It was officially the New Year in Vietnam and we were heading to the beach. Always a good way to start off a new year. The town was eerily quiet, save for a few tired looking tourists and taxi drivers doing the rounds. We had a quick breakfast in what was possibly the only open cafe in the vicinity, and jumped in a taxi down to the beach which was about a 10 minute drive away.
When we got there, we were amazed at how long, wide and beautiful this stretch of beach was. It´s strange because it isn´t one that people tend to talk about, but I suppose these ones sometimes turn out to be the best. There were some local families having picnics under the coconut trees and also quite a few tourists like us who were making the most of the fantastic weather.
We walked up the beach until we found a quiet spot and the restaurant behind it let us use their towels and lounge chairs for free, only if we promised to eat lunch there. The deal was made and we happily soaked up the sunshine and went swimming in the cool and very clean waters. This was truly a blissful day. Come lunch time we were ready to sample some grilled fish with chips and rice, and all in all again the food was pretty good and also quite cheap, considering we were in a rather touristy area.
We read, swam some more and just relaxed (it´s a hard life) for the rest of the day and around 4 pm decided to head back to our hotel. Unfortunately we couldn´t find any people to share a taxi with us as most people were clever enough to hire bikes from town. Instead I insisted we walk back until we were too tired to walk and THEN get a cab, which Leon agreed to but wasn´t too happy about! At least we managed to walk about half way and then jump into a taxi, thus saving us about 4 US dollars. As they say, every little helps.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
14th Feb: Valentine´s Day and Tet in Hoi An, Vietnam
The next day was officially our ‘walking tour’ day which basically meant picking some sites off the Lonely Planet guide and walking around Hoi An to see a bit more of it in order and try to appreciate why it was given the UNESCO stamp.
It was surprisingly quiet for Chinese New Year – back in KL I’m used to the loud drums and cheers coming from big crowds as some groups performed the traditional lion dance. However, in Hoi An this clearly wasn’t the case and if anything it was quieter than ever!
Nonetheless, we enjoyed some breakfast in a rather trendy looking cafe for croissants and coffee, and then set about on our walking tour.
We started off at a Japanese bridge near the river across to a lovely street full of shops on either side, where I bought a pretty bag at a bargain price thanks to Leon the negotiator! We then quietly admired some of the temples in town, most of which had messages hanging from the ceilings dedicated to loved ones who had died as well as those who are still living, as is the norm during Chinese New Year. We then wandered down the market, which again was fairly empty and quiet, before crossing the bridge to an island that is mainly full of houses and a few hotels. We wanted to stroll down the river bank but unfortunately the stench of the sewerage by the bridge prevented us from doing so, and instead we crossed back onto the mainland and headed near the market for lunch. We couldn’t find a seafood restaurant that featured in the Lonely Planet (oh how much we hate but love this guide book at the same time) so instead settled for one of the few places that was open and funnily enough only had tourists in it! It seems that all the locals had gone back to be with their families, or perhaps to another part of town that we just didn´t know about...
After lunch we meandered back to our hotel to chill out before a Valentine´s dinner in a beautiful restaurant aptly called the Secret Garden, set in a very romantice courtyard and with amazing food at decent prices, given the high quality of the food. We decided to brave it and tried a bottle of Vietnamese red wine from Dalat which was interesting (let´s say it´s not what we´re used to!) but after a while it was much easier to gulp down. Dinner consisted of a beef curry and fish dish with rice, both amazing and left us wanting more as always. Once our meal had settled down nicely, we strolled over to the river and saw that there was some sort of fun fair going on and given it was free entry, we made our way there to soak up the atmosphere. If I remember correctly, we tried our hand at a ´wheel of fortune´type game but sadly lost our one dollar, oh well. We sat by the waterside with other people and just watched the floating candles in the water, which people were buying and letting go, as a sort of good luck ritual for the new year. When we left the fair, Leon and I both bought our own floating candles to let go in the river, and thankfully neither of us fell in, nor did our candles go out (like some others did!)
All the candles in the water made for a beautiful sight and even though it wasn´t a crazy party that we were expecting, we both had a really memorable and enjoyable Tet in Vietnam.
