Vietnam 24 ~ Week 1

Thursday 4th April

I had a quiet day at home in Perth, getting my laundry sorted and packing my case, I settled down to recharge my batteries to prepare for a longish overnight flight where I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep.  After dinner and a chat with all the family, Cameron and Georgia drove me to the airport, where the automatic check-in process and bag drop failed, I waited in the queue to get sorted, however, the security system was excellent an I soon found myself waiting at the gate for my flight.

The 8 hour flight was uneventful, and despite being very tired I just couldn’t get to sleep. Flying with Emirates does tend to spoil you for long flights, on this Malaysian Airways one, the legroom was a bit tight for me, and I didn’t rate the in flight entertainment and tge meal was adequate, but hey ho, I arrived here in plenty of time to make the transfer across the airport to board my next flight.

The next Malaysian flight to Hanoi was late departing, but it was a fairly comfortable one, again legroom etc was a little tight, but for a 3 hour flight it was OK

Friday 5th April

I arrived in Hanoi around 13:00 and quickly got through immigration and was able to collect my luggage before being met outside the airport by my pre-booked transfer driver for the 40 minute journey into the city through the chaotic traffic, there are millions of scooters and motorcycle all driving as if there were no rules of the road.

On arrival, I checked into my room in the Hong Ngoc Cochinchine Hotel in Nguyen Truong To, which was a nice room and perfectly adequate for my short 2 night stay. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful, assisting me in obtaining a SIM card for my phone and finding an ATM to get some cash. I withdrew around £60-£70 and was pleased to quickly become a multi-millionaire as I received 2,000,000.00 Dong (vnd),

After looking around the local area to get my bearings, I set out for a bit of a wander to find a street mentioned on my map as a street art location, I very soon discovered that being on foot is every bit as crazy as driving, you certainly need your wits about you at all times to avoid being hit by a motorcycle. Having failed in my mission, I returned to the hotel, stopping off at Pasteur Street, a craft beer brew shop for a refreshing pint of very good beer, although I discovered later that they are over 3 times the price of the local brew, Hanoi Bia.

I returned to the hotel with just enough time to change my sweaty tee shirt (it is very hot and humid here) before being met by Anna my guide for a Street Food Tour I had booked on my arrival. I was told that I was the only person booked on the tour and was asked if I would like to do it by walking or as a pillion passenger on her motorcycle, anyone who knows me will know what I decided, we quickly got underway to our first stop for some Banh Cuon, a delicious steamed rice pancake rolled with shrimp, back on the bike we then went to sample Banh Goi, a really nice mushroom pillow cake, our next stop was for Bun Cha, rice noodles with grilled pork, which I really enjoyed, among the other dishes we sampled on the way was Pho Ga, rice noodles with chicken, and a lovely desert of fresh mango with coconut ice cream. This sample of the flavours of Vietnam was finished off by a Cafe trung, a delicious egg coffee, which I admit that as I don’t normally like white or sweet coffee, I found absolutely delicious. All of the places we visited were places you would normally walk past of miss completely, just like the hawker markets in Singapore, they specialise in one dish, which they cook to perfection, in the Banh Chao shop, the lady making the rice pancakes has been doing that same job for 32 years, no wonder they were so good.

The city was very busy being a Friday night, there were many tourists out doing the same as me on food tours, we passed a busy night market and had a glimpse of the area they call beer street, but we decided to give it a miss and returned to the hotel, considering the distances we travelled, I was glad the I chose to go on the bike, it was great fun, thought I wouldn’t have liked driving it myself. A quick beer in the hotel bar finished off an exciting but tiring day.

Saturday 6th April

After a nice breakfast in the hotel, where I met Howard, another Intrepid tourist, I ventured out to find the famous Hanoi Train Street, this a street where regular trains run just a metre or so from the shops and houses. As I had some time until the train came, I enjoyed a refreshment in one of the many cafes to while away the time, watching the world go by. It was great fun watching a team of guys renovating a building opposite, there certainly wasn’t any H&S considerations to be seen there.

The train coming through certainly was worth the effort of waiting, it passed within a matter of inches from me, you really had to keep yourself tucked in as it hurtled past.

Next on my list of places to visit was an area full of murals, this street of railway arches had a series of murals depicting life in Hanoi, painted in 2017, they were all very good and interesting.

