Hanoi and Halong Bay

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We arrived in Hanoi, a fast paced, urban city. The highlight in this area was spending time on Halong Bay. We had a relaxing and beautiful scenic time cruising around the bay on a Chinese junk. At one point we got off board and spent a couple hours hiking through Awsome caves. The weather was great, big plus since we had so much rain in Hoi An and Natrang.

Hanoi is large and noisy like Saigon but there is a different feel. There are more cars and there is more infrastrure work and not as many factories being built. The traffic here is just as crazy with the roads being shared by ox pulled carts to Mercedes Benz SUV's. The wealth is more in the north and there is more Government and Military. We never felt threatened or being watched. They want the tourists however don´t seem quite sure what tourism is all about! They want the money and they know there is lots of it but they are not as refined as other parts of Asia. One thing for sure, these people are smart and they will very quickly put it all together. Vietnam will become more of a tourist destination in the future. They have it all - sunshine, natural beauty, great beaches and low cost.

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Photos

Buffalo
This was on the way to the Hanoi airport and for me captures old and new colliding.

Bikes at the ready
The motorbike is the main means of transport.

Street Scene
Not sure what they are selling but food of some type for the locals.

Hair Cuts
Notice the small sign to the right on thewall.
Photo's $1.00 Mary did not see the sign but the barber reminded her.

Hotel View
This is the view from our Hotel in Hanoi

Worker
If you don't have a motor bike then a bicycle will do.

Hanoi Hilton
The prison in Hanoi, built by the French to torture the Vietnamese political prisoners. There was a working guillotine here that the French used.

Chinese Junks
Halong bay Junks waiting for passengers.
There were no shortages of passengers.

Mary w/Ken and Nancy
Ken was our only swimmer. Whenever he saw water he was going in. In Natrang it was cold and windy and Ken went in.

Awesome Cave
Yes that is the name and itis Awesome. We walked 1 to 2 miles inside the cave.

Cave
Look closely at how far back it goes.

Halong Bay
This is the view of the bay when you come out of the cave. The boat drops you at one point then moves around the island to pick you up at another.

Tilling the rice field.
This was the most machinery we saw in a field. They stirr up the water and ground prior to planting the rice shoot. This was done by hand or with a plow pulled by Ox but the wealthy had this machine.