It was surprisingly quiet for Chinese New Year – back in KL I’m used to the loud drums and cheers coming from big crowds as some groups performed the traditional lion dance. However, in Hoi An this clearly wasn’t the case and if anything it was quieter than ever!
Nonetheless, we enjoyed some breakfast in a rather trendy looking cafe for croissants and coffee, and then set about on our walking tour.
We started off at a Japanese bridge near the river across to a lovely street full of shops on either side, where I bought a pretty bag at a bargain price thanks to Leon the negotiator! We then quietly admired some of the temples in town, most of which had messages hanging from the ceilings dedicated to loved ones who had died as well as those who are still living, as is the norm during Chinese New Year. We then wandered down the market, which again was fairly empty and quiet, before crossing the bridge to an island that is mainly full of houses and a few hotels. We wanted to stroll down the river bank but unfortunately the stench of the sewerage by the bridge prevented us from doing so, and instead we crossed back onto the mainland and headed near the market for lunch. We couldn’t find a seafood restaurant that featured in the Lonely Planet (oh how much we hate but love this guide book at the same time) so instead settled for one of the few places that was open and funnily enough only had tourists in it! It seems that all the locals had gone back to be with their families, or perhaps to another part of town that we just didn´t know about...
After lunch we meandered back to our hotel to chill out before a Valentine´s dinner in a beautiful restaurant aptly called the Secret Garden, set in a very romantice courtyard and with amazing food at decent prices, given the high quality of the food. We decided to brave it and tried a bottle of Vietnamese red wine from Dalat which was interesting (let´s say it´s not what we´re used to!) but after a while it was much easier to gulp down. Dinner consisted of a beef curry and fish dish with rice, both amazing and left us wanting more as always. Once our meal had settled down nicely, we strolled over to the river and saw that there was some sort of fun fair going on and given it was free entry, we made our way there to soak up the atmosphere. If I remember correctly, we tried our hand at a ´wheel of fortune´type game but sadly lost our one dollar, oh well. We sat by the waterside with other people and just watched the floating candles in the water, which people were buying and letting go, as a sort of good luck ritual for the new year. When we left the fair, Leon and I both bought our own floating candles to let go in the river, and thankfully neither of us fell in, nor did our candles go out (like some others did!)
All the candles in the water made for a beautiful sight and even though it wasn´t a crazy party that we were expecting, we both had a really memorable and enjoyable Tet in Vietnam.
13th Feb 2010: Hoi An, Vietnam
The next day we lugged all our bags down stairs only to be greeted by a pig’s head on a table in the reception area! Yes, it was Tet (Chinese New Year) the following evening so people were preparing their offerings for the Gods...but I thought that the pig’s head was taking it a little far for my liking.
I stood outside and waited for Leon to settle the bill and was on the lookout for our coach to arrive to take us to Hoi An.
Lo and behold we weren’t greeted by a big coach but instead had the luxury of a packed minibus for 10 people. The driver explained that this being Tet, there weren’t many people travelling that day and that we would have to make do with the little bus. Luckily we were used to these sort of ‘surprises’ and really what mattered most to us at that point was to make it to Hoi An in one piece and at a safe speed.
We were extremely fortunate to have a sensible driver and a local father and son in the van, so the driver was quite careful as he didn’t want to scare the child. The drive down to Hoi An was one of the most pleasant we had been on so far, and we got to take in some spectacular views of the coast, with deserted, clean beaches out the windows and little by way of traffic to slow us down.
A bizarre stop we made as we approached Hoi An was at a marble shop, which was adorned with huge marble statues outside the building and lots of Vietnamese shop assistants who were trying to palm off their marble goods. We had to explain to them that most of us were travellers and therefore carrying around a 40Kg marble statue was not going to be possible!
