In Hanoi

Hanoi has got to be experienced. There are few words to describe the traffic in Hanoi but all of them would have the same meaning and that would be chaos!! I suppose if you start with the understanding that there are no rules that would be helpful. There are not a huge number of cars but there are squillions of motor bikes and scooters and they are on the go all the time. It would seem that a favourite sport is to drive around town on your scooter to meet your friends, have tea and then set off again to the next place. They go up the street on the side that has space, if there is no space you just use the pavement; that is, if there is space on the pavement because that is where you park your bike, eat your food, have a drink, and just about anything else. Walking is just not what you do on the pavement, walking is done on the road with all the other traffic. We were at a cross roads the other day and there was a display that the Metropolitan Police display team would have had to practice for months to achieve, this was achieved by kids on motor bikes just going about their daily routine. The amazing thing was we did not see one accident.
Our Hotel in Hanoi was functional, clean and comfortable, we had a wooden bath tub in the bathroom which was a bit of a novelty. The hotel was situated near Hoan Kiem Lake. On the first day, which was Saturday, we went for a walk around the lake and to the island in the centre which is a shrine to Buddha. On the bridge over to the shrine there were photogaphers taking pictures of couples in wedding attire. We thought that this was for a magazine or something and watched for a minute before moving on. Then we saw similar couples with photographers all around the lake. It would seem that a tradition is to go to the lake in all your finery to have pictures taken with the lake as a backdrop. There must have been 50 or so couples all doing the same thing. It was quite a sight.
Our hotel was near a water puppet theatre so that evening we decided to see the show. When we reached the box office all the tickets for that evening had been sold so we were trying to book for the following evening until there appeared to be a change of heart and we were sold tickets for that very evening. Having had a yummy meal we returned to the theatre and found we had the best seats in the front row. I can only assume they save some seats in case a VIP turns up and when it gets near to the start of the programme they sell these off if no VIPs are in evidence. What ever the reason we had the best seats in the house. The show was really magical, a 'must do' experience if you go to Hanoi.
The following day we went to the 'One Pillar Pagoda' and to the Literature Temple. The One Pillar Pagoda was exactly what is said it was and not that remarkable but the Literature Temple was really interesting. It dates from the 15th century and had been rebuilt after the war in 1946 but to a very authentic model. The Stelae were inscribed with the names of the academics who had studied in the temple and had on the whole been well preserved. There were artifacts which had been excavated from the 12th century and more modern treasures all on display. There was a performance of music played on traditional instruments, one in particular where the music was made by clapping hands together in front of hollow bamboo pipes, where the sound travelled up through and came out as a low pitch pan pipe sort of sound, it was fascinating.
We had booked a trip to Halong Bay and to SaPa with a local tour operator and were a bit apprehensive about the quality of the tours as they were significantly cheaper than the tours on offer in the hotel. The following morning was time for the first trip, that was to Halong Bay.

Halong Bay
The drive to Halong takes about 3.5 hours and is interesting as life is on the move, on the back of scooters, hanging off lorries and just at the roadside. When we arrived in Halong the place was heaving with people all queuing up to get on their Junks for the trip. I have to say at this point I was not feeling optomistic, it all felt really touristy, a bit run down and I did not have high hopes for our boat; perhaps, because it was called the Poseidon had something to do with this. We got into a small motor boat for the trip out to our Junk. As we approached it looked much like the other Junks so that was a bit of comfort. The greeting from the staff was warm and friendly, felt a couple of degrees better. We went into the dining room which looked really nice and like the pictures we had been shown, a couple of degrees better. Then we had a welcome drink of lime juice and were allocated our cabins, several degrees better. When we went to our cabin, again we were treated well as we had one of the two larger cabins on the middle deck with a double bed and small shower room which was really clean and tidy, many more degrees better. We then returned to the dining room for lunch had had the most delicious sea food meal. By now I was feeling really happy and amazed that we were having such an fantastic value experience. John too had been feeling somewhat apprehensive but was now feeling equally happy with our lot. We were only nine passengers on this first leg of the trip. It was a bit like the league of nations, there was a Spanish couple, a single American woman, four from Russia and us. We had booked for a two night trip, all the others had booked for a single night, we knew we were going to have to do the same trip twice and were now looking forward to this.
As soon as the boat set off we approached the Islands which cover the whole of the bay which is miles and miles long. I had imagined that there would be just a few of the Islands but the reality is that there are hundreds, it is just amazing. Into the afternoon we stopped and got into the motor boat which is towed behind and were taken to what is called the Amazing Cave. Apparently when it was discovered it was called the horrible cave as one of the rock formations looked like a horrible face. When it was made a world heritage site they were concerned that people wouldn't want to visit as the name would be so off-putting so it was renamed the Amazing cave. The name really fits. The cave is in several chambers each more dramatic than the last and is positively vast. In the largest chamber you could look across to the other side and see other visitors which looked to be the size of ants, truly something.
On leaving the cave, we were taken by boat to a floating fish farm which also hired out kayaks. John and I had a kayak for two. My ability to get from a floating fish farm into a kayak is not to be repeated, I heard all the rest of the party gasp as I lay flat on the bottom of the of the thing, it was like I had done a reverse belly flop on to the kayak. Sitting up was not easy as the life jacket fitted like a corset. I just had to keep thinking to myself that these people are never going to see me again so I can do what I want. John's entry was not much better but it did have a cetain elegance that mine lacked. It was all worth it as kayaking round the islands was such a treat. I was surprised how quickly we picked this up and flew through the water, well almost. Getting out of the boat is best left to your imagination but if you think of crawling you have just about got it!!
On returning to our boat we again set off around the Islands and it was just picture after picture. It was all so beautiful. Our evening meal was great, we sat up on deck for a while but we had a reasonably early night as it had been quite a tiring day. The following day we went to Cat Ba Island. We could have spent the day here if we had wanted, while the boat returned to pick up the next group but we were having such a wonderful time on the boat we decided to stay on board on the sun deck and relax on the sunbeds, difficult choice I know!
The next group who arrived were much livelier than the first ones and again an interesting mix of Nationalities. A group of five from Singapore, two Canadians, two Americans, a couple from France and a couple from Chile who now lived in Australia. This last couple had a little girl aged one and a half and the mother was 6 months pregnant.
We set off again and this time John and I decided to give the cave and kayaking a miss and to again just enjoy the sundeck. The difference this time came in the evening. I don't think the notion of an early night occured to this group. We all stayed in the dining rom after dinner and then the tour guide brought out the Karaoke. Both John and I looked at each other and said "no way". By the end of the evening we had sung 'Love is all around' 'Pretty Woman' and an Abba song I would rather forget. We also joined in the group singing of a few others. I can't believe I did this, John is denying it ever happened!!!
All I can say is that Halong Bay has a magic which has to be experienced, It is better than any picture you will ever see, we loved it, you must experience Halong Bay.