Hanoi/Halong Bay

The drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay took 3 and a half hours. When we got there around noon we realised we were in no hurry because our cruise would not start till 2pm. Our 4-hour boat trip started with lunch being served on board when it was moored at the pier. How lame. It's not like they had to get food from the shore as everything was prepared on board. Anyhow there must have been about 50 or 60 boats at the pier all doing the same thing and they all left at the same time at 2pm. Not a good sign.

Our first destination: Thien Cung Cave. The bay was packed full of junk boats and docking was an experience. Basically our boat just kept on bumping off other boats by crashing into them in order to get to shore. We liked the captain's style.

A Kodak moment inside the cave.

Unfortunately the rest of the cave was lit up with tacky neon colors.

And there must have been like 10,000 people in there shuffling at all times. It was getting hot and smelly.

The second cave Dau Go. There's some history about one of Vietnam's famous General using the cave to fight invading Mongol army. I didn't care much at that point.

We were happy to be back on the boat away from the crowd and sun. The second part of our cruise was rather peaceful. The scenery was also getting more interesting definitely.

Halong Bay's famous exotic rock formations.

Local fisherman.

The Fighting Chicken Rock. We were like, okay....which one is the chicken again? Can't believe they put it down as a sight. Mind you at least we got to have an enjoyable cruise en route to the rock so we weren't complaining.

Perhaps the 2-day+ trips would be more interesting as you get to kayak and swim in quieter parts of Halong Bay. Still I think it's pretty crowded as there are hundreds of those junk boats going around. My verdict: overrated.

Hanoi, Old Quarter

View of city from our hotel room.

The picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake in the middle of Hanoi city.

Hanoi's Old Quarter is where you would find all the hustle and bustle. Situated on the north side of Hoan Kiem lake one can easily spend hours looking at the little streets and shops. Despite the heat it was a pretty relaxing experience. Everyone was friendly enough; rickshaw drivers and shopkeepers did not tourists all.

Very interesting low rises and crazy electrical wiring everywhere.

The streets are lined with small shops which sell clothes, fabric, some souvenirs, and of course food. Here we have a shop specialising in preserved plums. I have tried the Chinese light-brown version, which looks very similar to the ones on the lower left corner. I hadn't realised they could come in so many different colors. Perhaps they have different flavours? I am not really a big fan cos it's usually very sour.

Inside Dong Xuan Market. A popular place to pick up cheap everyday stuff. You name it, they've got it there. I picked up my signature Vietnamese hat there for US$1.

An unusually wide street corner in the Old Quarter.

Major fire hazard!

Street food.

A street corner on the south end of the lake.

Mopeds rule at night (even more so than day time)! All the young people were out cruising on that Saturday evening, to see and to be seen.

Hanoi, sightseeings

There aren't many sights in Hanoi and I decided to join a day trip, which pretty much has everything covered and it could save me from getting ripped off by taxi drivers. I had not expect much from the trip to begin with but I was still taken by surprise at the end because it was so lame.

Our first stop was the Temple of Literature. Founded in 1070 it was the country's first university. The names of all graduates from 1400s are inscribed on the back of the stone turtles.

One of the quiet and peaceful courtyards in the temple.

I hadn't realised Chinese characters were used in the old days in Vietnam.

The cute drum "tower".

Loved the roofs.

I wonder how old this tree is?

Highlight of the day: Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. It's a lot smaller than Kim Il Sung's but nonetheless as creepy. It's so cold and dark inside it gave me goose bums. Somehow embalmed bodies always seem very stiff but have not a lot of weight. It doesn't seem to leave indentations on the sheets and bed at all. Strange.

A short walk away is the Presidential Palace. It's the place where our guide got caught for not buying enough entry tickets for the group. The policeman got very aggressive and the guide was hold up for 15 mins. At the end he had to pay a fine and he didn't have enough money. Drama!

A couple donated the money for the fine and we got in. Beautiful gardens but there were way too many people (you can't see them on the picture).

I found an interesting dweller on the property - an Indochinese Green Peafowl. I am guessing it's related to peacock?

Ho Chi Minh's Stilt House - the house he lived in between 1958 to 1969. Apart from the house we also got to see his office and his car, the usual humble leader gist.

After lunch we headed to some pagoda on the shore of West Lake. It was just another temple with a small pagoda. Nice but not worth the 45-min stop.

The colorful interior.

Another temple. Another 30-min stop. We were all getting positively bored.

Of course we had to end the trip at a souvenir shop. I should sum up the day in 4 words: cirque du so lame.