Hanoi

Hanoi is just as bad as Saigon for traffic and in some cases even worse. The video below shows the chaos at most junctions. On the way from the airport we spotted what we thought were small orange trees being transported on the back of motorcycles, these are actually Kumquats that are used during the Chinese New Year like our Xmas trees and are decorated with red packets of money. On the first night we went to the Hanoi branch of the Hoa Vien and it was packed to the rafters with locals drinking beer, Sheila was a bit dubious about going in but the staff was very friendly and the food was fantastic. On the second day we walked round the Hoan Kiem Lake which has some kind of religious significance. While we were taking a rest people were coming to the lake shore and putting goldfish into the lake from all sorts of containers, plastic bags, pans and basins. This practice is in connection with the New Year celebrations although rather odd as there must have been over a hundred fish put in while we were there for 15 mins.

The local people are very resourceful in trying to make a buck, a guy with a plastic shopping bag full of shoe cleaning kit asked if I wanted a shoe shine and was disappointed when I pointed out that I had trainers on. All the streets are named after the products they sell, silk street, shoe street, bag street etc. etc.

The long awaited overnight trip to Halong Bay turned out to be the highlight of our trip so far. It took over three hours by road to get there but was well worth it as it lived up to all expectations. The boat was a 5 star Junk with everything on board you might need. The food was outstanding as was the service and the cabins had en suite facilities and air conditioning. A side trip was made to the floating fisherman’s village, the same as Rick Stein visited. After dinner you had the option of watching a movie or squid fishing and there is no doubt which option I took. The really strange thing was that they played I’m dreaming of a white Christmas as we left the boat at the end of the trip.

The last night was spent at the same hotel but in a different room which contained a toilet representative of the hotel’s name, Elegance, picture attached. We have really enjoyed our trip through Vietnam and will definitely return one day just as long it is still as cheap.