We flew from Singapore to Hanoi via the inexpensive VietJet Airlines on July 2, arriving at the Essence Hanoi Hotel and Spa, a very nice hotel, with outstanding air conditioning in the heart of the Old Quarter of the City (see below).
It was only a one night stay, as Vega Travel, headed by the friendly and helpful Kien Tran, was scheduled to pick us up the next morning for a two day, one night cruise on Halong Bay. After spending a lot of time in the airport getting Vietnamese Dong (a necessity and a little harder than we thought because of withdrawal limits) and a new sim card for the iphone (also a necessity, even though we had paid AT&T a stupid amount for global coverage), we headed outside for our shuttle.
We had prearranged with the hotel to pick us up (the only way to go-they all do this). We drove into the City in oppressive heat, past small farms, all of which were burning some detritus or other, leaving the scent of smoke and visible haze hanging heavy in the air. The homes were cinder-block, and would not have been out of place in Mexico or other Latin American countries. There were scooters everywhere, the result of government policies discouraging cars. It turns out Hanoi is a city of 7 million people and 5 million motor bikes. As a result, we saw things I never imagined on a vespa-like scooter: four hundred pounds of rice in 50 pound bags, a pig, a small cow, a family of 5, a refrigerator (I am not kidding). And the traffic was crazy: scooters everywhere, on all sides zipping in and out in front of cars in all directions, honking all the time; lanes that are purely notional; lights that are obeyed only sometimes. I felt like Han Solo in the asteroid belt being chased by Tie Fighters, and I wasn't even driving. I decided the Vietnamese are either the best or worst drivers in the world. Given all the craziness, there should be carnage everywhere, and yet somehow there is not.
We crossed the massive Red River delta on a long, modern bridge just at sunset and Hanoi, home base of a one-time enemy regime, rose up in front of us. I wondered what kind of reception we would get, as representatives of the last country to have bombed this proud and very tough people. I was expecting armed guards and frosty stares at a minimum. I need not have worried. People were so warm, kind and friendly it was remarkable. The fact that almost 70% of the population is under thirty, and has no memory of the war, may have something to do with it, but the longer I stayed here, the more I thought "they are a lot like us." Fiends for commerce, friendly, helpful, with a deep love of and respect for family, and finding joy in good laughter, most Vietnamese would feel at home in the U.S. personality-wise, though they are perhaps more reserved than we are (but not even on the scale of the Chinese or Japanese). There were no obvious armed guards except at banks, and no heavy police presence, yet we felt absolutely safe the whole time we were there. It amazed me how much things can change in 40 years, which gave me much hope for our world, truthfully.
Much more on all that and Hanoi later, as we would return there after the Halong Bay cruise, but two additional things quickly: First, it is not Hanoi, but Boiling HOTnoi, at least at this time of year. 100 plus degree temperatures, high humidity and absolutely still air, the whole time we were on Halong and in the City. You felt like you might suffocate just by standing still and trying to breathe. Second, its signature food, Pho (pronounced like the first two letters of a four letter word you should never say), is of course, a hot beef and rice noodle soup. Having come in hungry, we headed to the closest restaurant with good Pho (per our Lonely Planet book and the internet). It was in the Old Quarter, and simply called "New DayRestaurant."
It was excellent! Good enough that we ended up going back two more times before our stay in Hanoi was done. This was our first venture out in Vietnam, and went swimmingly. Sufficient English was spoken, the menu was large with lots of options, and apart from being hot, even at night, we had no complaint. After filling up, we headed back to the hotel and tucked into blessedly air conditioned rooms for the night, as we had a 7:30 am Shuttle Bus pickup for the three hour ride to Halong City, where we would embark on our boat for the "two day, one night" (really 24 hour) cruise.
Breakfast at the Essence Hanoi was really fantastic. It came with the room, as it is with most hotels in Vietnam. But this was perhaps the best of our entire stay there. Really excellent. We toted our bags out to the lobby and waited for the shuttle, which was an old 20 seat bus, with air conditioning that was not quite up to the task, and made me wonder about the quality of the tour we had chosen. The ride was long, with a mandatory stop at a government run rest stop that provided a platform for handicapped people and others to sell their artistic wares, mostly woven and sewn pictures in brilliant colors. It would have been pretty interminable as far as 3 hour rides go, except for our ever earnest tour guide, Louis, who did everything he could to educate us about Vietnam and its history.
We arrived at Halong, and found our boat. It didn't look like much from the outside:
But it was the right size, with just 16 or so passengers, and the rooms were actually not bad at all, with blessed air conditioning that they cranked at night.
The top deck had a nice shade to it, where we spent a lot of gawking time.
The mid-deck held a nice dining room with fans and AC, and they set us up with lunch right away. The food was not the best, but it wasn't bad, and none of us starved (not even Alden). They also had ice cold drinks aboard, which was a lifesaver more than once.
And with that, we headed out into Halong Bay, a place I had always wanted to go, and a prime reason we had decided to make Vietnam our first stop from Singapore.
