Hanoi

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We took a fancy night bus from Hue to Hanoi, which had internet, fluo lights and seats you could bend 90° backwards. We never had seen such an amazing bus and so it was surprisingly a comfortable 16 hours ride. Once arrived, we took a metertaxi to the backpackers area, unfortunately the taxi men tried to ripe us off. After a lot of protest we got our ride for less, but he probably still riped us a bit off. This was a reminder that even metertaxis can scam you and that we indeed still are in Asia!

After dropping our bags at the backpacker, we went straight for a walk to discover this atmospheric city. We started our discovery tour in the Old Quarters of Hanoi, also known as Hanoi's historic heart. The Old Quarters bring us back in time with the old typical houses and temples. The streets are pulsating with life, many commerces, buzzing motorbikes and rich exotic scents. A little stop at the lake situated in the middle of the city to drink a cup of coffee, this place gives a feeling of serenity surrounded by flowers and beautiful trees. The lake seems also to be the place where wedding pictures must be taken. After a long day of walking, we ate together with Angelique (a French girl we met at the backpacker) in one of the small restaurants in this street full of locals.

After two days in Hanoi, we decided to go on a tour to the very famous Halong Bay. We only went on a one day trip as Halong bay is really touristic and pricy. Even if it was a small tour and the weather wasn't on his best that day, pretty misty, we already had a very good impression of the Bay and it gave us a bit a pirate feeling.

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