After this pit stop we went on our way to Hoi An, which is one of the few Vietnamese towns that are declared a UNESCO World Heritage town. As we approached Hoi An we drove to a travel agency, where a woman hopped in and proceeded to instruct the driver to drive off to some hotel out of town. This is a pretty annoying habit of some tour agents in Vietnam, who try and get tourists to stay in a particular hotel so that they make some commission. Leon and I, along with a few passengers, already had a room booked and so we insisted that they take us to our hotels instead. Thankfully they did and so we went to our hotel ‘with swimming pool’, as it said on the little card that we picked up from the previous hotel. It being Tet, we were very lucky to actually get a room at a decent price (USD12), given that most of them had been booked up by local Vietnamese who were taking the week off to celebrate. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised as the room was big with two double beds, it had a bath (which is very rare in a cheap hotel in Vietnam) and a TV. Air-con was a bit extra but of course we went for it, as the nights get extremely uncomfortable if you only have a fan in the room. We took a little tour of the hotel and found the swimming pool, which was an indoor pool probably about 3 x 3 metres in size, so we decided to sack off that idea and head into town.
As you approach the river the main center of Hoi An becomes much prettier, with cobbled streets, colourful hanging lanterns and quaint, old colonnial styled building and shops selling colourful bags, hats and all sorts of touristy trinkets. There is apparently a ban of motorcycles down the main lanes of the centre during peak time, but I think most locals ignore this rule and still speed down these roads but given that it is quite a small town, there isn’t quite the volume of traffic that you would see in other cities in Vietnam. We made our way across the main river and settled into one of the many restaurants to sample their 3000 dong local brew which was actually very good considering the price! After a couple of drinks we made our way down one of the many cobbled streets until we found a restaurant that we liked the look of. This was a tastefully decorated one (not the usual simple, plain one that we were accustomed to) and we again shared some rice, garlic prawns and grilled squid which was cooked to perfection. Since the following night was officially New Year, we figured that we would have a quiet one and save the celebrations for the following evening. Early nights was becoming the norm for us and frankly, neither of us were complaining about it as we love our sleep!
I stood outside and waited for Leon to settle the bill and was on the lookout for our coach to arrive to take us to Hoi An.
Lo and behold we weren’t greeted by a big coach but instead had the luxury of a packed minibus for 10 people. The driver explained that this being Tet, there weren’t many people travelling that day and that we would have to make do with the little bus. Luckily we were used to these sort of ‘surprises’ and really what mattered most to us at that point was to make it to Hoi An in one piece and at a safe speed.
We were extremely fortunate to have a sensible driver and a local father and son in the van, so the driver was quite careful as he didn’t want to scare the child. The drive down to Hoi An was one of the most pleasant we had been on so far, and we got to take in some spectacular views of the coast, with deserted, clean beaches out the windows and little by way of traffic to slow us down.
A bizarre stop we made as we approached Hoi An was at a marble shop, which was adorned with huge marble statues outside the building and lots of Vietnamese shop assistants who were trying to palm off their marble goods. We had to explain to them that most of us were travellers and therefore carrying around a 40Kg marble statue was not going to be possible!
After this pit stop we went on our way to Hoi An, which is one of the few Vietnamese towns that are declared a UNESCO World Heritage town. As we approached Hoi An we drove to a travel agency, where a woman hopped in and proceeded to instruct the driver to drive off to some hotel out of town. This is a pretty annoying habit of some tour agents in Vietnam, who try and get tourists to stay in a particular hotel so that they make some commission. Leon and I, along with a few passengers, already had a room booked and so we insisted that they take us to our hotels instead. Thankfully they did and so we went to our hotel ‘with swimming pool’, as it said on the little card that we picked up from the previous hotel. It being Tet, we were very lucky to actually get a room at a decent price (USD12), given that most of them had been booked up by local Vietnamese who were taking the week off to celebrate. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised as the room was big with two double beds, it had a bath (which is very rare in a cheap hotel in Vietnam) and a TV. Air-con was a bit extra but of course we went for it, as the nights get extremely uncomfortable if you only have a fan in the room. We took a little tour of the hotel and found the swimming pool, which was an indoor pool probably about 3 x 3 metres in size, so we decided to sack off that idea and head into town.
