Month: March 2016

Le Petit Hanoi Hotel….I was transferred here by the place I originally booked because they had a guest who got sick and didn’t check out…so no room for me. This place is on a busy street. When I say “on”, I mean the dining area is 5 metres from cars and pedestrians. Quiet it is not.

But, if I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have met Sonia, a young woman from Perce on the Gaspe Coast, and we would not have spent a wonderful day touring Hanoi on foot yesterday. Sonia has this wonderful map application, and it took us on a fascinating tour of winding alleys and crowded streets to the National University of Education which was packed with teen-aged graduates in caps and gowns, their proud parents, and tourists from every corner of the earth.

We had lunch on a rooftop overlooking the daily sights of this bustling city, men getting haircuts on wooden stools on the sidewalk, the mirror affixed to the stone wall surrounding the school. Women preparing and cooking full meals on the sidewalk, others hawking intricate paper lace postcards arranged in colourful upside-down umbrellas. And the relentless traffic, even on Sunday when many people have the day off.

We made our way to the Ho Chi Minh complex, a huge museum dedicated to the life and times of Uncle Ho. It was an odd place…an arrangement of giant plastic fruit on a huge table set amongst exquisite sculptures, original documents, hand-written notes. Next door across a huge plaza, the mausoleum where his body lies and where thousands line up five days a week, mornings only, to pay their respects. I’ve heard rumours that his body is not, in fact, where it is purported to be, but I have no way of confirming.

I am checking out of my hotel in an hour or so, heading down to the Kangaroo Cafe where I will leave my big backpack until my return from Sapa on Friday morning. Not looking forward to lugging the beast down all those narrow stairs. I’d ask the young lad at the desk for help but his English is limited. He keeps calling me sir….you would think I’d get used to it but old habits die hard.

Snuggled under the duvet at the Hung Long Hotel on Cat Ba Island. This is the most money I’ve paid for a room due to the dreaded single supplement – an extra $20 – but it is big and luxurious with a great view…worth every penny. Actually, the entire Ha Long Bay cruise has been excellent value for money. I’m sure there are less expensive tours, and I know for a fact you can pay a lot more, so I’m feeling like Goldilocks with my “just right” option.

We boarded Hoa Binh in Ha Long City a little after noon yesterday after an uneventful 3.5 hour drive from Hanoi. My fellow boat mates included Andre and Catherine from Montreal, Peter from Portland, Oregon, Richard from London and Tilly from Copenhagen who has two months left in a year-long, round the world adventure.

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Ha Long Bay. It was overcast when we set out and this only added to the ethereal atmosphere as we (and hundreds of other boats) glided past the huge karst rock formations jutting out of the sea. It was difficult to concentrate on the exquisite lunch the crew had prepared for us, surrounded as we were with such beauty.

We eventually stopped at Ti Top Island where Peter, Richard and I climbed the 400 stone steps to the look-off. Others combed the white sand beach or dipped their toes in the bay…a bit chilly for my taste given that I’ve been spoiled by bathtub temperatures in the south…

The pre-dinner cooking class – totally unexpected – taught the fine art of assembling fresh spring rolls. The galley crew had done all the heavy lifting of course, chopping, slicing and dicing so that all we had to do was put the filling in the rice paper and roll it up. Sounds easy, right? Let’s just say I’ll need a bit more practice.

Then, dinner. Once again blown away by the effort put into the meals. I think it’s safe to say that none of us left the table hungry.

Day 2 could have started with photos at sunrise followed by tai chi on the top deck. Luckily, Andre took care of the pictures (and has promised to share) and Catherine was the tourist representative at the tai chi class. The rest of us just showed up for breakkie at 7, well rested and eager to start the day.

Sung Sot cave was next on the agenda, a great opportunity for folks who didn’t make it to Phong Nha to get a taste of the wonders that exist in our natural world.

Returning to the big boat, Peter and I prepared to say our good-byes. The others were going back to Hanoi and we were continuing on with another day on the water and to spend the night on Cat Ba Island. I hated to leave our little group as we had bonded quickly, but more adventure awaited.

We transferred to a bigger boat and settled in with a coffee, only to be told five minutes later that we were switching boats again. This time, a smaller vessel with four other passengers, Tony and Wendy from Melbourne and two young guys from Israel – didn’t catch their names. Our guide…Mr. Hero.

We made a stop on Monkey Island where we could have gone for a swim if we wished (the young guys did and the comment as they surfaced was “bloody hell”). I opted for a shell and monkey search. Lots of shells…zero monkeys. Back on the boat, this time heading to a small village on Cat Ba where the guys were staying in a bungalow in Viet Hai. We all got on bikes and cycled to the tiny community to get them checked in. It was a charming little place…very little there but surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Loads of biking opportunities as it’s right in the national park (as is most of the island). This little village sits in a valley and as such was covered in water during the rainy season five years ago. I mean eight metres of water…up to the Welcome to Viet Hai sign that arches the roadway into town.

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We reached Cat Ba City mid-afternoon. It might as well have been 10 at night as far as my energy level was concerned so I opted for a hot shower and some down time before meeting Peter, Wendy, Tony and Mr. Hero for a nice dinner. Absolutely fabulous tour!

I spent eleven hours on the train yesterday from Dong Hoi to Hanoi.it was lovely to see the lights of the big city as we rolled into town around 8 pm. My hotel is well-situated, close to both the lake and the backpacker quarter. There’s always lots of life around the younger people…jam sessions in the streets, watching them shoppimg for cheap meals so that there will be money for beer. I remember it well, although I was squeezing pennies on King Avenue in Bathurst and not in this grand old dowager of northern Vietnam.

Once again, I am surprised at how comfortable I feel. The area I’m in is a maze of twisting, turning alleys and one-way streets. My taxi had to drop me off at the start of my alley because it’s too narrow for cars. That was a walk filled with trepidation I’ll tell you, passing whole families who lined both sides of the alley, calmly eating their evening meal on red plastic kid-sized chairs.

How’s this for Small World Dept? There were three young girls in the compartment next to mine on the train. We spoke briefly upon arrival and I was tempted to ask if they wanted to share a taxi but let it slide, given the size of this city and number of hotels. I’d just finished my tea and paperwork at Hanoi Ciao Hotel when they walked through the door. Hard to believe…

I made my way to the Kangaroo Cafe this morning and finalized my Ha Long Bay tour for tomorrow. At long last, there are international ATMs everywhere, meaning I can withdraw more than two million dong at a time. It sounds like a breathtaking amount of money but it’s about $125 and the bank fees really add up… My final chore of the morning was to endure a spa pedicure…

After a sumptuous lunch of banh my at another hole-in-the-wall, I browsed the lake area and the temple that sits at one end. Hanoi is so different from Saigon. I think there are almost as many people, but it is laid back, cooler (low 20s) and friendlier. I stopped by the side of the lake at one point this morning and a man sat down next to me and struck up a friendly conversation. I was half-expecting a sales pitch but no, he just wanted to talk. So refreshing…

I spent yesterday on a tour of Phong Nha and Paradise Caves at Phong Nha National Park, a 90-minute drive from Dong Hoi in Central Vietnam. Phong Nha cave was discovered about a thousand years ago, hence the park’s name. Since that time there have been more and more caves uncovered, one of the most recent being Son Doong, first explored in 2009. It’s the largest cave in the world. Has its own jungle and climate. It also costs $3000 US to visit! and there’s a one-year waiting list. All I can say is that it’s hard to imagine how it could be any more magnificent than Phong Nha…or Paradise for that matter.

As with most of nature’s wonders, it’s hard to capture what the eye beholds, but I tried…