Hanoi and Halong Bay

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Hey everyone!

After leaving Hoi An behind it was a hop, skip and jump up the Vietnamese coast to the coastal town of Hue. We were really looking forward to this stopover as we had arranged to meet up with Claire's friend Tina and her boyfriend Paul here. We spent the rest of the afternoon exchanging travel tales before all catching our first sleeper bus up to Hanoi.

After surviving countless Vietnamese action movies, blaring local radio shows, fellow travelers motion sickness, constant toilet stops and the inexplicably small sleeper bunks (not designed with the Western frame in mind...) we arrived in Vietnams bustling capital city. Short of sleep and a little spaced out from the night's seemingly endless mix of entertainment we checked in at our guesthouse and spent the rest of the morning recuperating.

Later on we went out to explore the hugely energetic streets of Hanoi. It seems that so much of life in this city revolves around the packed sidewalks - families crowded round makeshift tables munching on noodle soup, tuk tuk drivers blethering away over a smoke, and crammed markets selling huge hampers in preparation for Chinese new year. Its also a pretty scary life for a chicken in Hanoi - in one walk around we saw the poor birds crammed onto motos, getting beheaded/drowned at local markets and being munched on by huge swathes of locals in nearby street stalls! Tragic!

Despite all the trauma, we decided it was time to treat ourselves to some local cuisine so visited a renowned Vietnamese BBQ/Hotpot restaurant. Although we all really enjoyed the grilled prawns and duck, the specialty hotpot was beyond us - they literally put every local meat and veg into this dish and the rather suspect looking "Taiwanese meatballs" were just too much for our modest taste buds! We spent the rest of the evening back at Fanny's Ice Cream Parlour where we could enjoy some more familiar fare for dessert.

The next morning the four of us we were up early and heading out of Hanoi for Ha Long Bay - a huge bay featuring thousands of limestone karsts and caves in various sizes and shapes. After adjusting to the Scottish-esque weather, we climbed aboard our boat the "Dream Voyage" and set sail. It was after only a matter of minutes of being out on the water that that the mist gave way and the first of these huge stones came into sight - shooting like an emerald out of the deep turquoise water. Stunning! According to local legend, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels then turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders.

After having lunch aboard the boat, we hopped off to explore a nearby cave hidden inside one of the huge limestone cliffs. We were all absolutely blown away - the interior was lit up in countless coloured lights and was truly spectacular. Tina and Paul at this point cursing their below par camera!! Rumour has it that over the war these caves were used as hiding places for the North Vietnamese during US bomb attacks. Later on we visited a nearby floating fishing village situated in amongst the huge karsts. Its crazy to think that people live out here on these random buoyant huts all their lives! It was amazing to see little kids running around so close to the deep water - this watery world as their playground. We then spent the evening aboard the boat on the bay - all over the moon to be there but struggling to cope with the baltic weather conditions! The next morning we woke up and spent 10 minutes admiring the stunning views from the cabin window - probably most amazing setting we could imagine opening our curtains to! We then spent the morning out on the bay kayaking before heading back ashore for lunch.

After returning to Hanoi that evening we enjoyed some pasta and pizza before checking out a Vietnamese puppet show. Cue arguably the most bizarre evening's entertainment of our entire trip/lives! The show basically consisted of several ornate wooden puppets splashing around a watery stage shouting out randomly in Vietnamese. Part of us wondered if it was all a big joke the locals play on unsuspecting tourists every night - after all who knows what those crazy dolls are actually saying?! On the plus side the accompanying music and singing seemed authentic enough and proved to be the real highlight!

Next stop is Laos and time to let our hair down with some crazy tubing fun! Bring it on!

Love James and Claire x

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Photos

Halong Bay
And the Floating Village

Our First Sleeper Bus
Fast Forward a Few Hours and these Smiles Were Looong Gone!

Hanoi Hotpot for Tea
Watch Out For Those Meatballs!

Like a Duck to Water!
That Paddle was also a Lethal Weapon!