Nanning - Hannoi - Halong Bay
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2004
1
10
88
Trip End
Jan 28, 2005
Hannoi,
Vietnam
Friday, June 4, 2004
We arrive in Nannning at 7am and head straight for the trin station to try and sort out our onward travel to Hannoi. One of Tracey's friends has written down in Cantonese the tickets we would like. Rene hands over the piece of paper and five minutes later we have our tickets. As we have no idea what is written on the tickets or what was said to us we can only hope we end up in Hannoi. We discover the Beijing to Hannoi train leaves Nanning at 21.15 so we ave all day to kill. Mike and anne, a Danish couple we met on the bus are also heading for Hannoi, they bought their train tickets with us and we are in the same hard sleeper comparmtent (we think!). Mike and anne decide to book a room for the day so they can slep and wash. We decide to explore Nanning and leave our rucksacks with Mike and Anne.
We walked for miles and miles
Bike of baskets Hanoi
. The highlights were a food market and a street dentist who looked around 70, whose equipment must have been purchased when he first qualified. He had customers so I was tempted to ask if I could sit in his hair and have Rene take a photo, the thought of him not understanding and strapping me in though made me drift past at a distance.Rene had a kind of vest on due to the heat, this was attracting stares from every male we passed, in fact had she walked topless through Strand Street she wouldn't have been stared at any more. In the end she bought a nylon Tshirt which helped with the staring but not with the heat.
It was a long day waiting for a train. At 3pm there was a downpour. At 9pm we boarded the train with Mike and anne. We still didn't know if this train was going all the way to Hannoi or just to the Chinese / Vietnamese borde. We were asleep in minutes.
At the Chinese border we were woken by the guards, filled out forms, had our passports checked and then the train continued. At the Vietnam border we had to disembark with all our luggage. Everything went smoothly an an hour later we were herded back onto a different train which to our immense relief was headed for Hannoi
Haircut in Hanoi
.Expenses - Chines Yuan 13 / GBP
Train tickets 690, Tshirt 20, Apples and bread 5, drinks 35, water 135.
Day 30 - Sat 29th May. Scorchio 31C
Arrived in Hannoi at 8.15am. We share a taxi with Anne and mike to Hannoi's Old Quarter. This is where all the budget accomodation is based and after checking a couple out, we opt for the Viet Anh Hotel. We have a large double room, with bath, air con, fan, fridge and satellite TV for $11 a ngiht. Breakfast is also thrown in plus 1/2 hour day free internet access.
After a long overdue wash and brush up we head off to explore Hannoi's Old Quarter. It's a maze of fascinating back streets, some open up to larger streets while others narrow down into a warren of smaller alletways. The first thing you are aware of in Hannoi, and you have to be constantly aware of is the traffic. It's absolutely mad. 95% of all traffic in Hannoi are mopeds, scooters ur pushbikes. It's the whacky races and Mad Sunday all rolled into one. The rule is there are no riles.
Hanoi streets
Hannoi has 1.2 million bikes, those that aren't on the narrow roads are parked on the narrow pavements making it impossible to walk on them. Nobody wears helmets. Everybody uses their horn and goes as fast as they possibly can. At junctions and crossroads the traffic from all dirextions just carry on, dodging, swerving, breaking and accelerating to avoid other bikes. To cross the roads the trick is to walk slowly but surely across and the bikes just avoid you. It takes a while to get used to but once you realise you can't actually cross any other way it's fine.
The Old Quarter, with over a thousand years of history, remains one of Vietnams most lively and unusual places. It eveolved alongside the mighty Red River. The area is known for its tunnel or tube houses - so called because their narrow frontages hide very long rooms. They were built to avoid taxes based on their width. By feudal law, houses were also limited to 2 storeys and out of respect for the King could not be taller than the Royal Palace, so there were no real high rise buildings.
The Old Quarter is also known as 36 Pho Puong (36 streets). In the 13th Century, Hannoi's 36 guilds or trades established themselves here with each takng a diferent street
Market scene Hanoi
. Most of the street names start with Hang (merchandise) followed by the name of the product sold in that street. So back then you could have a crossroads where, pickled fish street, stringed instrument street, incense street and coffin street all converged. Today the street names are still the same but may not always correspond to what is sold there.The whole area is bustling, noisy and aromatic. From a culinary wasteland 10 years ago, Hannoi has been transformed into a premier world city for eating and drinking. From street stalls and cheap backpacker joints to exquisite vietnamese restaurants and chic cafes, Hannoi has the full range.
