Undoubtedly we were sad to leave Dubai after such an amazing week with Eileen and Fadi, but here was where the real adventure began. We arrived in Hanoi, which is North Vietnam. We spent a good half hour in the airport trying to figure out how much money we should withdraw. The exchange rates were crazy. 1,000,000 dong is £30, so withdrawing millions of dong seemed a little scary, but we got there in the end. We got the bus from the airport into Hanoi, costing us around £3 for the both of us. We were told to get off and were literally dumped somewhere in Hanoi, with no Wi-Fi to find our hotel. A few cross words were exchanged between myself and Kyle, we eventually gave up and got a taxi to our hotel. We survived our first argument without physically killing each other. Although, we both were nearly run over several times by mopeds – there are no rules (supposedly) on the roads so crossing the road is a free for all. We found the best option to be just closing your eyes and hoping for the best. According to official statistics, there are around 4million mopeds driving the streets of Hanoi. Both of us were completely shattered, running on around 3 hours sleep so decided it would be good to get a few hours kip before heading into Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The night market in Hanoi was an experience. The smell of meat engaged with your nostrils, fake North Face clothing hung above your head and 4ft old ladies wearing Vietnamese hats sell deliciously cut fruit.
Kyle having a go at selling the juicy fruit (which he payed for fortune for)
Our second day in the city was spent exploring the tourist locations. We rose early and walked to Ho Chi Minhs moseulum. To our disappointment we arrived and were turned away as Kyle was wearing shorts. Rookie error on our behalf. The Hoan Kiem lake which centred the old quarter was a beautiful sanctuary in the busy city. Hanoi Prison – a sombre experience that opened our eyes to the devastation of captured war prisoners. A first insight of the war here in Vietnam. For a small entrance fee, around £1, we were able to visit the cells where prisoners were held and read of the history. We were able to enjoy a local beer sitting on a rooftop bar, overlooking the train tracks of Hanoi, which runs through the city twice a day.
Halong Bay
Early on whilst booking our world travels, Halong Bay was something we had looked into. It looked breathtakingly beautiful and seamed a bit of paradise so close to the hustle and bussle of the city. We decided to do an overnight cruise. We were picked up from the centre of Hanoi, which we nearly missed due to us not being able to find the pick up point. It was a close one! The bus journey to Halong Bay was around 4 hours. As you got closer and closer to Halong Bay the moped traffic and busy city became more and more silenced. (Which we were pretty pleased about) We were taken to our cabin on the boat and set sail to Halong Bay. Our day started with a visit to Surpirse Cave, the largest and most beautiful cave in Halong Bay. We then finished our evening with a visit to a small island. We were the only people on the island. Around 15 other people joined us on the cruise. The views of Halong were beautiful, with each limestone rock towering above the waters that left your imagination creating different shapes and creatures within the rocks. Our evening was spent on board, docked in the middle of nowhere in Halong Bay, surrounded by hundreds of other boats drinking the local Halong Bay beer and chatting with new friends we had made.
Our morning started super early with a visit to a pearl oyster farm, where thousands of oysters are collected every day. Included in our trip was the chance to kayak around Halong Bay. We spent 40 minutes kayaking (and not falling in) the beautiful limestone rocks and disappearing into small caves. To my surprise, the waters in Halong Bay were very dirty and polluted with plastic. It really took away from the pure beauty of the place.
We felt we had seen most things in Hanoi and wanted to start heading south. We met some lovely travellers on the cruise to Halong Bay who helped with deciding our next move. If we are completely honest, Hanoi was not the place we expected it to be. Although we found the city to be very interesting and full of character and delicious food, the stench of urine and gone off chicken haunted us a bit more than we would have liked.
That same evening we boarded the overnight train from Hanoi to Hué. The cabins were small in size but had just the right amount of space. We were joined by a lovely young Canadian couple. We both slept pretty well for the 14 hour journey which cost us around £40. Arriving in Hué we were disappointed to be greeted with torrential rain- neither of us with rain coats and a hotel 20 minute walk from the railway station. After short taxi journey we arrived at our Hostel which was extremely helpful with recommendations for us. Our first priority was to get a rain coat, as the rain was so bad! As much as we tried to not let it dampen (pardon the pun) our mood, it was hard to really enjoy the true beauty of the Imperial City, a walled enclosure within the citadel of the city. Drenched and freezing cold we returned to our hostel to try warm up and dry our clothes. Pretty much impossible when all your warm clothes were either dirty or wet. Since buying the coats its been 30degreed and now they are just taking up valuable room in our bags!
We spent the evening trying local foods , which neither of us could stomach and ended up getting a burger and chips. It was much needed ! As the weather was so bad, the option of mop-peding to our next destination was off the cards so we headed, the next morning, to the railway station for the 3 hour journey to Da Nang and then onto Hoi An. A local man at the station got chatting to us and recommended some great places for us to visit. I can only describe the train journey to be like something from a movie. We were travelling along the Hoi Van Pass. Famously driven by the Top Gear crew. Soon after leaving Hué, the warmth of the sunshine hit my fingers as I write this post, the waterfalls disappear under the tracks below us and the coastal path to our left reminds me a little of the beauty of Swansea Bay. Lush! Arriving in Hoi An while the sun was setting instantly crowned the beauty of Hoi An. Walking down to the river, you are slowly introduced to the influence of the Chinese and the Japanese, from the colourful lanterns ,the architecture and the food. The city was lit with lanterns while people from everywhere gather and mingle along the river. Finally we had some lovely weather and Kyle finally had the chance to drive a moped. We rented it for the day for around £3 and decided to drive the 50km to the My Son Sanctuary. We stopped for breakfast on the way at a local Vietnam breakfast place and eat Banh Mi – an egg baguette. The Temples were mostly ruins but you could still appreciate the amazing craft and beauty of the stone used to create the temples.
Our afternoon was spent at the beach, only a 5 minute drive from the city. I really feel at home when I’m at the beach, it was lush. Sitting at a beach bar drinking the local beer. This is what it was all about! By chance we had kept bumping into the people we had met during Halong Bay and spent the evening with them celebrating a birthday. The booze is ridiculously cheap, around 40p for a pint, so you can imagine what kind of night we had. Hoi An is famous for it’s foot massage, so I obviously had to give one a go. Having your toes clicked by a random Vietnamese man – was an experience to say the least! Hoi An is beautiful, and our favourite place so far. You must visit this stunning city!
Travelling The Distance 