Adventures in Hanoi & Halong Bay

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After the very warm welcome to Hanoi, I knew I was going to love Vietnam! The following day I met some of the most amazing girls! Can you believe it girls! First I met Melora, an amazing spirit who I spent all day talking with. Then, Jess a beautiful free spirit from England. Then Janet, a Kiwi transplant to England. It was so much fun to shop, dine, and tour beautiful Hanoi with a group of girls.

I especially enjoyed the famous Water Puppet Show on the river, and wondering around the streets of the Old Quarter where you could and did get lost for hours. The food is also AMAZING in Hanoi. It was so good in fact that Jess and I decided to go back to a restaurant called Little Hanoi II and ask them if the would show us how to make Tofu and Tomato Sauce and Sesame Eggplant. It was a blast and it only cost us the price of the meal plus a generous tip!!

Determined if not necessarily excited, we also toured the temple of Literature. Once we got our fill of culture it was back to wandering the hundreds of shopping stalls lined along the streets. It is very interesting how you will find a street filled with shoes and then one with clothes and then one with jewelry. The list goes on and on, but I especially liked the 5 shops in a row with bad sweaters (not vests!)

The group of girls I met decided to head off to Halong Bay for a beautiful 3 day tour. We had heard that the scenery was amazing and the continuous supply of fresh fish was great, but we had no idea how much fun we were going to have. We set sail from Halong City in a Junk Boat with only 14 people on board. After devouring a very yummy lunch, and were settled in our rooms most of us were sunbathing on the top deck within 15 minutes. The weather was perfect and we motored towards the large caves. After touring the caves we anchored for the night and started the festivities!

Once we anchored for the night the boat was surrounded by Vietnamese girls in row boats trying to sell us snacks and drinks. While we could buy beer on the boat it was much cheaper from the sales girls. After leaping from the top of the 25 ft boat the barging began. I was able to purchase a bottle of Vodka for only $6.00 US while treading water in the middle of Halong Bay. I guess there is a first for everything.

The following morning we were up early to tour more amazing caves and lagoons by kayak. While it was hard work to reach the caves/lagoon it was truly a stunning sight. After being picked up by the junk boat, we transferred our loot to a small boat and set off for a picnic on a private beach. The beach was only about 150 long, and we had to swim to our meal from the boat. We spent the afternoon swimming, eating and sunbathing it was glorious. That evening was spent on our own private resort with only 6 bungalows on the beach. The food was wonderful, the staff was great and nobody wanted to leave! We were able to stay into the early afternoon because we booked a hydrofoil boat back to the mainland. It was wonderful to wake up and jump in the ocean! Once back on mainland we were brought back to Hanoi, where we parted ways and Jess and I caught our overnight train to Hoi An.

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