Hanoi and Ha Long Bay (Vietnam)

We’ve been travelling through South-east Asia with Sapa in northern Vietnam being our last stop. Leaving Sapa, we arrived in Hanoi and headed to the Hanoi Hm Boutique Hotel. It was really well located, right in the heart of Hanoi’s old quarter. Hanoi is Vietnam’s capital and second largest city (around 7 mil people). It has an historic centre which we were keen to explore.

Marg in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam

When we say historic, we mean very, very old as Hanoi celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 2010. Stepping out of our hotel, we were plunged straight into the old quarter, with a tangled web of narrow streets, overshadowed by two- and three-story buildings. It was humming with the sound of motor scooters and street sellers.

Tube houses in Hanoi, Vietnam

The buildings are traditional tube houses, a style of architecture that is apparently unique to this part of Hanoi. They are called “tube” houses because way back, the government tax was based on the width of your house – wide house = big tax. This resulted in houses being built that are very narrow at the street-front, but that penetrate deep into the city block making them narrow and long like a tube. Each tube contains several courtyards to let the sun in.

A typically chaotic intersection, Hanoi, Vietnam

Setting out for a walk, we were amazed at the way the traffic seemed chaotic, yet somehow, survived to reach the next intersection. We learned that the best way to cross the road was to just step out into a gap, and keep walking at a steady pace to the other side. The drivers/riders judge your pace and distance and somehow, they miss you.

Shoe Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

Using this tactic, we carried on safely, looking braver than we felt. We walked along the “Paper Street”, “Tin Street”, “Shoe Street” and other streets so named because of the wares made and sold there. It was absolutely fascinating. Later, we came across the attractive Hoan Kiem Lake.

Us at Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam

The lake was surrounded by walkways, and the whole area was lovely. On a small island in the centre, was Ngoc Son Pagoda, built in the 19th century to honour a military hero and a god of literature. Moving on, we visited One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature, Museums, and other interesting places. Absolutely exhausted after that, we headed back to the hotel to rest before dinner.

Water puppet performance, Hanoi, Vietnam

That day was Marg’s birthday, so at dinnertime we visited a nearby French style restaurant to celebrate. The restaurant had a lovely décor, the service was good and the food was great. We followed this with a concert at the water puppet theatre. It was mystical, colourful, noisy and wonderful. 

Temples (top), a pagoda and Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Hanoi, Vietnam

The next day we did more sightseeing admiring tall pagodas and ornate temples. Then we hopped in a taxi to explore outside the old town and managed to find our way to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the Opera House, the Presidential Palace and other places. All up, we saw heaps and had a great time. We really liked Hanoi, its vibrancy and its people.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

For the next part of our Vietnam trip, we had booked an organised tour with Go Asia, a local Hanoi travel company. Marg found it on Grab-One in New Zealand, and their price was cheaper than what we could have done if booking everything ourselves. The first part of this tour would take us to Ha Long Bay, a mist-filled and tranquil bay about 160 km south of Hanoi in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Us at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

This tour was a departure from our normal style of independent travel, and we were keen to see how it would work for us. So, the next morning, we caught the Go-Asia bus for a four-hour drive to Ha Long Bay for the first part of the tour. Ha Long Bay’s jungle-covered islands and unique limestone rock formations and caves, have made it a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Our boat for the Ha Long Bay cruise

Our trip around Ha Long Bay was to last for two nights, and done in a traditional Vietnamese boat that had been converted to accommodate tourists. There were 10 of us on the boat, in six cabins. Our co-travellers were of mixed age and nationality, and everyone got on well. 

Traditional fishing boat, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

We set out into the Bay and we were immediately taken with the stillness of the water, and the incredibly atmospheric mist that we sailed through. Over the next two days we stopped at various islands seeing the Sung Sot cave and others, ate beautifully prepared fresh Vietnamese food, had a Vietnamese cooking class, and generally relaxed and had a fabulous time.

Boat community in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

On the second day, we took ourselves off on a kayak tour of the Bay. We paddled around one of the interesting islands which was more like a big rock, and found a whole community of boats on the other side. The boats were the homes of local people, who live off what they can get from the sea. We waved at them and they waved back – quite a friendly lot.

Our last night in Hanoi, Vietnam

Too soon after, we had docked again, and were returning to Hanoi for the night. The next day, we did a bit more sightseeing in Hanoi, then ended up at one of the local bars for a drink, a bit of people watching, and relaxing. Then at around 6:30 pm, we were picked up and taken to the train station, ready for an overnight train trip south. Next, we visit Da Nang and Hoi An on Vietnam’s eastern coast.

This post is the seventh in a series about our travels through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in South East Asia. The first post was about Bangkok and you can read it here: Bangkok post.