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Published: November 1st 2007
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Approaching Halong Bay
The views were amazing. The bus journey was interesting and every time we were drifting off the bus decided to stop for a break or pass through a toll with extremely bright lights. As the night went on and we grew more and more restless I was beginning to think that Brid and Mary's comfort was going to be interupted as I was sure Gary was tempted to steal their travel pillows!!
The bus seemed to come to a halt and was stopped for some time, there had been a motorbike accident on the road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere!! We were at at standstill for some time in order to let the oncoming traffic past and during that time nobody seemed to bother with the body that was still in the middle of the road. After some time and still no movement we began to think that perhpas that the poor victim was dead.
Arriving in Hanoi we were dropped off at a bus station and a guide from the bus company came on and told us that they would take us to accommodation in the old quarter in a mini bus/taxi as the big bus could not get
into the town. As the taxi drove through the streets it very quickly became apparant as to why we were travelling by taxi and not bus, the streets were not only very narrow but packed with locals on their motorbikes.
Our hotel was very nice, we were the very first guests!! Everything was brand new and there was a number of home touches in the rooms including real plants and subtle lighting. As it was the hotels first day and we were the lucky guests we were invited to meet with the staff for a party at 10am to celebrate. Following a quick nap and a shower we headed downstairs and was greeted with a glass of red wine and tables full of fruit, and other nibbles. We washed our breakfast down with many glasses of red wine as everytime our glass was near empty the staff filled it back up. They told us that they did not drink more that once from the glass of wine, so needless to say the staff were quite drunk before too long as they were downing every drink that they had. Certainly an experience as I have never had red wine for
Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi
Photo taken by the lakeside during our meal. my breakfast, in fact if we had done that at home I am sure we woud have been referred to an AA meeting!!
Before we knew it time had passed and it was around 3pm so we headed for a walk in search of something to eat with Brid and Mary. We had all planned to head to Halong Bay and after a lot of talking with various tourist agencies we finally booked up to leave at 8am the following morning. Although we were dubious if we were actually going to get the "Deluxe' boat as requested and advertised in the pictures.
After a 3 hour bus journey we were boarding our boat, it was really nice, the staff, rooms and food was great. We finally set off and enjoyed a very nice seafood buffet lunch as we pulled out of the harbour. The views were amazing. We got to stop off at one of the islands and walk through the cave. Like most things in Vietnam, the government had taken control of the island/cave a few years previous and had made it into a tourist attraction, installing electricity and lighting. The cave was extremely impressive although I
Emma And Her Rice Paddie
She said she wanted to stay and become a local so she got started straight away. did feel that the disco coloured lighting spoilt it a bit.
After the cave we were back on board, relaxing and enjoying the views of more islands from our sun loungers on the top deck. We managed to get in some kayaking around other islands, small caves and a small floating village before we enjoyed a nice dinner floating in the South China sea. The dinner consisted mainly of sea food and I was very adventurous and at least tried a bit of most dishes. I decided to miss out the squid but Gary seemed to take a liking to it.
The evening was spent back on to deck watching the sun go down and at one point with the view and other boats on the horizon we felt like we were watching a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.
There was a few groans as we were informed that breakfast would be at 7am the following morning however the Tiger Beer's and the amazing view managed to keep us from heading to bed too early.
The following day we managed to get some sunbathing and relaxation on top deck as well as stopping off at
Bridge to Pagoda
The lake was really nice but it was a pity the Pagoda was shut at this time. an island for some swimming in the sea. Although I was a bit unsure to begin with as there was some rubbish near the shore. I eventually took the plunge and headed out for a swim with Gary. The further out we went the warmer and cleaner the sea was.
We ate lunch at the harbour at Halong City before heading back to Hanoi by bus. That evening we decided to explore some of the city itself and headed off in search of the lake. We enjoyed tea at a very nice lake side restaurant followed by a walk over to the pagoda at the other side of the lake, stopping off at a few shops on the way back to our hotel. Gary was a bit regretful that we didn't have more time in Hanoi istelf to explore some of the local area and attractions, but we didn't have the time but had managed to fit an impressive amount of stuff in the time we had. We packed our bags ensuring all liquid items were out of our hand luggage and set out alarms for a 5am rise in the morning. It was strange to think that we
Harrods
They weren't fooling anyone. were going to be travelling by plane and not by bus the following morning.
It would be a bit of shame to leave Vietnam was we had both grown really fond of it and really enjoyed our time there. There was still loads we'd have loved to do and Gary was talking about coming back on holiday in a few years time although we'll see what happens with that!!
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007
Hi Princess Everything looks very "James Bond". Beautiful Both looking good. Liked the "Wishy Washy " impersonation. Keep safe both of you lv x's