Ha Long is this Car Trip?

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  Hanoi, Vietnam
Friday, November 28, 2008

Wednesday morning did not allow us much of a sleep-in to recover from the previous day's early start as we had a tour pick-up at 8:00am. Before meeting our guide in the hotel foyer on time we had awoken to the nice hotel buffet breakfast. It wasn't anything spectacular but there was a good selection of fruit and it catered for both western and local tastes.

Straight away it was clear that we were the only ones on our tour, benefiting from the exclusive use of our driver and guide. Our early start saved us from the worst of Hanoi's traffic so it didn't take too long to push our way through the streets into more outlying areas and eventually villages. Our guide shared with us a local joke; When going on the roads, Vietnamese need the "3 goods": good brakes, a good horn & good luck. There appears to be a real hierarchy of road users here; trucks can do what they want because they're large and have the loudest horns, buses are also very demanding due to their size

On the Water

. Then cars generally rule over motorbikes and scooters because they go faster before you're left with the push bike, horse and cart and pedestrian at the bottom.

The roughly 70km trip to the town of Ben Duc to the southwest of Hanoi took just under 2 hours due to the traffic and condition of the roads. The trip offered Charles and I a view of the changing local landscapes from the slender buildings of built up areas to villages and fields. I found that villages seemed more enjoyable places to be and were perhaps more affluent than larger locals. The shops had a greater range of stock, there were more trees, less crowded footpaths and some continuity. Many villages focus on certain industries, such as making incense or repairing vehicles. These professions were clear because of the Vietnamese concept of public space. Footpaths and roads are used for the business activities that inevitably can't fit into crowded commercial spaces, as well as for vehicle thoroughfare and parking. Public space can easily be privatised. I also enjoyed the names of businesses in languages other than Vietnamese: "atozmode.com", "Here 4 English" and "Pro I'm a Girl" were my favourites.

Upon arrival at the riverside town of Ben Duc we were offered use of the "happy room" before being able to board a small metal boat for a trip up the Yen Vi river

In the Mountains

. Charles, myself and the guide were rowed by one of the town's women for around an hour to reach the landing near the Chua Hong perfume pagoda precinct. The valley that we were rowed up was surrounded by large limestone karst structures, giving us a preview of what we would later see in Ha Long Bay.

From the river we began our 45 minute ascent through the mountains to the perfume pagoda cave itself. There is a cable car system that has been constructed in recent years to make the pagoda more accessible to the masses but the traditional walk over many steps through the mountains is very scenic and is worthwhile. The strangest thing was how many stalls were set up along the route but how few tourists and pilgrims there were to provide them with custom. Our guide informed us that there is a large Buddhist festival relating to the pagoda early each year and during this time the area is flooded with pilgrims but this was certainly not the case when we visited. Travelling mainly as just our group of 3 was relaxing and allowed us to take our own time, meaning that we arrived at the summit before the scheduled tour time.

At the summit we descended into the cave that houses the perfume pagoda, with our guide informing us of the local legends of the area

Into the Pagoda

. This is a heavily utilised cave and as such, all of the formations within are dead and tarnished from human contact. Nevertheless it was a cool grotto with heaps of statues inside that was nice to make the effort to visit.

The long walk back down the endless stone steps and past the stalls desperate to sell us overpriced goods lay ahead of us so after a quick rest we pressed on in earnest. Just above the river landing lies the main drag of shops and cafes and it's here that we had our lunch. This came in the form of a selection of local foods like spring rolls, cooked greens, fish and stir fry meat, plus some fries (we don't know why). The food was included in the tour but we had to pay for our own drinks which, unsurprisingly, cost much more than normal.

With our stomachs satisfied we had just the main pagoda to visit. This is situated at the end of this main drag and as such is easily accessible. Here we saw the traditional wooden buildings that one associates with Buddhist temples as well as the monks that live here. We ventured between the different buildings as the guide explained who and what we were meant to pray for in each one. A highlight of all Buddhist facilities is the burning vessel where followers burn usually fake versions of real world items so that their relatives may have them in the next life

Bell

.

