Magestic Halong Bay

Hanoi is certainly the commercial center of the country. While HCMC is equally as large and impressive, the circumstances of its involvement during the war have left it less developed in terms of trade and commerce. Hanoi’s main tourist area is in the heart of the Old City, a 20km squared area where we decided to hang our hats for a couple nights. The streets in the Old City are littered with cyclos, ladies carrying fresh fruit, shoe-repair guys, moto-taxis, everything and anything-just navigating them on-foot is exhausting. The surprisingly tidy streets are named after the main trade practiced on them Hang Bac (silversmith street), Hang Gai (chicken street), Lo Ren(blacksmith street), and Hang Dien (leather street), it’s logical and truly classic to the ancient city. We enjoyed a traditional form of entertainment when we spent the evening at The Water Puppet Theatre. Somehow we lucked out and were seated in the 2nd row, which was great. The show was filled with live music, singing, and quite the puppetry depicting many aspects of Vietnamese life.

For many tourists, including ourselves, Hanoi is a jump-off point to the spectacular Halong Bay. City Gate Guesthouse, where we were staying, pitched to us a 3 day tour through Halong Bay at a price we couldn’t refuse. Halong Bay is another UNESCO heritage site but our guess is that being designated as one of these sites hasn’t helped the area environmentally. An army of 300 plus boats lined the shore of Halong City harbour waiting for tourists to arrive by the bus load. On our cruise, we would spend one full day on Halong Bay including one night’s accommodation and then the following afternoon we would travel to Cat Ba Island where would sleep our second night. We paid 65$ each for two nights accommodations, a 3 day tour of the best sites in the bay, a trip through Cat Ba National Park, caving, kayaking, and 3 large meals a day… so when our boat didn’t have sails and the pictures we had been shown weren’t really relevant, we marked another point for Vietnam and moved past it as it was still pretty great value for our money. The first day was unfortunately very hazy and visibility wasn’t too great for photos but the weather was nice and cool making it perfect for relaxing on the upper deck. Two couples from Australia, a single Dutchman from Amsterdam, and two naïve and bubbly girls from HCMC, were the cast of characters we would spend the next few days with. Perched high in a limestone karsts, we visited a cave which was only just discovered in 1993 by a fisherman and opened to the public in 1997. For both of us this was the most amazing cave we had ever seen. This was a pleasant surprise as we weren’t aware of it on our itinerary. A path lead through tight passages that opened up into cathedral sized rooms decorated in stalactite and mites of every shape and size. The rock formations in the cave were strategically accented by green, red, and purple floodlights and it turned the cave into a very surreal and gothic landscape. We cruised past the souvenir booths and got back on the boat to cross the cove to a floating village where we would spend some time kayaking. One of the most magical experiences to date was the time we spent on the level with Halong Bay in our kayak. It was peaceful and magnificent and we wished we could stay out on the water for the whole day. As we paddled along it was like cruising through a lively rainforest, only on water. We saw water snakes, lizards, exotic birds, butterflies, and even several wild monkeys. There were caves to paddle through and just so much to see. Definitely a super special place for our first time kayaking together. Our night on the boat was really great. Everyone got on really well and with every round of beers the conversation flowed. When there was a pause in action we sat gazing at the star-filled sky just amazed at the beautiful silence. It was such a nice escape from the non-stop, honking traffic of the city, as well as most of the rest of Vietnam. Starting day 2 we did some cycling through Cat Ba National Park and although it rained, the scenery was great. After another great meal, we headed to land to check into our hotel and enjoy some free-time for the afternoon. We visited a couple beaches and took an incredibly scenic walk around a cliff-side walkway. In the evening we hit a local bar with our tour guide and another Canadian couple, had some drinks and tried rice wine...there’s a reason it’s known for knocking your socks off. Looking around at the sights of Halong Bay made us so thankful for our experience. We both reflected on how many times we had seen it depicted in movies, magazines, and documentaries. It really is one of those magical places which you can’t believe you are seeing with your very own eyes.

Once we returned to Hanoi, we were pretty keen on getting ourselves to Laos. We had intended on visiting another area of Northern Vietnam but after some reflection on past bus trips and some calculating of days, we decided we would head to Laos as soon as possible. We booked a bus from our guesthouse although we were much less than excited for the 24hour bus trip. We were picked up at 5:30 in the afternoon in order to catch the 7pm bus. We should have known something was wrong when they piled 17 foreigners in a 14 passenger van (each of us with enough baggage to account for another person) but this was only our transfer so we let it slide. When we arrived at the bus station the minibus pulled over around the back and we filed out onto the sidewalk. The snaky character who was “in charge” of getting us on a bus really sealed the deal for the two of us that night. While ALL 17 of us sat helpless on the sidewalk down a shady side street, the joker spent his time producing a whole lot of nothing as he tried to arrange transportation for all. The catch here is that he gets paid a fixed amount by the booking agencies so he then tries to barter directly with bus drivers so he can shave as much off the cost as possible, leaving the remainder for his pocket. Basically the way that evening went was him pretending to try and get us a bus, him making excuses, him telling lies, him getting hopped up on goof balls (aka cocaine, meth/who knows what)…and US SITTING ON OUR BACKPACKS ON THE CURB! At 11pm he finally came straight and let us know that we would not be getting the bus tonight. After FIVE+ hours of waiting the only things he managed to produce were taxis back into the city. On top of our wasted time and tested patience, the taxis which we had been told he was taking care of, ran the meter and expected to be paid. Fuming upon our return to Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we ditched the cab and took off on foot seeking some right in this situation. We marched back to where we had booked and paid for the bus ticket and demanded a refund. With only a little initial resistance, they returned our money. We stayed the night there, and booked the first plane out the following day. One thing we learned: the weather is not the only thing which is CONSISTENTLY hazy in Vietnam…