Back to the hotel to recharge my phone, stopping off at the Pasteur Street Taproom finished off a really interesting morning, where i found that I had quickly learnt how to navigate the streets and traffic of Hanoi.

With time to kill before the Intrepid meeting, I went back out and went towards the Tran Quoc Pagoda on the lake, this was a peaceful place to visit, it was strange to see people bringing goldfish and turtles and placing them in front of the Pagoda as an offering, as I was leaving I looked out onto the lake and spotted a man up to his neck in the water fishing with a rod, I’m not sure if he caught anything, other than a cold.

At 18:00 we met with Tuan, ourguide for the trip and met the 11 other travellers who would be with us for the next 15 days it was a good mix, two couples, and the rest of us were singles, no doubt I will get to know them better as the trip progresses. After the meeting in the hotel, we all went to a local restaurant for a nice dinner which helped break the ice a little.

A few of us Intrepid travellers decide that the night was still young, so we ventinto town, via the night market to ‘Beer Street’, this was just like your typical party street in South East Asia, plenty of beer, loud music and hawkers pedling their wares,after a couple of beer we headed back to the hotel for an early night to prepare for tomorrow’s start of tour.

Another great day in Hanoi.

Sunday 7th April

Our first day of or tour meant leaving our hotel behind, including our luggage, and boarding the bus to visit the Temple of Literature, as it was Sunday large groups of childen from the surrounding areas were there for graduation ceremonies making it extremely busy, it even looked like there was a photo opertunity for a beauty contest, they certainly all added colour to a damp and dreary morning. I even got a chance to wear my Cambodian Temple pants.

Following our visit we then started our drive 120km north westwards into the mountain region. Forty minutes out of Hanoi, we stopped off in a a cafe for a comfort break and a traditional Vietnamese filter coffee served with condensed milk which certainly took some of the bitterness away.

The further into the mountains we got the raods became narrower and the villages more rural. We eventually reached the Sung Village, our homestay for the night, we were all allocated a cot styled bed in the long house and shown where the toilet facilities were before being served a nice lunch on the terrace, the food was delicious.

After a short rest after lunch, we all headed in to the hills to visit the cave of the Mountain God, this 3km trek was at times quite treacherous, with steep slopes and slippery surfaces. One of the village residents met us there, preceeding us to ask the god for permission to enter the cave, it was all worth the effort though and the cave was well worth visiting.

On our return to the homestay, tired and a touch sweaty, a shower and change of clothes was in order. After another nice dinner we were visited by a group of locals in traditional outfits, entertained us with singing and dancing routines, eventually asking us to join in.

Videos will be added on my return home

Monday 8th April

After breakfast we said our farewells to our hosts an set out on a 15km trek to Da Bia a village on the shores of Hồ Hòa Bình. The trek was a bit difficult for me, Tuan told us that it would be easy going on level ground with a few ups and downs, what he omitted to tell us was the steepness of the climb into the mountains and the eventful descent, my poor knees really suffered, especially on the way down. However, the scenery was spectacular through the mists, thankfully it wasn’t a blazing hot day.

Lunch and a beer by the lakside revived me ready for our boat trip to Thung Nai, where we picked up our bus again to make the 2 hour trip back to Hanoi. A quick shower to freshen up before dropping off my laundry in a local shop before a nice meal at the Met restaurant and a couple of beers with Howard finished a nice but very tiring day.

Tuesday 9th April

Another day that started with us checking out of the hotel, again, and boarding the bus for a trip East to Ha Long Bay.

On the way out of the city, we stopped off to visit The Blue Dragon children’s Foundation, which works with disadvantaged children throughout Vietnam, protecting them from the effects of human trafficking, disability and the poverty which forces them on to the city’s streets, the group who met us made us very welcome and told us of their work over tea and coffee. This was an interesting visit.

Back on the bus we travelled to the Cat Ba ferry terminl, on our arrival at the terminal we boarded the ferry, which was a pretty basic and not even up to CalMac’s standards, for the short trip to Cat Ba where we travelled to the other side of the island to board out cruise ship. After cruising round many of the limestone islands in the bay, whilst having a wonderful lunch we stopped at a floaing pontoon to allow those who wished to go kayaking and swimming, I chose not to take part in these activities but still rnjoyed myself nonetheless chatting to Kristina who also stayed behind. The weather wasn’t brilliant, it was a bit overcast, but apparently that’s normal for the bay, but it was brilliantly nonetheless.