As you approach the river the main center of Hoi An becomes much prettier, with cobbled streets, colourful hanging lanterns and quaint, old colonnial styled building and shops selling colourful bags, hats and all sorts of touristy trinkets. There is apparently a ban of motorcycles down the main lanes of the centre during peak time, but I think most locals ignore this rule and still speed down these roads but given that it is quite a small town, there isn’t quite the volume of traffic that you would see in other cities in Vietnam. We made our way across the main river and settled into one of the many restaurants to sample their 3000 dong local brew which was actually very good considering the price! After a couple of drinks we made our way down one of the many cobbled streets until we found a restaurant that we liked the look of. This was a tastefully decorated one (not the usual simple, plain one that we were accustomed to) and we again shared some rice, garlic prawns and grilled squid which was cooked to perfection. Since the following night was officially New Year, we figured that we would have a quiet one and save the celebrations for the following evening. Early nights was becoming the norm for us and frankly, neither of us were complaining about it as we love our sleep!
12th Feb 2010: Wandering around Hue, Vietnam
Another day in Hue and this one was, surprise surprise, another boiling hot day! We decided to stretch our legs and walk across town to the Citadel, crossing the river to take in the views, battling with a bit of motorcycle-heavy traffic before reaching the gates of the Citadel.
En route Leon had to try on as many caps as possible, as he had managed to lose the last one that he had bought, again. Afterw3ards we toddled off to the Citadel’s main gates, amusingly declining the many tuk tuk drivers who offered to show us around for what seemed like quite a hefty price.
The grounds of the Citadel are absolutely massive, which neither of us had really expected. It was a mixture of well pruned gardens and lawns, long, unimposing halls that early emperors used to dwell in as well as larger, more decorative buildings used as theatres or residential dwellings for their mothers, families and so on.
It was a bit hauntingly quiet but very peaceful at the same time in the grounds and we spent most of the day just exploring these ancient buildings. Once lunch time descended we were more than ready to sample some of Hue’s finest food, and this time we took up the offer of a kind tuk tuk driver who, if I remember correctly, only asked for USD1 to take us to a famous seafood restaurant within the citadel walls that we had read about. You gotta love Asia and the cheap prices.
The seafood was divine and also very affordable – we had rice with prawns, a huge freshly cooked fish and vegetables as well, and probably some squid thrown in there for good luck! The waiter showed us how to roll up some Vietnamese spring rolls which consisted of the rice paper, thin slices of cucumber, some greens and fresh fish covered in spices. You roll it all up and dip it into a sweet and sour dipping sauce and the outcome is delicious! I eventually got impatient with the rice paper and just continued eating the fish and with a couple of local beers this was definitely a memorable lunch! What made it even better was the fact that the bill was so cheap, only about 6 quid per person, which is pretty much unheard of in the UK.
Finding our way back to the hotel was a bit of a mission and we did have to pop into a few shops along the way to try and get us out of the Citadel. Eventually we made it and along the way we took a detour into a huge supermarket, which is always an experience in itself in a foreign country. Sadly we couldn’t find any Milo for Leon (who had developed a love for this chocolate milk drink) but we did manage to buy a lot of groceries for half the normal price, simply because this is where the locals shopped, and not just the tourists.
For our last night in Hue we happily ate some cheap noodles down the road from the hotel and had went to the local pub for a few games of pool and some drinks. We met two really down to earth Aussie guys who were travelling on bikes with a local tour guide called Mr Pink (yes, like in Reservoir Dogs) who was taking them down the coast of Vietnam like us. What we found incredible was how much they were paying Mr Pink but I guess you need to make sure that you are in safe hands and that does come at a price in places. This was it for us and Hue and we were now ready for the trip down to Hoi An the next day.
En route Leon had to try on as many caps as possible, as he had managed to lose the last one that he had bought, again. Afterw3ards we toddled off to the Citadel’s main gates, amusingly declining the many tuk tuk drivers who offered to show us around for what seemed like quite a hefty price.
The grounds of the Citadel are absolutely massive, which neither of us had really expected. It was a mixture of well pruned gardens and lawns, long, unimposing halls that early emperors used to dwell in as well as larger, more decorative buildings used as theatres or residential dwellings for their mothers, families and so on.
It was a bit hauntingly quiet but very peaceful at the same time in the grounds and we spent most of the day just exploring these ancient buildings. Once lunch time descended we were more than ready to sample some of Hue’s finest food, and this time we took up the offer of a kind tuk tuk driver who, if I remember correctly, only asked for USD1 to take us to a famous seafood restaurant within the citadel walls that we had read about. You gotta love Asia and the cheap prices.
