Orient Express

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Thursday 7th April and Friday 8th April 2011 Lao Cai to Hanoi and Halong Bay
After arriving in Lao Cai we went to a hotel and had a shower and change of clothes before walking to the railway station to join the Orient Express for the overnight journey to Hanoi. It was slow, rocky and lumpy but quite luxurious with plush beds and classy furnishings inour couchettes. Meanwhile our bikes were driven to Hanoi by our van driver. In Hanoi we walked to the Asean Hotel, where we stayed when we arrived in Vietnam and had breakfast before going by by coach to Halong Bay. This was quite a journey on some good roads of Motorway standard near the city but deteriorarating as we travelled away, going through coal towns with black dust everywhere and past cement works. We saw two accidents on oour journey, one of which was an overturned lorry, which is not surprising when you have priority from the right - probably a throwback from the French Rule up to the late 1940's.
We boarded our luxury junk at Orchid Pier then enjoyed lunch cruising on Bai Tu Long Bay. The weather was warm but a little misty and the boat very nice with good rooms and beds. We were taken by small boat to an island with a very large cave with amazing formations inside. this was followed by a trip to To Tin island where we climbed the 325 steps to the viewpoint without stopping - it is surprising how the mountains have improved our fitness. The evening meal was excellent and I slept well. The bay is very picturesque with loads of small islands surrounding us and many boats, some with sails flying akin to those seen on Chinese Junks. We had a very pleasant ime on the boat and soaked up the atmosphere and sun - what a splendid way to end our holiday before the return to Hanoi for some last minute shopping and sightseeing. Our return to Hanoi included a visit to one of the tourist gift emporiums, which was not too expensive and we saw locals carving marble, sewing and making silk pictures etc.

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