Halong Bay Cruise

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After a pretty good sleep on the train considering the accommodation, at 4.30am I heard people walking in the train and talking and thought "wish they would be quiet I am sleeping". Next thing a knock on the door and the conductor says "Hanoi Station". Wow, was that a panic, getting dressed and packed and off the train in about 5 minutes flat! Got off the train, in the middle of a street, not on a station, just in the middle of the street, amazing with people everywhere and me not quite awake. I had to work out where I was, which as it happened was only around the corner from the first hotel where my bag was stored which was so lucky! Picked up my bag and caught a taxi to the new hotel, where I arrived at 5.00am! So easy, and yet so different.

I arrived at the Legacy Hotel to find the doors locked, mmmm, 5.00am and no where to go!! Lucky the young guys in the hotel woke up with my knocking and let me in. Where else but Vietnam would the staff say "you very tired, here lie on the couch", cover me with a blanket, turn off the lights and let me sleep till 7.00am. It was so kind and when they woke me up they let me use a bathroom in one of the rooms to have a shower and freshen up. No charge, no drama and then they gave me bananas and coffee for breakfast, again no charge. Now this is what I call true customer service!!

I was picked up by the tour guide and then undertook a three hour bus trip to Halong Bay, of course with the obligatory stop off at the wholesale craft market on the way.

When we arrived at Halong Bay we were ushered onto a tender to be taken to our Junk - the Poseidon. I was the only Western person on the boat, the 15 others were Vietnamese on holiday. So my wish to have a Vietnamese experience was fulfilled. There was a group of 4 young men, 18 year olds who decided they should look after me, two of them are studying in America and spoke English which was great because they translated everything and told me what the food was that we were eating. The food on the boat was good, lots of seafood, a good mix of Vietnamese food, but weird bacon and eggs for breakfast??? Of course the Vietnamese covered them with soy sauce and chilli sauce.

The junk was old, but the rooms were really comfortable and I had two great windows that opened and meant that I had a great view from the bed as we cruised around the islands. Also I had my own ensuite so I felt really spoilt. We stopped off and walked through caves and then in the rain we went canoeing around the islands. I was with one of the Vietnamese boys and we raced with the others around the islands and the rain didn't daunt us at all. It was a great afternoon of broken English, swimming, resting and eating of course!! I had an early night because it had been a big day with lots of exercising.

In the morning we went to a beach and there was a walk to the top of one of the islands which was a good comparison with the 1000 steps. Lucky for my training I made it. Funny though one of the Vietnamese boys said to me before I went up "maybe you shouldn't do it, it is very hard and slippery, safer if you stay here!!" Well, that was like saying I was old, so of course I had to do it then didn't I. They were very surprised that I kept them moving at a speed. Of course I didn't take a camera because I thought it was going to rain and I didnt want to carry it!! Silly me, the view was spectacular of Halong Bay and all the boats and islands. One picture I will have to carry in my mind for the future.

After lunch on the boat, we all loaded up in the bus again and headed back for the three hour drive to Hanoi, and again another stop at the wholesale shop!!! I sat in the bus for the whole time listening to music and just watching the countryside and city scape go by. Such an array of sights to see, grotty buildings, next to beautiful rice paddies with water buffalos, with speeding motorbikes and buses going by with horns blaring. Its such a mix of things and never boring.

Halong Bay was fun, and I think I was lucky having the passengers I did because it showed me another side of Vietnamese people, one where they sit and eat, drink and talk to each other. No mobile phones,(apart from the one sitting on the table in the photo!!) and they just had such a good time and were happy to include me in the group. It made me think, would 4 Aussie boys befriend a Vietnamese woman travelling on her own???

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Photos

Lunch on the Boat
More to come!!