Hanoi and Halong Bay

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At last we are in Vietnam, and what a place, it is fantastic.

After changing up our remaining Thai money and getting back over a million Dong (the Vietnamese currency) we got a minibus into Hanoi. We had our first taste of being ripped off as the driver initially wanted to charge us 250,000, but having read the airport website beforehand I knew this was too much and after a few heated words we paid the same amount as everyone else which was 60,000. However we were ripped off by the taxi driver who took us to the hotel as his meter went too quickly (a favourite scam in Vietnam) and he didn't know exactly where the hotel was. After looking at the map we realised that we knew where the hotel was better than him so walked the final part of the journey.

We saw amazing sights on the way into town; various animals being transported on the bag of mopeds (pigs, dogs and even a cow), very green countryside and loads of bikes and mopeds. I noticed that there were no pedestrian crossings and wondered how you crossed the road. Later that evening we worked out what you do; walk very slowly into the traffic and let the bikes and mopeds drive around you. It was very scary at first (and I still wait until there are no cars or vans) but it seems to work OK.

We arranged a trip to Halong Bay, which was beautiful. It was a 2 day trip with overnight on a boat. Chris and I managed to get the best cabin, which was at the back of the boat, with windows on 2 sides. We also went kayaking for 45 minutes where we went to a small island to look at some caves. Thankfully no one in the group fell in as the water wasn't too clean. The scenery on the whole trip was spectacular and we were with a really nice group of people as well.

In Hanoi we went to Ho Chi Minh complex, which included a museum as well as Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. It was all very austere and felt quite communist with a big open square outside the mausoleum, where you can imagine the army parading through the square. We also went to the Army museum and saw loads of American planes and tanks that had been captured during and after the war.

We sampled lots of food and beer, including beer froma keg which cost 12 pence a glass. It was OK, not as nice as the bottled beer, but an experience sitting on the egde of the road drinking it and watching the traffic stream pass.

So after a few days in Hanoi we were on a bus to Ninh Binh.

Love

Tina


p.s. We also managed to watch the Fulham v Liverpool game live - it's not looking too good for the whites.

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Photos

Army Museum
Parts of American planes captured during the war