The seafood was divine and also very affordable – we had rice with prawns, a huge freshly cooked fish and vegetables as well, and probably some squid thrown in there for good luck! The waiter showed us how to roll up some Vietnamese spring rolls which consisted of the rice paper, thin slices of cucumber, some greens and fresh fish covered in spices. You roll it all up and dip it into a sweet and sour dipping sauce and the outcome is delicious! I eventually got impatient with the rice paper and just continued eating the fish and with a couple of local beers this was definitely a memorable lunch! What made it even better was the fact that the bill was so cheap, only about 6 quid per person, which is pretty much unheard of in the UK.
Finding our way back to the hotel was a bit of a mission and we did have to pop into a few shops along the way to try and get us out of the Citadel. Eventually we made it and along the way we took a detour into a huge supermarket, which is always an experience in itself in a foreign country. Sadly we couldn’t find any Milo for Leon (who had developed a love for this chocolate milk drink) but we did manage to buy a lot of groceries for half the normal price, simply because this is where the locals shopped, and not just the tourists.
For our last night in Hue we happily ate some cheap noodles down the road from the hotel and had went to the local pub for a few games of pool and some drinks. We met two really down to earth Aussie guys who were travelling on bikes with a local tour guide called Mr Pink (yes, like in Reservoir Dogs) who was taking them down the coast of Vietnam like us. What we found incredible was how much they were paying Mr Pink but I guess you need to make sure that you are in safe hands and that does come at a price in places. This was it for us and Hue and we were now ready for the trip down to Hoi An the next day.
11th Feb 2010: Chugging on down to Hue, Vietnam
We had a notion that the train would be stuffy and hot but the experience was quite the opposite. Since we were both on the top bunk, this meant that the air con was blowing directly on us and as a result, it was absolutely freezing! However, this was much more preferable than the other extreme, that is, to be sweating buckets in our sleep, so when we woke up the next day I’m pretty sure we gave each other a high five for the great train journey.
It was a few hours still until we arrived in Hue, and since there were no seats in our cabin or carriage, Leon and I found some small plastic stools and perched by the hot water dispenser with some really old Vietnamese guy who was lovely and kept talking to us in French (Leon gets mistaken for a Frenchman all the time).
We arrived in Hue on schedule and first impressions were that we had arrived in the middle of nowhere. As soon as we left the station we negotiated two one-man tuk-tuk bicycles to take us down town to our hotel that we had pre-booked. As we went down the main road, we could see the citadel across the river which was Hue’s main attraction, and the only reason we were there really. We pulled up close enough to where we thought our hotel with and the cheeky tuk tuk guys tried to double the price of our ride, saying that we had gone much further than negotiated. This was completely untrue, so we did what honourable people would do and stood our ground! Finally we managed to convince them to take the money we agreed on and luckily they moved along!
We wandered around the main tourist area looking for our hotel which we eventually located. The owner was very friendly (always a plus) and we were so ready for a nap that we didn’t mind the four floor trek to get to our room. My how the Vietnamese love their tall, narrow buildings...
Blissful hot showers and a 3 hour power nap later (!) and we were ready for some food. Settling for the pizzeria round the corner, Leon and I ploughed into our very tasty pizzas and went across the road for a swift pint (which I believe cost the equivalent of one pound sterling) before heading back to the room for some mindless TV and an early night. The big Hue sightseeing trip could wait until tomorrow...
It was a few hours still until we arrived in Hue, and since there were no seats in our cabin or carriage, Leon and I found some small plastic stools and perched by the hot water dispenser with some really old Vietnamese guy who was lovely and kept talking to us in French (Leon gets mistaken for a Frenchman all the time).
We arrived in Hue on schedule and first impressions were that we had arrived in the middle of nowhere. As soon as we left the station we negotiated two one-man tuk-tuk bicycles to take us down town to our hotel that we had pre-booked. As we went down the main road, we could see the citadel across the river which was Hue’s main attraction, and the only reason we were there really. We pulled up close enough to where we thought our hotel with and the cheeky tuk tuk guys tried to double the price of our ride, saying that we had gone much further than negotiated. This was completely untrue, so we did what honourable people would do and stood our ground! Finally we managed to convince them to take the money we agreed on and luckily they moved along!
