Hanoi & Halong Bay

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Arriving in Hanoi that night was a shock, after quiet Luang Prabang. The first thing was the honking. The taxi driver kept honking as soon as there was a vehicle on the road, be it a bicycle, motorbike, car or truck. That was the signal to get in the Hanoi rythm.

I stayed in the Old Quarter of Hanoi: great, funky, lively and crazy place. Bikes, motorcycles, cars driving everywhere - and no road rules. Crossing the street the first time was... an experience. Not like in Switzerland: people won't stop to let you cross, you have to go, look them in the eyes, and they will go around you.

The best mean of transportation in Hanoi is the motorbike: hop on one, and close your eyes. Imagine being in the middle of the crossing, and vehicles coming from every side. No kidding!

I visited the Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum complex: that was very impressive. Visited also the temple of literature (first a university built on the king's order for his son), and the Lenin Park. That was great. I met Marieke from Belgium during the city tour, and she proposed to go the park early in the morning. Up we go, at 7am and it was great: people from Hanoi playing badmington in the park (hundreds of them), women practising Tai Chi and doing aerobics. People were relaxed, and we could play with the locals. It was just great to be in the park, away from the noisy city.

There is a 3 hours drive to Halong Bay, and the scenary was nice: rice fields, with people wearing the conical hat working there.

Halong Bay was so peaceful, and so magical: incredible, and hard to describe. There was a peacefulness in saling through the different islands.

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Photos

Hanoi Old Quarter Street Scene
pretty quiet moment on an Old Quarter Street

Badmington in Lenin Park in Hanoi
when the "Hanoians" are relaxed...

Halong Bay
Halong Bay

Halong Bay 2
Halong Bay 2

Halong Bay 3
Halong Bay 3

Halong Bay 4
Halong Bay 4