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Published: January 8th 2008
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Halong Bay
We were blessed with 2 hours of glorious sunshine this morning out on Halong Bay. 5/12 - Arrival, Hanoi
Yet another early start (aren’t they all?) for the 6am local train from Ninh Binh to Hanoi (2.5hrs). We met a lovely helicopter pilot who was seated opposite us. So lovely, in fact, that he saved us from missing our station altogether! He was on the train with his uncle and he had travelled all over the world training young helicopter pilots. I haven’t regretted taking local transport at all - it is a fun way to meet locals and I can definitely recommend it if you are interested in this!
Hanoi is considered to be one of the nicest examples of a French colonial cities in all of Asia, and it certainly hasn’t disappointed us. We have really taken our time with Hanoi - we still have another 2 nights here - and it has been well worth it.
On our first morning we bumped into Steve and Sib - again! - and we relaxed in a cafe for a while. An Australian man from Gippsland owned the cafe and he booked us onto a two-day Halong Bay trip after telling us not to bother with Cat Ba at this time of year,
MM + AD at Halong Bay
..onboard the "phoenix" - the name of our boat and one of the four creatures considered holy by the Vietnamese as it is a bit cold. I had heard there were lots of monkeys at Cat Ba so I declared I would be going rain hail or shine - but Sib and Steve said they only saw one monkey the whole time they were there and mostly it was just resorts. So that was that and we booked the 2 day tour (Culi cafe, 40 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan Kiem, owner is Travis if anyone is interested. Lattes also good I hear - though I am off coffee for good).
After lunch, Andrew and I headed off to the Army Museum, which was very interesting - though sad - and as usual we found ourselves very confused by the species to which we belong. There is a MiG-121 (VC via Russia) and a F-111 (US) and they are fairly awe-inspiring for mixed reasons. There are also lots of other weapons - they are so big and ferocious looking - especially the rocket launcher. We also learnt such facts as: between 1964 and 1973 the North Vietnamese shot down 4,181 US aircraft including 68 B52’s and 13 F-111’s. As Andrew and I looked at a painting of the Battle of
Bach Dang (1288), Andrew said “They love to fight”. I said “They don’t love to fight - they love their country” - and I think this really came through from the museum - if not everywhere in Vietnam we have been.
We also went to the Temple of Literature - Vietnam’s first university, which was founded in 1070. According to the Lonely Planet it is a “rare example of well-preserved Vietnamese architecture”. I thought it was worthwhile even just to see the beautiful lotus flowers in the ponds. The university was dedicated to Confucius.
In the evening we started at Le Pub (Hang Be Street, next to Hoa Binh Palace) where they will make cocktails in a jug for you. After this we moved to Bar 69 which has delicious Vietnamese food and is set in a beautifully restored town house; and after this the night dissolved into Bia Hoi action around a keg on a street corner and concluded with me announcing to the grave-yard shift receptionist at our hotel that I would very much like to purchase the gigantic statue of Buddha in the entry hall, which is constructed entirely of jade.
6/1 - Gigantic
What a load!
This is the bike load a particular man used to carry around every single day (they are fishing baskets). I am in awe of anyone with this much balance and coordination! (Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi) Headache, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Museum of Ethnology
Never to let a dehydration headache get in the way of seeing someone’s preserved dead body, we set off bright and early to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum - which gets really busy and the last admission for the day is at 10:15am. After waiting in the “line” - which is sort of like a 2km roving tour of the HCM complex - for about an hour, we entered the famous mausoleum to see HCM. The Vietnamese and travellers alike are very respectful - and you may not wear hats, T-shirts, or even put your hands in your pockets. HCM is entombed in a glass case just like Lenin. It is important to be very silent and to keep moving past Ho Chi Minh’s tomb.
Of course, Andrew had a frigging head cold, and right as he passed Ho Chi Minh’s tomb, beloved to so many, he let out the mother of all sneezes, like a supersonic boom. The guards were very angry with him and he had to leave immediately. I have called the incident “Sneezegate” and I am not too sure if Andrew will ever live it down!
After this we went to the fascinating Museum of Ethnology - which is all about the different ethnic groups and their customs and languages in Vietnam. Interestingly, we learnt that there are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.
We ate a delicious lunch at KOTO - which I strongly recommend - as it trains and employs former street kids (61 Pho Van Mieu).
We were sound asleep the rest of the afternoon!
7/1 - Halong Bay
Up early (sound familiar?) to be up and at’em for Halong Bay - a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of gigantic karst towers in a bay. We opted for a mid-range to upper-level cruise of $79 US p/p after hearing some very bad feedback about the $4 trips.
The food was truly beautiful and we feasted on crab and tropical fruits and sweet and sour fried fish and clams and pork and vegetable spring rolls. Mmm ..yum. We also had quite a few glasses of Vietnamese white wine, which is certainly different from the wine from Australia.
Andrew and I did some ocean - kayaking, which was a lovely experience and it was very liberating being in the open sea and not requiring a motor. We also went into the local caves which were very stunning (but very busy!)
We spent the night in a small but comfortable cabin on-board with - most importantly! - piping hot water and a big plush doona (that’s duve to any Britons!)
8/1 - Halong Bay
We awoke at around 7am to beautiful sunshine - which lasted a couple of hours. We were so lucky because at this time of year it is usually overcast at Halong. After some lovely cruising we headed back to Halong City for some much-needed lunch.
Facts for anyone wishing to see Halong Bay - the drive from Hanoi to Halong City is 3 hours. Halong City is a resort town and mostly Vietnamese tourists stay here. Halong Bay is really really busy! Let’s hope Tam Coc and Kenh Ga stay quiet for a bit longer yet!
Now we are hanging out in an internet place with heaps of Vietnamese children very emphatically banging the keyboard playing a dancing game…some of the littlies have their baby sisters or brothers nursed on their laps... and now we are going to have some street food for dinner (..famous last words!)
Tomorrow we are off to the Perfume Pagoda…hopefully we will get some good photos!
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Trinnie
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"they love to fight""they love their country"
The war museums certainly affected me in a huge way when I was over there too. It's very interesting seeing the communist Vietnam side of the war, when your parents were fighting from the south, I can tell you that. You are making me miss Vietnam an awful lot Madds, I love your stories :)