We wandered around the main tourist area looking for our hotel which we eventually located. The owner was very friendly (always a plus) and we were so ready for a nap that we didn’t mind the four floor trek to get to our room. My how the Vietnamese love their tall, narrow buildings...
Blissful hot showers and a 3 hour power nap later (!) and we were ready for some food. Settling for the pizzeria round the corner, Leon and I ploughed into our very tasty pizzas and went across the road for a swift pint (which I believe cost the equivalent of one pound sterling) before heading back to the room for some mindless TV and an early night. The big Hue sightseeing trip could wait until tomorrow...
10th Feb 2010: Another day in Ha Long Bay
It was precisely 6 am when the drizzling began that morning, and at this exact time the alarm went off telling us to get out of bed and ready for some sea kayaking. Truth be told, the last thing I wanted to do that morning was get into a kayak and paddle around in freezing cold water, but of course this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and there was no way I would let my laziness take over.
Everyone gathered at the top deck looking distinctly sleepy-eyed but soon perked up as the boat pulled up beside a floating kayak centre in the middle of these massive limestone rocks.
Leon and I grabbed one of the newer looking kayaks (safety first!) and gently tested the waters. Once we got our paddling in sync it was incredible being able to meander around the karsts, stopping by some small caves to admire the sheer beauty of them. It started to brighten up a little as time passed and overall we had a lot of fun kayaking in the water. Nothing like some early morning exercise to get the blood flowing! After our 45 minutes were up, we all happily climbed back onboard the boat and were instructed by our tour guide to get ready for breakfast quickly as we were behind schedule. He was one of the most passively aggressive people we had ever come across as a group, so not to make him really angry we did as we were told and swiftly showered before heading up to breakfast.
When we got upstairs, what we were greeted with was one of the most hilarious moments on the trip. Sat in front of the TV were all the crew of the boat, watching some form of Vietnamese soft porn! I thought I could hear some dodgy sounds when I was in the shower but I thought I had been imagining things. Nope, at 8 o clock in the morning, as we sat having some fried eggs and bread, the guys on the boat thought it would be appropriate to watch some pornography. Whatever floats your boat, as the saying goes.
After an entertaining breakfast, we sailed on a little and took in the views once again, before saying goodbye to the others on our boat. Leon and I had to stay on the boat and they had an extra day as part of their package, which entailed staying on Cat Ba Island for the night.
The journey back was more beautiful than the previous day because the sun had thankfully decided to come out just for us. Once back on shore, we had a bit of a wait before we were ushered onto yet another minibus for our journey back to Hanoi. En route we stopped at a hotel which seemed to just cater for bus loads of tourists on their way back to Hanoi, with four floors full of hungry foreigners. We were fed some fried fish, rice, soup, spring rolls and omelette (the usual fare) which was bland but filled us up for the next few hours. Leon and I were both a little worried that we were pushing it a little as we had a train to catch that evening down to Hue, but had to pick up our rucksacks from the travel agency first. Despite the pretty horrific traffic on the way back, mainly as we approached Hanoi, we luckily made it on time to the agency and they kindly called a legal taxi for us to take us to Hanoi Railway Station. I say legal taxi because the taxis around Hanoi are notorious for fleecing tourists by speeding up their meters, so we were happy to wait for one of the government cabs who wouldn’t dream of doing that (in case they get found and sent to prison, then who knows what...)
Our train pulled up at the platform just after we had purchased some food for our journey: can of coke, check. Bag of crisps, check. Some funny coconut bun, check. We boarded the train and took time to inspect our cabin. It had two triple bunk beds in each one on our carriage, with air con and a window, with about 70 centimetres between the bunks for you to walk around (or just about turn around) in. After the brief wave of claustrophobia passed, we climbed up to our individual beds (we were both on the two top bunks) and could just about sit up. Leon, being taller than me, somewhat resembled the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the way that he was sitting! It was comfortable though and compared to long distance coach rides, much more pleasant and easier to get some sleep on a sleeper train. The only annoying part of the trip was realising that our tickets said that the price of the bunk was considerably cheaper than what we had paid the travel agent. Scrap that, we weren’t annoyed – we were fuming. I am pleased to say that this was the one and only time that we were royally ripped off in Vietnam but definitely would recommend everyone who visits Vietnam to watch out for scams like this.
