The road to Hanoi
Trip Start
Oct 24, 2004
1
19
24
Trip End
Ongoing
Hanoi,
Vietnam
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The colourful festival was excellent, with traditional food and song and dance all lit up with hanging lanterns. We catch up with friends Steve and claire from London and hit the town to feast our senses. Our imagination transports us back centuries as we walk the old town. The narrow dim streets are lined with wooden houses from the early 19th centuary and look untouched by years of vietnamese progress.
Working our way up the coast we pass through Hue for a brief rest and to visit the Forbidden Purple City
Halong Bay
. This is a strange place, reserved solely for the personal use of the emperor, the only servants allowed to enter were eunuchs, who would pose no threst to the concubines, strange but true. !Only resting briefly, we hit the historical city of Hanoi and the spectacular World Hertitage site of Halong Bay. I like Hanoi, It is full of culture and elegance, with its lakes, shaded boulevards and charming cafe culture. We are both a bit templed out and we set about enjoying city life and all the delights it has to offer. Hazel, however did make it to see the body of Ho Chi Minh, which she reported as being quite amazing, I slept...
Having organised our overnight boat trip to Halong Bay, we board our 'Junk Boat' and drift off into a world right out of Jurassic Park (see the pics when we load them). With 3000 islands on offer, we cruise a round a selected few of these natural marvels. One of our ship mates is a cool guy from Gourock called Ray. We can't believe we are sitting drinking a few glasses of wine with a guy, who live 3 miles away from our house in Scotland. It is good however, to have a wee chat about oor wee toon doon the clyde.
Unfortunately, we are not in the best season for these breathtaking vistas, but the drizzly weather makes for a scene of mystery and lost worlds
Halong Bay 1
. As the swirling fog surrounds the limestone inlets, Hazy and I board our Kayak and paddle into the deep waters and wind our way through weathered grottoes. As we paddle around in the dark water, it is easy to imagine the legend of the mysterious marine creature known as the 'Tarasque' that is said to live in these waters. With silence in the air, we hear distant voices, the creaking of anchored boats and the call of birds from the limestone islands. I am really not exagerating, With the mist rolling round our Kayaks it like finding a lost world. Even in our cabin at night we heard mysterious noises, but after investigation, it was just a rat, most dissapointing.After our trip its back into Hanoi, to say a few goodbyes to some travelling companions heading heading off on other adventures. For us, next stop Laos, which we have heard so much about and looking foward to with great passion. My wife and I have both loved Vietnam with its great diversity and we will definately return.
Oh yes, the food. Here is the deal ! I will list a few of the delicacies on offer and leave it up to you to guess what we ate? Due to the political correctness that is spreading itself into our everyday lives, i simply don't want any hate mail, lol.
Ok, Here goes - Bat, sea horse, Rabbit, Deer, Shark Fin, snake, and dog, eek...Maybe we didn't eat any of these. ;)-
