspiration. In the summer it is directly in the path of the cross breeze created by the opening windows there and there. It faces the television at an angle that is neither direct, thus discourage conversation, but not so far wide as to create a parallax distortion"; "Love is in the air? Wrong. Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon and Carbon Dioxide are in the air"; "It's not a cartoon, it's anime" etc.
I love how he and his friends fond of comic books, costumes, role-playing games, video games, collectible card games, action figures, fantasy, science fictions. I am not as crazy but I could always understand the fondness. I guess when other people look at how excited Wei Wei, En En and I talk about the movies / games / TV series that we love, they may think we are flibbertigibbet too. I
love his vintage T-shirts, be it superhero logos or the Philips Test
Pattern or the Melting Rubik's Cube or the super crazily geeky "73" (Sheldon says “The best number is 73…. 73 is the
twenty-first prime number. Its mirror, 37, is the twelfth and its
mirror, 21, is the product of multiplying (hang on to your hats) 7 and
3. In binary, 73 is a palindrome: 1-0-0-1-0-0-1, which backwards is
1-0-0-1-0-0-1.”). His vintage T-shirts had made me fall in love
with t-shirts all over again. Wei Wei and I have been "window shopping"
for TBBT t-shirts online for quite some time. I also love the fact that he is always very sure of himself in a lot of ways. "You know me to be a very smart man. Don't you think that if I were wrong, I'd know it?"
CBS released photo: Jim Parsons & Leonard Nimoy on the set
Sheldon Cooper is one of the most "spot on" and successful character in recent sitcom universe. The Big Bang Theory writers working very hard to put every possible imaginable nerdy awkward moment into Sheldon's character. He is the crazy smart that everyone loves to hate, and yet, Jim Parsons has successfully turned him into one of the most adorable character in the fictional world.
我们在傍晚寻找住宿时，曾经进了一家名为Old Country Inn的餐厅。我单看名字，误以为是小客栈。进去问了问，发觉他们态度不错，餐厅装潢看起来也挺温馨舒适的，所以晚上，我们又回来报到。餐厅里客人不多，我们找了个看起来比较舒服静谧的角落，准备好好的吃一餐，谈一谈。