After a long day, we were both shattered so it was off to bed nice and early. Luckily for us, the other people in the cabin were all part of a family going home for Chinese New Year and were decent folks so I was able to have a fairly peaceful sleep, save for the few bumps on the track along the way.
Everyone gathered at the top deck looking distinctly sleepy-eyed but soon perked up as the boat pulled up beside a floating kayak centre in the middle of these massive limestone rocks.
Leon and I grabbed one of the newer looking kayaks (safety first!) and gently tested the waters. Once we got our paddling in sync it was incredible being able to meander around the karsts, stopping by some small caves to admire the sheer beauty of them. It started to brighten up a little as time passed and overall we had a lot of fun kayaking in the water. Nothing like some early morning exercise to get the blood flowing! After our 45 minutes were up, we all happily climbed back onboard the boat and were instructed by our tour guide to get ready for breakfast quickly as we were behind schedule. He was one of the most passively aggressive people we had ever come across as a group, so not to make him really angry we did as we were told and swiftly showered before heading up to breakfast.
When we got upstairs, what we were greeted with was one of the most hilarious moments on the trip. Sat in front of the TV were all the crew of the boat, watching some form of Vietnamese soft porn! I thought I could hear some dodgy sounds when I was in the shower but I thought I had been imagining things. Nope, at 8 o clock in the morning, as we sat having some fried eggs and bread, the guys on the boat thought it would be appropriate to watch some pornography. Whatever floats your boat, as the saying goes.
After an entertaining breakfast, we sailed on a little and took in the views once again, before saying goodbye to the others on our boat. Leon and I had to stay on the boat and they had an extra day as part of their package, which entailed staying on Cat Ba Island for the night.
The journey back was more beautiful than the previous day because the sun had thankfully decided to come out just for us. Once back on shore, we had a bit of a wait before we were ushered onto yet another minibus for our journey back to Hanoi. En route we stopped at a hotel which seemed to just cater for bus loads of tourists on their way back to Hanoi, with four floors full of hungry foreigners. We were fed some fried fish, rice, soup, spring rolls and omelette (the usual fare) which was bland but filled us up for the next few hours. Leon and I were both a little worried that we were pushing it a little as we had a train to catch that evening down to Hue, but had to pick up our rucksacks from the travel agency first. Despite the pretty horrific traffic on the way back, mainly as we approached Hanoi, we luckily made it on time to the agency and they kindly called a legal taxi for us to take us to Hanoi Railway Station. I say legal taxi because the taxis around Hanoi are notorious for fleecing tourists by speeding up their meters, so we were happy to wait for one of the government cabs who wouldn’t dream of doing that (in case they get found and sent to prison, then who knows what...)
Our train pulled up at the platform just after we had purchased some food for our journey: can of coke, check. Bag of crisps, check. Some funny coconut bun, check. We boarded the train and took time to inspect our cabin. It had two triple bunk beds in each one on our carriage, with air con and a window, with about 70 centimetres between the bunks for you to walk around (or just about turn around) in. After the brief wave of claustrophobia passed, we climbed up to our individual beds (we were both on the two top bunks) and could just about sit up. Leon, being taller than me, somewhat resembled the Hunchback of Notre Dame in the way that he was sitting! It was comfortable though and compared to long distance coach rides, much more pleasant and easier to get some sleep on a sleeper train. The only annoying part of the trip was realising that our tickets said that the price of the bunk was considerably cheaper than what we had paid the travel agent. Scrap that, we weren’t annoyed – we were fuming. I am pleased to say that this was the one and only time that we were royally ripped off in Vietnam but definitely would recommend everyone who visits Vietnam to watch out for scams like this.
After a long day, we were both shattered so it was off to bed nice and early. Luckily for us, the other people in the cabin were all part of a family going home for Chinese New Year and were decent folks so I was able to have a fairly peaceful sleep, save for the few bumps on the track along the way.