Before long we parked, and headed out in the little skiff they towed behind the boat.
These are our boat mates, Emily and Tristan, graduate students, Mike, Paul and Sydnee from Denver, with Mike over here working on a power project, a danish couple we didn't get to know well, and two young ladies from Barcelona, who we also didn't get to interact with much.
We motored in an amongst the tall Karsts, feeling like Lake Powell had suddenly turned green and grey.
Here is Louis, our indefatigable guide, who showed us some really amazing scenery, with a route specifically chosen to avoid traffic, which can be quite heavy on this World Heritage bay.
Despite all the tourist traffic, we found just as many traditional fisherman, plying their trade.
The karsts, and the plant life on them, are pretty amazing. Up close they look like they could seriously shred you.
We parked at a dock and headed out to do this:
Kathleen paired with Keegan, Kat and Alden paired, and I joined Mike, the dad from Denver, who is over here doing a power project. Louis lead the way, and found a route blissfully free of ship traffic. We cruised right along the sides of these cliffs and pillars, seeing them up close and personal. The limestone formations are in a constant state of erosion, and the softer parts hollow out into caves. That was our first stop, a pretty cool cave, really a hollowed out middle from side to side, of one of the pillars. Here are some photos:
From there, we headed off to a spot for a swim, which was much needed, given temperatures in the 90s (even on the water) and the humidity and still air. It may be the most spectacular swimming location I have ever enjoyed, apart perhaps from Lake Powell.
Here is Louis, watching out for everyone. I think he was worried because it was not a designated swim spot. It felt so nice in the shade though, and was a much needed break for everyone.
The contrasty light was really tricky, so the photos didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but it gives you a little idea that we were pretty much alone with our group, in a spectacular place, cooling off in the middle of a very hot day. It was a great way to spend the fourth of July.
After that we headed off to another cave. Keegan wanted to head back, and truthfully, it was a lot of work -- we were not kayaking super short distances. So he and Kathleen headed back to the dock, but I was with Mike, and had to power on to the cave, and Kate and Alden joined us with the rest of the crew. It was pretty great, but I am so out of shape I started cramping up, mostly in the abdominals. Those who know me these days probably think I could use a little more of that, and they wouldn't be wrong, but having to continue to flex abs in order to paddle, while they are cramping up, left me in quite a state. I think it was at least partly caused by the extreme heat. I managed to finish out though, mostly holding up my end of the bargain (luckily Mike was a little younger and in better shape than I was).
We returned to the ship and anchored for the night near Hang Dau Go, the Cave of the Wooden Stakes, which is the first place we went the following morning. But first, dawn was beautiful, and the only part of the day with semi-tolerable temperatures. Here are a couple of pictures.
This Karst formation is known as Tea Top island, and we would, in the heat of the day, climb the 420 stairs to get to the top, resulting in the sweaty picture that opened this post. (420 stairs in 98 degrees with 90% humidity and perfectly still air will test you, but the family did fine, and arrived at the top in decent spirits -- they are good peeps.)
But first, the Cave. We had to climb 116 stairs to get up to its entrance. This is the view that greets you looking back:
You then descend about a quarter of those steps and head into a really remarkable cavern, that has been lit up for the heavy tourist duty it does. The result is the ability to see some pretty spectacular cave scenery.
The roof is really amazing -- looked like toasted marsh-mellow or something.
There are three large, well lit caverns, connected by nicely marked trails.
Fantastic stalactites and stalagmites abound.
As we got deep into the cave, we found a few surprises in the ceiling:
Bats!
After this I almost came away with a burning desire to make billions of dollars and go fight crime with cool tools. Kind of creepy when you look up and see their larger than life shadows.
After quite a tour we finally exited the cave and headed down for our rendezvous with Tea Top.
I was too tired and beat to take pictures on the way up, but here is the family, looking flushed but not too bad considering. The views from the top were brilliant all around, definitely worth all the sweat and huff and puff.
They do show, however, how crowded this part of the Bay can get at mid-morning. It was a traffic jam of sorts for sure.
After hiking down we took a quick swim on a manufactured beach with too warm water, but spectacular backdrop:
From there, we headed back to Ha Long harbor, where we would take our bus back to Hanoi. The rest of the boat trip passed through some really beautiful parts of the Bay. This part of the world was definitely on my bucket list and I am so happy I went, despite the heat and occasional crowding. If you could go when it is slightly cooler, and spend a couple of days on Cat Ba island, and take two or three day tour of the bay from there, I think it could be a spectacular experience, and less touristed than the option we took. But I will say that we knew we were doing a budget option with Vega Travel, but it certainly met my expectations within those parameters. What we really loved was the size of the boat and tour group, and the fact that they worked hard to be early to places, leaving us feeling like they were less touristy than they would feel later in the day. All told, I agree with Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet in recommending them. Unless you are hoping for a real luxury experience, you would not be disappointed. I will close this post with a few pictures from our route out of Ha Long Bay.
Next up: Hanoi, my favorite city on the trip.
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