We spend the day walking,watching, perspiring and avoiding. We sit on a bench on the edge of Hoam Kiem lake, whih is in the middle of the Old Quarter, it's sweltering and we're wondering why noone is swimming or paddling. Then the answer to our question, a huge dead rat floats past. Nice.
By 4pm we're back in our room for a beer and a lie down. At 5 the heavens open, the wind is howling and there is thunder and lightening which continues right through the evening. We eventually wander out for food, the rain has stopped but the lightening still lights up the sky
Nan in Hanoi
.Expenses (15,000 dong / US$)
Customs 4,000, taxi 15,000, book 50,000, hat $3, sunglasses 60,000, drinks $2.50, beers 60,000, lunch 201,600.
Day 31 - Sun 30 May. Sunny spells 31C
We've decided to book a tour to Halong Bay for Monday, so we check out a few of the hundreds of tour companies and eventally book with Handspan, who had already been highly recommended on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree website. They run a 3 day tour, the second day is spent sea kayaking.
Once more we wander the streets. It's a labyrinth but the street names are plentiful, so armed with a small map it's easy enough. We stumble across the neogothic St Joseph's cathedral and I get a haircut nearby. A little old man on the pavement with a stool, a mirror and various ancient hair cutting implements. It's cheap and I get what I pay for. Luckily at the end of his cut throat razor was very sharp, unluckly he removed half my sideburns before I realised what he was up to. On completion he's all smiles and I'm all mullett.
Old Quarter French Colonial architecture
By 3pm we've had enough of walking. Rene heads back to the room to read and get the washing up to date whle I decide to hire a bike for an hour or tow. Rene says it's suicide, I'm not sure. We had such a good time cycling ni Beijing and walking creates such a sweaty mess. I'm willing to give it a try. Besdies it's only 10,000 dong a day (40p).
So for 2 hours I was a competitor in the whacky races. I didn't win but I didn't fall off. To have more fun on a sit up and beg bycicle could be virtually impossible.
All aspects of daily life can be viewed while cycling through the back alleys. I also rode through veg markets, fish markets an meat markets. I saw an ld man in silk pyjamas playing cards and men groming their fighting cocks.
I've now got to try and persuade Reneto cycle when we return from Halong Bay on Thursday.
Chilled beer from a pavement vendor costs 10,000 dong (40p) or 1-30,000 n cafes and restaurants. It's law to have an ice cold beer at the end of the day to wash the polltion you've absorbed away
Old Quarter market Hanoi
.We had dinner at a small cafe and early to bed as we have no work in the morning.
Expenses: Haircut $2, Hat 45,000D, Lunch 126,000D, Halong Bay trip $198, Trunks $3, Supermarket 118,700D and dinner (can't remember).
Day 32 - Monday 31st May. Hot and cloudy.
Our minibus leaves the Handspan office at 8.30am. There are 10 people on board plus the driver and our guide Quyet, which is pronounced quit. He's about 22, fresh out of Uni nd very keen. By the time we cross the Red River we have been bombarded by facts, figures and dates about Hanoi and the Long Bien Bridge. He is difficult to follow as his pronunciation isn't the best and he talks fast. He's the Norman Collier of Vietnam Tourism. His prefix to absolutely everything he sais is "scuse me my friend". So apart from his historical monologues it's an uneventful 3.5 hour drive to Halong Bay.
On arrival we board a huge wooden junk which has 8 double ensuite cabins on the lower dck. The middle deck is the dining area and the top deck is full of teak sun loungers
Old Quarter streets, Hanoi
. It's fantastic. All meals are included and cooked on board.Within minutes we're cast off and set sail into the magnificant Halong Bay. With its 3000 plus linestone islands rising from the clearish emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and covering an area of 100 sq km. It's one of the natural marvels of Vietnam and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.
Half an hour after setting sail (diesel engine) our first sumptuous feast was set before us. This set the standard and the pattern for the next 3 days. Great food and incredible scenery. Every couple of hours the boat would drop anchor and everyone would jump or dive in. The main meals were iterspersed with snacks of tea, biscuits and fresh fruit. We dropped anchor for the night in a quiet bay and after dinner sat up on deck with a couple of beers and waited for the stars to appear, but as it was cloudy they didn't.
Expenses: None.