Back on the main island following another sightseeing voyage, we took the bus to a nearby Eco Lodge, our accommodation for the night, which was an interesting place set in woodland with rustic chalets around a central area. We had our pre-booked dinner withhappy hour cocktails served from the bar. After dinner a few of us played pool, with difficulty, then finished the night off chatting to other guests round the campfire. Yet another great day in Vietnam.

Wednesday 10th April

After a good nights sleep and an interesting breakfast, we drove to the ferry terminal to catch the 8:30 ferry back to the mainland, stopping off on the way to Hanoi at a roadhouse for a comfort break and to buy some snacks.

On arrival in Hanoi, and after lunch in the Downtown Restaurant, we visited the Ho Chi Min complex, starting at the mausoleum then moving through the various buildings he used and lived in, including the famous stilt house he preferred rather than the palataial former presidential palace.

Our next stop was at a charity which supports handicapped people, including those who suffer from the long term effects of agent orange from the American War. This group provides employment, and we visited their embroidery workshop to see the beautiful silk tapestries they produce.

To finish off our time in Hanoi, we went to catch a performance of the Water Lotus Puppet Theatre, this was great fun, the puppets all performed in a pool of water with the puppeteers hidden behind screens. The performance contained tales of Vietnamese life on a fun and interesting way.

We returned to the Hong Ngoc Cochinchine hotel for the final time, and after collecting my laundry, made use of the room they provided for us, to freshen up, sort out my luggage and prepare for our night train journey south.

Leaving the hotel behind we took the bus to the train station and quickly boarded the night train, which departed bang on schedule. We were allocated a 4 berth cabin, which I shared with Howard Chris, and Heiki. Using Google Translate, Heiki, who is Esstonian and speaks no english, created a memorable experience for us by having conversations using technology which sometimes gave interesting results.

The journey was much better than expected and I was able to sleep for much of it, the toilets were a bit iffy, but apart from that, the facilities were fine for me, breakfast was a bit of a hoptch potch of the stuff I bought before leaving Hanoi, but it did the trick.

Thursday 11th April

On arrival in Hue at 10:00, we discovered the difference travelling south made to the weather as it was very hot and humid, we boarded the bus to the Alba Hotel where, as it was too early to check in, we all had a coffee before going to a family home for a delightful home cooked meal with a wonderful variety of local dishes and their version of rice wine.

After lunch we then travelled to the The Imperial City of Hue inside the Citadel, a walled fortress and palace belonged to the ancient city of Hue which was a capital city of the Nguyen Dynasty for 140 years until 1945.

The spectacular architecture was built in 1803 by the emperor who founded the Nguyen Dynasty. The Imperial City was finally completed in 1832 and it was the biggest structure built in the history of modern Vietnam. The city was made an UNESCO Site in 1993 with the remained buildings being actively restored and preserved after the destruction by the Americans during the Vietnam War.

We returned to the hotel for a seista and to cool down a bit before a few of us headed into town with Tuan, for a meal in a rooftop bar called the DMZ Bar, the food was very good. We returned to the hotel to catch up on some well deserved sleep.

Friday 12th April

An exciting day to day, after yet another good Southeast Asian breakfast, we were met outside the hotel by a team of motorcyclists in blue uniforms and helmets who were to be our drivers for the day.

After a short H&S briefing, we set on a convoy around the beautiful city of Hue, stopping off at various pounts to see the sights. We visited the Tu Duc Emperor’s tomb, the Thien Mu pagoda and a location where they make the famous Hue poem hat, a conical hat that displays a poem when held up to the light, they also showed us how they make incense, giving us a chance to try. We stopped at local markets, visited temples and stopped off for a fabulous vegetarian lunch on the way.

Our time with the motorcyclists was brilliant, they were extremely patient with us and at no time did any of us feel unsafe as we whizzed around the city and surrounding countryside, my rider Huan was a great guy who put me at my ease at all times during the day.

The afternoon was spent across the Perfume River to visit the Dong Ba market where a few of us made some purchases, I loved the little Vietnamese filter coffee system so much I bought one of the sets to make at home.

Rather than travelling back to the hotel, we all stayed out in town at the Why Not Bar where we had a few refreshments and a meal, before having a few happy hour drinks in Brown Eyes bar where I won a B52 cocktail and Chris won a tee shirt in their lottery, before returning to the hotel and retiring for the night following yet another brilliant day in Vietnam. Roll on next week as we head further south.