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Published: September 25th 2016
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Setting off for the airport in good time as always everything was running very smoothly, bus and trains all on time and arrived at the airport nice and early. Fortunately, we were actually able to check in for the flight (not like last year to Malaysia when we were so keen that they made us wait around an hour and then still had not actually organised us seats for the second leg of the flight... But that's another story).
Cheeky Nandos in the airport then boarded the plan to Istanbul and were pleased to find it had individual screens despite only being a 4 hour flight. After a few episodes of Big Bang and a mediocre pasta dish we were just about ready to land. There's nothing special about Istanbul airport (let's face it, it's hard to live up to the wonders of the Singapore transfer area).
A couple of hours on and we were getting ready to board for Hanoi. One thing we were massively impressed by with Turkish Airlines was that they actually make people Wait until their group has been called before allowing them board the plane. I've never really understood why grown adults get so
anxious and impatient that they have to start queuing no crowding the second the flight attendant says 'group A' despite that they themselves are actually in group D. Is it impatience? Panic that they will get missed off the flight? Or just a mark up our global education system that people cannot get from a-d in the alphabet?
We ended up with three seats for Jord and I on the flight after some rough translating into Spanish and we managed to help the lady next to us find a spare seat next to her family - very much a win win. This meant that I could curl up and lie down which meant I could actually sleep. Food was okay in general- dinner was mince beef burek, or the Turkish version and breakfast was eggs and yogurt and stuff.
On arrival at Hanoi airport it took a little bit of working out to see how to get into town. This is mainly due to the fact that the so-called 'Tourist Information' desks are actually just cover ups for taxi companies. I knew there was a minibus that takes you direct to you hotel for $4-5 however no one
would tell me where to find it. We did find it ourselves (walk out of the main exit and turn left there will be some minibuses it is marked Vietnam Airways) and we soon arrived at Hanoi Old Town Hotel.
We had a few nights in Hanoi to get our bearings and catch up on sleep but nothing too exciting - booking tours and train tickets for the following week etc. We also explored the city and on our first evening did the Hanoi Street Food Tour which was fantastic. We visited 7 different restaurants with our guide Lizzie and try lots of local food while also learning about Hanoi and Vietnam. The tour lasts around 3hrs costs $20 and can be booked out of Kim's Tour in the Old Town.
On the second day we went on a so-called classic 'Stephenson Midday Trudge' which I had only learnt about a few weeks ago from my sister's partner. Apparently its a common mistake the Stephenson's make, going out for long walks at the hottest point of the day... It wasn't so enjoyable, we spent a long time walking in the heat to HCM museum and then didn't even
go in!
The next morning we set off on a tour with Ethnic Travel to Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay and Quan Lan island (3D2N). Originally I wanted to just do a trip to Quan Lan island to get off the beaten track and I have had the privilege of seeing Halong in the past however since Jord had not been it felt a shame for him to miss out on this fantastic experience and so we looked for a tour that suited both of us. Ethnic Travel pride themselves of going away from the well-trodden tourist trails and showing you Vietnam as it is to a local. The first day we sailed for hours in Halong with no other boats in sight and kayaked through the limestone peaks with only the passengers on our boat (8 people in total) for company. It was serene and beautiful. It feels special to be in a place so fascinating and watch all the other boats turn right and you veer off left. We passed fishing boats and passed an area with lots of nets and small floating houses. 'What do you think that is?' asked Jord, 'a fishing village?' 'No',
I replied, 'I think it might be a pearl farm, they definitely have them in the bay'. 'Oh that's cool I didn't think of that,' Jord said and I asked 'Why would you think of it?' to which he replied 'I dunno, I guess I've just never seen a pearl in the wild before.'
After spending a night on the boat with no one else around we spent the next morning kayaking to a cave and scrambling over rocks. We then heading back to port and re-boarded our mini bus heading further up the coast to Cai Rong where we would board our vessel to sail through Bai Tu Long Bay to Quan Lan Island. Unfortunately, we left the nice weather at Halong and entered into what can only be described as torrential rain. On arrival at Cái Rồng harbour we all quickly scrabbled around for rain macs and rucksack covers before diving under the shelter of a nearby restaurant. We headed to the boat that would take us on out rainy cruise to the island and found that we were required to complete a challenge before we were allowed to embark upon the next part of our tour
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Walking the Plank. Unfortunately, the boat was not able to reverse all the way to the pier and so they had provided a two metre long, one foot wide plank to give access to the boat. There was also a two meter drop into the sea. It may not sound so bad, and to some of the group it was a doddle but I did not like it! Not to worry as I have a very helpful and caring boyfriend in these times of needs 'Aren't you gonna go?' he asked, 'I can't walk across that! I'll fall!' I exclaimed in reply. 'It's okay,' he said pushing past me and walking the plank onto the boat, 'you can swim'. Cheers Jord.
Eventually our friendly guide helped me across and maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked, I just didn't want to 'swim' with our passports!
The boat journey was a wet one... We spent a lot of time indoors playing cards but when out onto the deck when the opportunity arose. For those who are debating between Halong and Bái Tử Long I will say that, in my opinion, although Bái Tử Long is very pretty,
the scenery is not comparable to the dramatic sight of Halong Bay. Due to the weather we were unable to do our third round of kayaking but when we arrived at Quan Lan the rain was holding off and we dropped our bags at the homestay/hotel, grabbed some half-functional bikes and headed to a beautiful beach. The waves were fun, big and strong and our guide was so nervous about us going too far out!
When we got back we made spring rolls which we ate of dinner along with other delicious things. Quan Lan is a quite, quaint island where tourism is just developing. The locals are friendly and you won't see many other travellers.
The next morning we packed up our bags, threw them in a tuktuk and cycled across the island to the opposite pier it was a gorgeous ride along the coast with the mountains in the background. When we got the pier we boarded our boat to take us back to the mainland and sail directly into the rain... After a short detour backwards to fish the captains flip-flop out of the sea.
It was a rainy drive back to Hanoi! Hopefully
the weather will hold off for our next few days in Sapa - I'm not sure I can handle the rain and cold at the same time! I'm a terrible Brit.
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