9th Feb 2010: Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam
Ha Long Bay. I had been looking forward to this day since I saw my first poster of Ha Long Bay many years ago as a young teenager. The one with all the grand limestone rocks emerging from the emerald green water with a beautiful boat serenely drifting down the middle of it all. This was definitely a day that I hoped would live up to expectations, and in a lot of ways it did.
We started the day in a bit of a foul mood as we had to traipse all the way down to the travel agent with our heavy rucksacks at 7 in the morning, only to find that there was no one there, although the door was unlocked. As Leon went off on a mission to find us breakfast, I sat in the office thinking that my worst nightmare had come true, that is, that we had been part of a scandal, paid the money for the Ha Long Bay trip, only for the agent to have run off with it and here we were, left in the dark with no means of visiting the Bay. Fortunately my paranoia was just that, as 30 minutes later the man did show up and a little while later so did the minibus to take us down to Ha Long City.
As is very much the norm in South East Asia, our minibus did the rounds at all the guesthouses and hotels picking up more people for the trip and packing us all in like sardines in a tin. However, this didn’t stop us from feeling the excitement as we approached Ha Long Bay, nor did the dark clouds and grey sky that were looming, After disembarking we were put into two groups and luckily for us, Leon and I were put in a group of people who were really fun, down to earth and were overall a great crowd to spend a night on the boat with.
We boarded our boat and even though it wasn’t as luxurious as the brochure suggested (they never are anyway), it was a little bit like a pirate ship with a Vietnamese crew who were pretty much like modern day mercenaries, so all in all we were very happy indeed. Although the sun wasn’t out, the views were as spectacular as I imagined. Huge pinnacles of limestone were randomly dotted about in the sea and as we meandered through them, we were also served a hearty lunch of fish, vegetables, chicken, spring rolls and fruit which was much needed after the long journey there. To break up the day, we were dropped off at some spectacular caves in which there were some stalagmites resembling Margaret Thatcher, as well as one that looked a lot like a woman’s breast. After lots of picture taking we went back to the boat and just chilled by playing cards and having a few drinks whilst taking in the views. We retired to our little cabin after some supper and more cards, ready for the next day which we were told would involve some sea kayaking at 6 am!
We started the day in a bit of a foul mood as we had to traipse all the way down to the travel agent with our heavy rucksacks at 7 in the morning, only to find that there was no one there, although the door was unlocked. As Leon went off on a mission to find us breakfast, I sat in the office thinking that my worst nightmare had come true, that is, that we had been part of a scandal, paid the money for the Ha Long Bay trip, only for the agent to have run off with it and here we were, left in the dark with no means of visiting the Bay. Fortunately my paranoia was just that, as 30 minutes later the man did show up and a little while later so did the minibus to take us down to Ha Long City.
As is very much the norm in South East Asia, our minibus did the rounds at all the guesthouses and hotels picking up more people for the trip and packing us all in like sardines in a tin. However, this didn’t stop us from feeling the excitement as we approached Ha Long Bay, nor did the dark clouds and grey sky that were looming, After disembarking we were put into two groups and luckily for us, Leon and I were put in a group of people who were really fun, down to earth and were overall a great crowd to spend a night on the boat with.
We boarded our boat and even though it wasn’t as luxurious as the brochure suggested (they never are anyway), it was a little bit like a pirate ship with a Vietnamese crew who were pretty much like modern day mercenaries, so all in all we were very happy indeed. Although the sun wasn’t out, the views were as spectacular as I imagined. Huge pinnacles of limestone were randomly dotted about in the sea and as we meandered through them, we were also served a hearty lunch of fish, vegetables, chicken, spring rolls and fruit which was much needed after the long journey there. To break up the day, we were dropped off at some spectacular caves in which there were some stalagmites resembling Margaret Thatcher, as well as one that looked a lot like a woman’s breast. After lots of picture taking we went back to the boat and just chilled by playing cards and having a few drinks whilst taking in the views. We retired to our little cabin after some supper and more cards, ready for the next day which we were told would involve some sea kayaking at 6 am!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
