Blogs from Northeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 81

Today was to be a momentous day - the very first day for a Thambiratnam to ever embark on an 'adventure' holiday - well, as adventurous as a 2 day kayak trek on flat water can be considered. Yes, we were off to Halong Bay, Vietnam's most famous natural attraction, to explore underwater caves, hidden lagoons and secluded beaches, all while surrounded by spectacular water-submerged karst splendors. Karst, for those uneducated individual out there, since everybody knows what karst is, is a fancy name for big gray moutains of limestone that have lots have caverns, streams and sinkholes running through them. But first off, we had to enjoy a completely unscenic 4 hour drive to Haphong, an industrial city that also served as the port to the Halong bay area. We then hopped onto a ferry ... read more

Ok the beautiful Halong Bay UNESCO world heritage site is spectacular. However the tour fiasco may soon turn tourists off coming to the area and what a shame that will be. For anyone reading this who may be considering booking a tour of the bay do not book with Thong Nhat 3 Hotel in Bai Chay (Ha Long). More about that later! We last joined you half frozen in Dalat with bags full of dirty washing! We are sad to say that our clothes have only just gone to the laundry today and we have been dirty manky backpackers for the past 3/4 days. We blew the budget (again!) to fly from Saigon to Hai Phong in the North East of the country (Vietnams 3rd biggest city and virtually unvisited by backpackers). The flight with Vietnam ... read more

After a short and painless bus ride, we arrived in the Vietnamese city, Hue. Hue has played an important role in Vietnamese history, in that it was once the capital of southern Vietnam and was home to many emperors (most notably, those in the Nguyen Dynasty). The city today, is full of historical artifacts from the Citadel to the numerous tombs and pagodas that line the Perfume River. However, many of these ancient remnants narrowly escaped the destruction of war and bare the hardships they faced. Unfortunately, the structures weren't the only things shattered. In 1968, Hue was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Tet Offensive and was the only city in South Vietnam to be held for a substantial period of time by the communists. During the period of time (about ... read more

Halong bay Well after a few miserable rainy days in Hanoi we decided we could not put the Halong Bay trip off any longer and decided to book through our hotel (Darling back packers - bad choice!). Luckily we had timed our trip perfectly and the weather was great, after waiting around for what seemed like hours in the scorching heat, watching the complete chaos of all the boats trying to push their way through to the harbour, we boarded and set off. Halong Bay is beautiful; it is a myriad of limestone cliffs protruding at random intervals from the sea. The rock formations are staggered with cracks and steps making this place a rock climber’s heaven. The scenery was reminiscent of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, however unfortunately the water did not look quite as ... read more

Das heisst Ha Long uebersetzt. Die Ha Long Bay ist wohl mit die schoenste Landschaft, die ich je gesehen habe. Nach einem etwas ernuechternden Besuch im Internetcafe vorgestern Abend trinken wir noch ein zwei Bier, karten das schlechteste Bett aus und gehen schlafen. Um sechs Uhr gehts raus, Richtung Ha Long Bay. Nach dreieinhalb Stunden Mini-Bus-Fahrt kommen wir an und sind erst einmal von dem Touristenauflauf schockiert. Chinesen mit Rollkoffern, blasse englische Backpacker und viele noble Vietnamesen. Wir haben nen ziemlich ueblen Fischkutter als Ausflugsboot erwischt, doch wir haben damit kein Problem. Im Gegensatz zu drei Englaenderinnen, die total versnobbt und arrogant sind und rumschreien, weil ihnen das Essen an Bord nicht genehm ist. Pah. Nachdem wir uns ausgiebig ueber sie unterhalten haben, merken wir, dass sie gut Deutsch sprechen. Danach fallen sie nicht mehr gross ... read more