Hanoi & Halong Bay, Vietnam

So, Hanoi, huh? Well, the place is similar in many ways to Saigon really, except even hotter and (thankfully) drier. Other than that, the traffic is still insane, there’s still somebody trying to sell you sunglasses / books / a motorcycle taxi / rat on a stick / their mother every five paces, and you still feel like you’ve stepped into a sauna within seconds of leaving the hotel room. We haven’t really seen that much of it as yet, as we’ve only had a couple of evenings to do any exploring.

Tried to follow a walking trail in the Lonely Planet on the first night, but with the mayhem of rush hour and a map that was a little lacking in detail, we gave up after a while and just followed our noses. Always an interesting choice in Vietnam, I’ve found, as the smells are often as unique as the sights. Some of the things for sale in the food market I couldn’t even identify, never mind envisage having on my plate, but that’s probably just my Western bias showing through. Or something.

But anyway, the other thing that we achieved was booking a couple of places on an overnight junk cruise out to Halong Bay for the following day, through a company called Kangaroo Cafe – strangely enough, it’s run by an Australian. There’s so many options of companies that do similar trips that it’s hard to know what sucks and what doesn’t, but generally (and unsurprisingly) the cheaper it is, the less fun you’re likely to have. We liked the look of this one – limited to 16 people or less, air con cabins and some good reviews on the web.

So we turned up at 8 the next morning, met our travel buddies (a German guy, two Spaniards, a Canadian couple, three Aussies and us) and jumped on the bus for the 3+ hour trip out to the bay. We had the obligatory toilet / walk-through-shops-selling-overpriced-tourist-shit stop half way, and got to the bay around midday. The wharf was mayhem with tourists milling around everywhere like lost sheep, but once we’d boarded our junk and cast off, things became much more chilled. And I was able to lose the world’s stinkiest Teva sandals for the next 24 hours, which was quite a blessing as well. Though maybe not for anyone downwind at the time.

Halong Bay is made up of 3000+ ‘islands’ – really pinnacles of limestone that jut into the air in every direction and in all kinds of crazy shapes and sizes. Words and photos really don’t do the place justice – it’s a World Heritage Site for a reason, I guess – but it truly is a stunning area of natural beauty. Despite there being several other junks in the area, the place still seemed very serene and largely unspoiled, other than the occasional bit of rubbish or whatever floating in the water. We had lunch as we were motoring out into the bay proper, and then had a bit of time to sit in the sun (or try to find some shade, as the case may be) before getting to Hang Sung Sot, the largest cave in Halong Bay. This was the one area that did feel crowded – there were a few other (large) groups there at the same time as us, and it did detract a bit from the grandeur of the place. It was still incredible inside though, and I can only imagine what it would have been like to be able to wander round there by yourself for an hour or so. Breathtaking, I suspect. Our guide was very good, explaining the myth and legend of the caves and the bay according to the local Vietnamese people. And, as I mentioned in my last post, it really wouldn’t be a world heritage site without a stone penis – in this case made by nature rather than humans. Surprisingly enough, it’s seen as a fertility symbol. Can’t imagine why.

After maybe 90 minutes walking through the three separate chambers of the cave system, we headed back to the junk and out into the bay for some swimming or kayaking. Given the heat, swimming was the most popular choice – despite a few very large jellyfish that we’d seen floating nearby. Well, my theory was that if they’re that big you’ve got a decent chance of seeing them before they run into you. And they supposedly weren’t poisonous, just a bit painful. Dean and I decided to slip subtly into the water so as not to attract their attention – by way of leaping off the top (third) storey of the junk. Was a fair way down, strangely. It was very refreshing floating round in the sea for 20 minutes or so, before having a shower, dinner and relaxing with a few cleansing ales to watch the sun go down and darkness descend over the bay. We joined the European contingent on the sunloungers topside, and large amounts of guy shit proceeded to be talked. We all got on like a house on fire, which I’m sure had nothing to do with the beers, and it really was a wonderful feeling sitting there bobbing up and down on the water in such a beautiful setting, chatting to people from all over the world, and just enjoying every single minute of it. As with several other moments on this trip, I just wish I could have bottled it to bring out some time in the future…

Up again at 7.30 for breakfast, and then off to a sandy bay for more swimming / jellyfish avoidance for an hour before heading back to the junk and sadly motoring slowly back to the harbour. Stinking hot again, but at least there was a bit of breeze to cool things down a little now and again. We had lunch (good but not great) at a ‘tourist restaurant’ (ick), then jumped on the bus for the trip back to Hanoi. Arrived just after 4pm, back to the hotel, tried to make 20kg of luggage fit into my 15kg of baggage allowance for tomorrow’s flight to Bangkok, then out for our last dinner in Vietnam. We found somewhere that was offering a few more options than usual, so I went for the eel in soy sauce – it wasn’t bad, but I’m not sure I’d choose it in preference to other seafood options. We’ll be doing a bit of exploring tomorrow morning before heading out to the airport in the afternoon. It’s going to be a real shame to leave Vietnam – I’m really enjoying being here, and would love to be spending more time in South East Asia. I’m sure this won’t be my last trip to this part of the world, put it that way. Still, onwards and upwards – there’s plenty to look forward to in Europe over the next few weeks as well!