Vietnam - Hanoi to Halong Bay

So we arrived in Hanoi. 14 hours on a local minivan and an arrival time of nearly 11pm didn't exactly leave us in the best of moods. We knew the hostel we were looking for, found it, found it was the most we'd pay to date for a bed even though it was in a 4 bed dorm, but too tired to do anything else we took it.


Crossing the road in Hanoi

And we're very glad we did. The Backpackers Hostel is pretty much the gathering point in Hanoi for backpackers and travellers. It's renowned for doing superb tours to Halong Bay, and after considering other significantly cheaper options, we went for their one.

After two nights in Hanoi, we found it to be fun, but expensive. Very expensive. Notwithstanding, the food is probably the best quality for both Asian and Western food we've found, so I guess the mark up in price is relatively justified. It's extremely commercial, and the street vendors and shop keepers are easily the most intense we've come across so far. They will initially invite you into their shop or to buy something, but no is not good enough, and they will continue to try at least 3 more times before letting you be. Also if you do want to buy something, bear in mind it will be severely marked up - I bought a lighter which was originally priced at 300,000 dong, about 12 quid. After haggling, I got it for 50k.

Other than shopping and eating and drinking, there are a number of museums dedicated to the war ('look how we repelled the agressive and wrongful American forces') Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum (where you can see 'him' preserved for eternity, though it looks slightly like a waxwork, and apparently his wish was to be cremated) or, and this for me was the better option, go to see the Prison. This was built in the late 19thC by the Colonial French. Looking through it, you see many awful examples of what life would have been like, and the fact it had its own guillotine, the victims of whose heads would later be displayed, should go some way to giving you a feel for it. One of the more interesting facts is that Senator John McCain was incarcerated here during the Vietnam war, and pictures line the walls. After 20 minutes I was bored.

On the third morning it was time to go on the tour, so at 8am I nursed my hangover onto a bus for 3 hours. We arrived in Halong Bay and were immediately taken to our boat. And what a boat. The rooms were nicer than most of the places we'd stayed in previously, and it had an almost inexhaustible supply of beer. Sweet.

We started the afternoon with a 2 hour kayak trip through the islands. These are basically large rock clusters left over from violent volcanic eruptions eons ago, and are a sight to behold. They are populated by monkeys, which we saw, and by Chinese Eagles which we also saw. The water was very still, and the kayaking was a bit more strenuous than most people expected, but it was fun nonetheless. Back on the boat, we had food (which was superb) and spent the evening jumping off the side of the boat (6-7m high) and getting drunk. I was in bed by 2am, but some people were still jumping in and going for swims at 7am, coincidentally when we had to get up for brekky.

Our second day was spent doing a trek 200m straight up and down pretty much, and then free time in the afternoon.

We'd arrived on Cat Ba island, a beautifully secluded bay with a number of top hotels, and again, we were put in something way above the quality we'd become accustomed. I was pooped and managed to fall asleep on the beach, but that evening we were on the sauce again. While having our dinner outside a restaurant, a few guys came round offering massages for a half hour where we sat, and a few of us took them up on it - not bad at all.

We'd become friends with a French girl called Celine who was staying an extra day, so Matt and I decided to do the same. We used that day productively, renting a motorbike (first time driving one with gears, don't know what took me so long cos it's great!) and visiting a war-time hospital which was built in a natural cave. It's quite awesome and slightly eerie, and the Ho Chi Minh song our guide sang for us echoed right the way through (Ho Chi Minh being the Vietnamese leader who successfully (or not depending on your view point) fought off the Americans during the war, and whose name replaced the name of Saigon). According to one of the signs, apparently you're not meant to take in explosives. I found I could probably make do without.

A quick aside about riding bikes here as the rules of the highway are simple: focus on what's in front of you, and let what's behind you take care of itself. There is a lot of over- and undertaking in this country, and bikers will frequently jump red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road (technically the correct side is the right). Drive as fast as you are comfortable, and ALWAYS give way to vehicles bigger than you (which is pretty much everything else). Stick to this, and barring bad luck you should be fine.

It's a similar state of affairs when crossing the road. Regardless of how much traffic there is, simply begin to walk slowly but steadily. You will find bikes and cars whizzing past, but they do all the work in avoiding you. I've posted a video of this on youtube but have lost the link. When I find it, I'll stick it back up!

We've since been to Hue for a day (the old capital) and we're now in Hoi An, which is great, but that will be added in a new post.