North Vietnam: Hanoi and Halong Bay

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I flew from Saigon to Hanoi on July 12th. I originally wanted to take the train, but it takes 48 hours and costs $120 for a sleeper berth. It turned out to be about $50 cheaper to fly. Although I ended up paying another $15 for the hostel to pick me up. I could have gotten there cheaper by taking the airport shuttle, but I am feeling lazy at this point in my trip and feel it is worth the money to have someone waiting for me and take me directly to my hostel without me haveing to worry about finding it myself. This turned out to be particularly helpful in Hanoi because my hostel is located down an alley that is doubling as a storage for a nearby construction project so it doesn't look like there is anything of interest down there. Hanoi is a pleasant city for a tourist. There are several museums, markets, and a nice lake and park right near my hostel. I didn't get any hassle from vendors as a walked down the street. I did get hit for money by a couple different 'students' selling toothpicks of all things. The best part of Hanoi though, is the day trip to Halong Bay, an UNESCO world heritage site.

Halong Bay is a marine park with thousands of limestone rock formations in an area about 1,500 km². It is possible to book one, two, or three day trips of the bay. I chose a single day because I have no desire to sleep on a boat without airconditioning. And frankly after a few hours the rock formations start to look the same. I can't imagine spending days out there. Though I imagine the appeal is the same as lying on the beach. You just relax and enjoy the pretty scenery. The 2 and 3 day trips included different caves as well as kayaking around the bay. My personal trip included a fellow traveler from the Philipines who basically spent the whole trip telling me how wonderful the Philipines are and that I should go there. We were able to visit Hang Đầu Gỗ, which is a large cave inside one the rock formations and it is illuminated with colored lights everywhere. It was quite interesting to hike through.

There are a few other things to do in Hanoi. I visited the Art Museum, the Temple of Literature, and the Women's museum. There are also fun things like the Ho Chi Minh Masoluem. I don't have much interest in Masoluems. Or Ho Chi Minh to be quite honest. The Women's museum was quite interesting featuring exhibits on cultural practices that a tourist rarely sees, like wedding and childbirth rituals.

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Photos

Picture of Children
from the Women's Museum in Hanoi

Comments

[Home and Away]

I have been following your travels since Rome in 2009 when my son was studying there...
and have been remiss in nominating you for Blogger of the Week. How much longer are you going to be on the road and where will you be traveling? I want fellow Travelboggers to see more than a couple more blogs if you are near the end of your trip. Anyway, it's been great reading about your adventures.

[jawilso]

end of my trip
Hi! Thanks for the good thought! I am coming up on the end of my trip though. I have to blog about Laos, Chiang Mai, and then 5 blogs for the places I am going in China. So that isn't much left. Ah, the end of a trip is so sad! I am contemplating doing a North America trip, but that isn't set in stone yet. And it will be a while in any case.