Day 25 Halong Bay and Hanoi, Vietnam

Day 25 – Hers

We awoke to the gentle swaying of the boat at its mooring  in beautiful Halong Bay and went up on deck up to watch the changing colours of the sea and islands as the sun burned off the early morning haze.  Our fellow passengers joined us at around 7:30 for breakfast in the main cabin at 8:00.  There was a little consternation amongst a few of our fellow passengers that the ensuite facilities were wet rooms and the showers sprayed everything.  We had got used to this idea in China – I just use one of the towels to dry a path to the basin and toilet and don’t worry about it too much.

It was about an hour’s sail back to the harbour after breakfast.  We sat on deck, reading, chatting and watching the local fisherman at work – mostly from small sampans – but also one large trawler – until we were asked by Vinh to go into the cabin ‘for security’ as we docked.

The 3 ½ hour bus ride back to Hanoi was broken by a stop at a craft shop and restaurant.  It was too early for lunch so I decided to try a local ice cream.  The flavour on the tub said ‘green rice flake and milk’ – I can’t really describe its flavour – the ‘flakes’ were some kind of nut and the green swirls didn’t  taste like rice – but I’m not sure what they did taste like. It was delicious, though – I may seek it out again.

Entering into Hanoi city, we passed the 7 km long mosaic, created for the 1000^th anniversary of the city.  It was beautiful – different sections done differently, perhaps by different community groups (I must ask Vinh.) in different styles and designs – some telling stories.  We spent the afternoon wandering around parts of the city we had missed on the first day – dodging the inevitable motorbikes -  and trying out some of the street food: the ‘famous’ Hanoi baguettes, spicy spring rolls, savoury pastries filled with meat and sweet ‘doughnuts’ filled with custard or pineapple.  We saw several couples having their wedding photos taken by the lake and the red bridge to the island temple.  We bought drinks from a street cafe and then waited for the rest of our group outside the Water Puppet Theatre for the early evening show.

The water puppets are peculiarly Vietnamese.  They originated in the rice paddies – and, apparently, there are still only three places in the world to see them – all in Vietnam.  To traditional music, the puppets (which are complicated marionettes with their strings attached to poles under water) dance, splash and act out stories of the traditions of the Vietnamese people.  It was a delightful way to spend an evening.  I actually think it would be a very popular children’s entertainment in the UK. – I think Rob is going to try to interest one of his arty friends in organising it.....

We returned to the hotel day room, showered and readied ourselves  for the night train south to Hue.  Vinh had prepared us for something quite horrendous (and having been on a night train in Egypt, I understood the description) but , in fact, we had 1^st class berths – only four to a compartment, air conditioned, with lockable doors, individual reading lamps and clean, sit down toilets with separate washing facilities – plus boiling water on tap as in China.  It was luxurious even compared to the Chinese trains never mind those in Egypt.....