Hanoi & Ha Long Bay
City and nature, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.
We capped off our Christmas holidays by flying from the beaches of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand to Vietnam's capital, Hanoi for a couple days, then ventured out to Ha Long for a couple nights cruise through the bay.
We arrived at our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi during the late morning located down a narrow alleyway. The taxi van dropped us off on the main road and left us to walk our luggage to the hotel's front door. We made our way past other hotel front doors, dirty food vendors and one lady selling raw meat from a piece of cardboard on the street.
Our room was quaint enough with the amenities one expects for the price we were paying; two beds and a private bath, we even had a little Juliette balcony. We got ourselves settled and ready to face a rainy day. Armed with our umbrellas and armoured with our rain coats we made our way into the city to explore our new surroundings. We headed out bravely with a roar, to hell with the rain and drizzle, but we weren't long for these conditions as we quickly started looking for alternatives to being soaking wet. This is when we opted for a tour of both the old and French quarters by electric vehicle. The tour wasn't much, a gentleman whose English was virtually non-existent drove us around from one stop to another, but at least we were out of the elements and we could always return to some the areas later when the rain subsided (alas the rain would not subsided before our departure from Hanoi).
This mediocre tour stopped at an indoor market, which we passed on as we were just not feeling it, the shopping that is. The next stop was for Vietnamese coffee. Both Cliff and I opted to partake of this delicious Vietnamese pass time. The coffee was strong and delicious and warmed our water-logged selves to the core. Had our party not been afflicted with illness during these holidays one after the other we might have stopped for coffee more often, but as it was, any one of us at any given time was slightly apprehensive of taking any culinary risks where not necessary.
The next day was much the same, rain and drizzle. The ladies would decide to take the day to play games with the girls while Cliff and I decided it would be a good idea to go looking for an éclair in the French Quarter (well I thought it was a good idea). We wandered up and down streets, around corners and under bridges, but our efforts would prove to be éclair-less, we couldn't find the address which was given to us. I still don't think its an actual address that exists in Hanoi. After all we had been wandering around for the better part of an hour and a half, we pretty much figured out how the city works. Unlike like the rain, this did nothing to dampen our spirits and on the return journey we decided to make the most of our efforts and have a sit at Bia Corner. Bia Corner is found on many corners around Hanoi, you'll see a few small plastic chairs and tables set up outside the shop on various street corners. You sit down on one of these extremely too small plastic chairs all the while hoping it doesn't collapse beneath the weight of your western fed bottom and then someone brings you a beer for something in the neighbourhood of 25,000₫ (Vietnamese Dong). That converts to a little less than $1.50 CAD.
The evening was reserved for theatre. After dinner we made our way to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. It is said that water puppet theatre began centuries ago in the rice fields of northern Vietnam as a means for the field workers to entertain themselves. Today of course it is an art form steeped in tradition put on display for onlookers and admirers of puppetry. The play itself is accompanied by a small orchestra playing traditional asian instruments. I particularly enjoyed the Dan Bau, a Vietnamese single stringed instrument. The sounds which emirate from it are simple yet elegant and send shivers through your listening soul. The play itself was entertaining and enjoyable. I would recommend to anyone considering it to sit down for a performance, trulyit was delightful.
It didn't rain nearly as much while we were out in Ha Long Bay as when we were in Hanoi, the weather was still overcast and dreary. But while the weather was unexceptional our time here was everything but. Ha Long Bay was added by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1994. And just about any picture (except the dreary ones I took on this trip) will prove why. Ha Long Bay in the gulf of Tonkin is an awe inspiring natural world, truly an amazing sight to behold. As you sail through the bay and the towering limestone karsts you'll unleash your camera and all its digital pixels. You'll begin snapping images on your left, your right, right in front of you and even behind you. You'll capture dozens, maybe hundreds of photos and still you'll think to yourself I haven't quite captured the "feeling" I see all around me. And that is the issue at hand, how do you capture a feeling, because that is what Ha Long Bay does to you, it creates mood with in you, adds to your aura and it is the essence of an experience that very few photographs can capture.
We spent 3 days/2 nights in Ha Long Bay and in this humble travellers opinion the extra day is worth it. On the morning of the second day when most other visitors are returning to Ha Long City you'll have the bay to yourselves (kind of). We paddled via kayak around the giant looming cliffs, enjoyed the breathtaking scenery, and let the world around us recharge our spirits. It really was the best part of the tour. Other activities included a village tour, because there are homes out on the water and minute villages have gathered to call it home, a visit to an oyster farm, where they showed us home the culture pearls and spelunking in the areas largest cave.
After the 4 hour bus ride back to Hanoi we spent one more night in the Old Quarter before returning home to Hong Kong for New Year's Eve. Sadly it was my turn to suffer the rotating illness that effected most of us and I missed out on the last evening of fun and discovery. After dinner the family stumbled upon a night market and enjoyed some "window" shopping and haggling. Then it was back to Hong Kong.
The sights and sounds of Hanoi.
The highlights of Ha Long Bay.
The music used in this video is used purely to accompany my vacation video and simply meant to share with family and friends. No copyright infringement is intended. All content belongs and is credited to its respective owners.
