January 22, 2017

A much more relaxed day today. We had breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and at 9:00 we were taken back to the harbor to board the boat.

The boat left from the opposite side of Cat Ba Island. We headed out to the Bay again and were directed upstairs to the top deck where we had a cooking class. We made Vietnamese Spring Rolls. They were so easy to make, we can do them at home. We made some for frying and some for eating cold.

All the ingredients were already prepared, for the fried ones we had to mix the ingredients of egg, cooked chicken, carrot, and cooked rice. We then all had a go at rolling the mixture into the rice paper and the Cook fried them for us. I must say they tasted really good.

The cold spring rolls were easy as well, julienned carrot and cucumber, lettuce, rice noodles and then what ever protein you wanted to add – shrimp, sliced pork or sliced chicken.

Thuy made the first one and wanted a volunteer to eat it – Ralf very kindly volunteered me. The spring roll was very good.

Again we all had a go at making them and eating them.

By the time we had finished the cooking class it was lunchtime.

We saw two hawks on the way out.

These little boats ply their wares to the bigger boats in the harbour.  It is hard work for these women who row from boat to boat.

As I said it was a relaxing day we were very shortly back in the harbor at Ha Long and were disembarking and waiting for our return bus to Hanoi. The sun came out and we all sat in the sun relaxing and chatting. The other guests on the cruise were really nice and I think all of us agreed that a small cruise was much better than a large cruise.

One of the things that both Hailey and I commented on was the fact that we didn’t speak any other language fluently. Whereas the rest of the group 4 from Denmark, 2 from Germany, 2 from France, 1 from Portugal and 1 from Slovenia all spoke English very well and possibly another language. I know I felt woefully inadequate but was incredibly pleased when everyone spoke English so that the three English speakers would be included in all the conversations.

Again we had a break at a tourist stop.

On the way back to Hanoi, Ralf and I chatted to Thuy about life in Vietnam. The average wage is about $160.00 per month, they do not pay personal income tax. Only business owners pay taxes. The average apartment in Hanoi to buy is $40,000.00. You don’t have to pay property tax. When we explained to him about property tax after buying a house he thought that was o.k. because it went to maintain infrastructure.

Thuy’s boss was on the bus, Thuy spoke freely about the company and the business. Fantasea Company has hotels in the south, and the north of Vietnam, they own two cruise boats and are planning to expand. The owner went to Russia for five years, on his return in 2006 he was able to start the Company and it grows every year. The bus dropped the owner at his new villa in a gated community just outside of downtown Hanoi. The villa was new and he paid approximately $900,000.00. It looked like a very nice community.

Thuy talked about planning for his future, he is saving to buy a flat in Hanoi and when he retires he will sell it and move back to his village in Central Vietnam and live comfortably. There are no old age pensions in Vietnam unless you work for the government or if your children died in the war. Thuy’s grandmother gets a pension from the government because one of her sons died in the war. He also told us that he has friends who are married and have recently had a baby. They come from the same area he does in Central Vietnam, they work in Hanoi because they can earn more money. Their parents are looking after the baby and they go to see the baby every few months. How sad is that?

We asked about the industry, Thuy told us that there are some big industries in Han Sung Province – Samsung, Canon, making electrical components. The big companies like to hire electrical graduates from Hanoi University and their starting salary is $500.00, three times the national average. Thuy’s brother is at Hanoi University studying electrical engineering and Thuy is going to encourage him to work at Samsung.

He told us that in Hanoi the government was offering $100,000.00 for a plan to reduce congestion in the Old Quarter. Easy – make the Old Quarter a pedestrian zone with electric City buses.

We had to ask if the scooter drivers had to take a drivers license. At 18 they have to take a drivers test it consists of 15 questions and they have to get 13 or more correct. The practical part of the test consists of driving around a figure of eight. The track is about 30 centimetres wide (he didn’t say how long) and they have to stay within the lines otherwise they fail the test. That does explain an awful lot about the scooter/motor bike riders in Hanoi. They can maneuver the scooters very well, but have no clue how to follow the rules of the road like entering a main road, stopping at intersections, stopping at red stop lights!

When we got back to the hotel we had another welcome cup of tea and after being “encouraged” to fill in Trip Advisor about the hotel and the trip we were allowed to go to our room. We have now stayed on every floor and every room with a balcony!

We went out for dinner to Pizza 4Ps – Scott and Sara told us about the place. We blew the budget here – $25.00 for two pizzas and two beers, but it was really good pizza.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the Night Market. We were in the neighbourhood and decided to wander down the street. It was heaving with people. All I could hear in my ear was my friend Celeste telling me “ No stopping in crowded markets, no chasing royals and no camping”. Sorry Celeste.

Tomorrow we will finalize the packing, making sure we are evenly balanced, pick up a sim card for the iPad, go to the bank and check the bikes again.