We decided to catch the overnight train from Dong Hoi (the closest train station to Phong Nha National Park, where we did our caving) to Hanoi and go straight to Ha Long Bay (Ha Long Bay is about a four hour drive from Hanoi and our pick up was at 8am). A great plan with a bit of room for error as our train was due to arrive at Hanoi at 4:50am! So of course the train was delayed, kept randomly stopping for half an hour at a time and didn’t arrive to Hanoi until after 8am. Luckily the company with which we booked our Ha Long Bay cruise was super helpful (Daz was whatsapping them at 6am and they responded) and we managed to arrange an alternative pick up point to which we practically ran from the train station. We arrived on time but the pick up bus was late!
After a fairly uneventful bus ride (with a mandatory stop at a souvenir shop/crafts factory – the weird thing about this one was they have a customer board with huge blown up photos of customers smiling with their purchases, complete with their name, phone number, email address and home address. Odd!)
We arrived at the Ha Long Bay port – full of tourists and boats! Tired and a bit grumpy we really weren’t sure if we were going to enjoy this experience. This was until we got onto our boat, the Halong Silversea Cruise. As soon as we saw our room, which had been upgraded and had a jacuzzi and a private balcony, we knew we were going to be just fine! Then we took in the views…the other boats had disappeared, the sun came out and it was just perfect!
After a delicious five course lunch we had some time to relax and take a few snaps. Then it was onto the pearl farm – a usual stop on most cruise itineraries. Not really our cup of tea but luckily it was a very brief visit (our tour guide and the farm staff seemed happy to have it done as quickly as possible – success!) and then it was onto kayaking. We have really been looking forward to kayakying in Ha Long Bay and it did not disappoint – complete serenity!
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Afterwards, although the water was very fresh, we jumped in for a quick swim – when in Ha Long Bay! The swim was followed by drinks on the deck and a lovely dinner. The boat crew then tried to instigate karaoke with the boat manager belting out a couple of tunes in Vietnamese (a bit cringey!). Other activities included squid fishing (Daz tried dangling the bamboo rod with its umbaited hook aimlessly in the water for 30 minutes before deciding this may not lead to success) and a magic show…yes it was organised fun but for one night why not go with it?!
The alarm went off pretty early the next day as a visit to a cave was on the itinerary. Having just been to the third largest cave in the world we were not particularly impressed. The cave was packed with tourists and was lit up like a Christmas tree ….yes we have become cave snobs!
I realised as I wrote this that I may not be selling the Ha Long Bay experience but the descending dragon (this is what Ha Long Bay translates to from Vietnamese) was truly one of the highlights of our month in Vietnam. And I wouldn’t have minded another night on the Silverseas but it was time to get the bus back to Hanoi!
A lot of people we met on our travels seem to dislike big cities and choose to spend little time in places like Saigon and Hanoi. We, on the otherhand, were really looking forward to our time in the Vietnamese capital! Sadly our bodies had other ideas and we spent most of our time in Hanoi in bed or in the bathroom (cause unknown but we do not think food related)! Utterly disappointing as we took an instant like to Hanoi and although we didn’t get to explore it as much as we had wanted, we preferred it to Saigon. The Old Quarter is a lively mix of old and new – you may be looking at a new boutique shop but look up and it’s a lovely colonial building with colourful wooden shutters and next door a lady is sitting on a little stool cooking bun rieu (rice noodles in tomato broth). We could have easily spent a few days wandering around the Old Quarter, stopping to sample some street food or drink fresh bia (local beer)…but sadly it was not to be!
We decided to stay in an Airbnb in Hanoi – our first South East Asia Airbnb experience! The place was spacious and fairly clean. The only let down was the bathroom which needed some maintenance but where we ended up spending a lot of time! You do get what you pay for and for $30 it was not bad. It did feel very local and the location was great – a short walk from the Old Quarter and near the famous Temple of Literature (Vietnam’s first national university). The Temple of Literature is worth a visit and we did manage to go there on one of our better days.
We also visited Hoan Kiem Lake in the Old Quarter. Being a weekend, the area around the Lake was packed with families and we escaped the crowds by going to the very cute Notes Cafe. The Cafe has a few levels and is a great place for people watching. The staff were also super friendly! We didn’t try the coffee (sadly it would not have gone down well) but the lemon iced tea was refreshing and delicious!
We also loved the Tang Tret Cosmo Cafe, not far from the Temple of Literature. A little local hipster haven serving coffees, tea and toasted sandwiches. Craving a Western brunch, we tried the Hanoi Social Club, popular with expats, this little cafe is on an alleyway surrounded by cute boutiques and has a lovely interior. Unfortunately the food was disappointing and the prices were quite high (although that was expected being an expat place).
After spending six nights in six different beds (that is: in a mountain house, a cheap hotel, a cave, a train, a boat and at an Airbnb flat) we were keen to be fairly lazy in Hanoi and spend most of our time just enjoying the city. So it wasn’t the worst timing for us to be sick but we are still pretty disappointed that we didn’t get to try the fresh Hanoi beer, the Hanoi bun cha or the famous egg coffee at Giang Cafe. Hopefully we will meet again Hanoi and with healthy bellies next time!
Next: we say goodbye to Vietnam and fly to Luang Prabang.