Having satisfied our inner Buddhists for the day it was back down to the boat where we rejoined our rowing lady for the journey back to Ben Duc. The wind had died down so this trip didn't take quite as long as the outward one had earlier in the day. We arrived back into Ben Duc earlier than the guide has ever managed before, apparently even earlier than when he takes groups on the cable car (although it only runs once enough people have accumulated)!

Traffic on the way back was worse than in the morning as we got stuck in a few seas of motorbikes and scooters carrying anything and everything from chickens to fruit to people and pigs. Back at the hotel we chilled for a bit and I had a go at this blog before we returned to our local eatery for bite of to eat and then called it a day.

After another night on the hotel's hard beds we woke a tad later for our Ha Long Bay tour today. From breakfast we met up with the same tour guide as yesterday for what became another private tour. Unfortunately all of the Ha Long Bay tours require car transportation to Ha Long City where we join the boat for a cruise around the bay. This journey takes 3.5-4 hours and would've been more enjoyable had we taken the train at least to Hai Phong.

Eventually we made it to Ha Long, but not before a stop was made halfway, forcing us to spend 15 minutes at a tourist trap shopping complex selling trashy souvenirs and crafts. We had to wait about 10 minutes for our boat (1 of 600 registered tourist vessels!) to literally push its way through the others and nudge a spot at the flight of stairs that served as the wharf

Dead Monks

. A large group of French tourists disembarked before we could board (yes, the French do appear to visit somewhere outside of France!?!) but we were soon underway on our private voyage. This came as a surprise to us because we had not specifically booked an expensive tour to guarantee us the private use of a corny "traditional Chinese junk" tourist vessel.

The boat cruised along the relatively clean ocean waters to the first main island, housing 2 caves for us to explore. The first was meant to be like the gateway to Heaven but we found it more to be like a discotheque. Coloured lights had been installed all around the 5000m2 cave, which did look cool but gave off an interesting vibe. Due to the lights and high tourist traffic, this cave was also dead. As we walked to the next cave it came as a revelation to our guide that in Australia we have caves, but they are actually underground! Here in Vietnam it seems that all caves are housed in limestone karsts that have been thrust up, requiring visitors to climb up into hills and mountains to visit them. This second cave was more natural and had an interesting history, being used by a Vietnamese general to hide and plot the defeat of the Mongolians in the 13th Century. It also did not have trippy disco lights and despite the tourists it had 2 areas that still appeared to be growing.

Back aboard our private cruiser we were straight away served a seafood lunch. There was a range of dishes from fish to squid, octopus, prawns, cooked greens etc. It was a bit annoying having to concentrate on eating, especially on the midget-sized furniture, when I really wanted to look out the window to appreciate the giant limestone structures that we'd come to visit. By the time we had reached the floating village, nestled between a few larger structures, we had almost finished so we took a break to get some photos before completing the meal

Main Temple

. Because it was low tide during our visit we were able to see caves and undercut areas that are normally below the waterline, showing us more than just the large plant-covered limestone structures. The remainder of the voyage was spent on the upper deck, enjoying the views and feeling belittled by the limestone formations.

After a total of around 4 hours at sea we were deposited back on the mainland, not before being charged a hefty $3AUD for each beer that we had consumed! It was then another long car trip back to Hanoi, arriving after dark at about 7pm. I'd love to spend more time on Ha Long Bay; we'd originally planned an overnight voyage, to spend a few days roaming the area and hopping in a kayak for some up-close, personal exploration. Dinner was a splurge on room service at the hotel with noodles at $3USD a pop before bed.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Looking Downhill	Buddhist Architecture	Pagoda Marvels	Ha Long Port
Initial Cruising	Tourist Boats	Island of Caves	Disco Cave
Ha Long Bay	Cruising	Fighting Cocks	Karst Cruise

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