Hanoi and Halong Bay

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Arrived in Hanoi. Oi moi oi which is Vietnamese for OMG I thought the traffic in Bangkok was bad but this is even worse. On the roads anything goes, the roads are full of cars bikes, taxis cycles pedestrians all going in different directions and basically you just keep walking, apparently the bikes go round you but you have to stop for cars!!!! It is crazy Istanbul was bad enough but this is by far the worst. We spent a night here before setting off for Halong bay in the morning. to add to the traffic problems there are six million people in the city, most of which ride bikes carrying all sorts of goods some piles about five feet high, other carrying animals. The name Hanoi means internal river and the river flows from China into Vietnam.

The journey to Halong took four and a half hours, travelling on a bumpy road through small towns and cities. On arrival it all seemed very commercialised and there were lots of boats and people. We took the tender out to our boat and set sail. After the hustle and bustle on the quay thing soon became a little calmer and more serene. After a fantastic lunch and a cruise around some of the islands we took the tender to our first stop which were some caves. after a climb up the cliffs to the entrance we entered what was a very impressive series of caves with stalactites and stalagmites some of which met in the middle. After this we went kayaking around the rocks for about an hour followed by a swim an dinner. After dinner we went up on to the upper deck and sat and watched the stars come out.

The following morning we ate breakfast and whilst on the way back to the mainland the chef gave us a demonstration on how to make the most wonderful flowers from cucumber, tomatoes and white radish, also a lattice made from carrots, amazing.

Once we arrived back in Hanoi we had lunch and in the evening we visited the water puppet show.

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