January 20, 2017

Ralf was awake way too early this morning. He was showered by 5:55 a.m. We had to get up early today as we were being picked up at the hotel between 7:45 – 8:30 for the boat cruise. Breakfast is served at 7:00 we were waiting around at 6:45. We figured we would have an early breakfast and be ready to go at 7:45. The bus came at 8:20 and then had several more pick-ups around Hanoi.

The bus trip took 3.5 hours with a 30 minute stop at a tourist stop – a place to buy stone carvings, silk pictures, clothes and snacks. They had one area where disabled people were working on the tapestries, they did some lovely work.

It was quite an interesting drive to Ha Long Bay I was looking for guest houses Nha Nghi or hotels to give me an indication of how easy it is going to be to find accommodation as we head south. Almost every town had at least one guest house, most had a couple. However, I think we will be eating a lot of Pho as we head south, that appeared to be the main staple in most eating establishments.

We arrived at Ha Long Bay at about 1:00. We had to take tenders out to our boat and I thought this is when the bags go in the water. Fortunately they didn’t and we were on the cruise boat and heading out into the bay by 1:30p.m.

We were given our room keys and were told to tell Thuy (our tour guide) if there were any problems with the room. We have a lovely cabin.

It is very difficult to try and describe Ha Long Bay. I have created a gallery at the end of this section.

Ha Long Bay covers an area of 43,400 ha and includes over 1600 islands and islets, most of which are un-inhabitated, the area is a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Halong Bay was the result of a magnificent ancient marine limestone accumulation, which reached above 1,000 meters 340-240 million years ago, and the Karst erosion period of more than 20 million years.

Ha Long Bay is visited by thousands of visitors each year approximately 1,200 per day utilizing 500 tour boats. Some of the boats are just day trips and others stay overnight in the bays. It can get very crowded in the bays at peak periods. Most of the boats are made of wood and are a fire hazard. The government has decided that in five years all of the boats have to be replaced and made of steel, they also want some of the tour companies to merge. I am guessing bigger boats with more people on them. Our boat only has thirteen people on it and it is very nice.

We were given a welcome drink of some mystery drink that tasted a little like Fanta. Then lunch was served, we sat with a couple from Toulouse, France and a young lady from Scotland. Lunch was quite nice and I was very impressed when Thuy asked if anyone had any food allergies.

Thuy informed us that there would be two activities in the afternoon. I thought we were going to be playing charades or some strange Vietnamese games. No the activities were a trip to Surprise Cave and kayaking.

The Surprise Cave was named by the French archaeologists in 1903 and it is a very surprising cave.

As we climbed up to the entrance of the cave we took photos over Ha Long Bay and then we entered the cave system.

It consists of three caves each larger than the next one. When I think of caves I tend to think of dank, wet, bat invested holes. These caves were huge, they are 30 meters high and cover 10,000 m2, located 25 metres above sea level. Thuy showed us different rock formations that may look like something if you used your imagination.

Surprise Cave was designated as one of new Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Millions of years ago the sea water was much higher than it is today and the caves were formed as the sea reduced. You could see on the roof of the caves the smooth rocks caused by the wave action.

Stalagmites and Stalagtites in this cave system are formed over millennial at a rate of 3mm per ten years.

It was really interesting and well worth the climb up to the caves and back down again.

We cruised away from Surprise Cave and moored in a small bay where we were taken to the kayaks.

There was a cave opening that we could kayak through which opened on to Lake Hang Luon. It was lovely and so peaceful after the noise of Hanoi.

We saw two monkeys, we got quite close to one of them.Dinner was served at 6:45 a good meal again.

We chatted with the French couple and Hailey the Scottish lass again.

Then we had an early night as it was really cold outside and there was a lot of cloud cover so we couldn’t star gaze.

Gallery of Photos of Ha Long Bay

(You can click on any of the Thumbnails to see a bigger picture)

No wi-fi on the boat, I will post tomorrow.

January 19, 2016

After pancakes for breakfast we headed back out to the noise and chaos that is Hanoi. We had a lot to cross off the “must-see” list today and we were going to be doing a fair amount of walking. I wished I had bought my Garmin Vivofit today so that I could see how many kilometres we walked, but I really didn’t need to have it with me.

As we left our hotel, we saw two familiar bikes outside a hostel around the corner from us. Could it possibly be that we are in Hanoi at the same time as Scott and Sara and we found them in a population of over 10,000,00 people. We went into the hostel and asked at reception if Scott and Sara were staying there, I was just about to leave a message for them when they come around the corner from their breakfast room.

We met Scott and Sara on the Grand Adventure Part One on the ferry going over to Ireland in June 2014. They have been cycling across Europe and Asia since then, with a one year stop in China (teaching English) to replenish the funds.

Big hugs all around and a quick catch up of their trip and our trip and we arranged to meet for a beer later tonight. They have had an amazing journey if you are interested on how some people are crazy enough to cycle around the world you can check them out at www.longrodehome.com

We carried on with our walking tour of Hanoi. We headed out towards Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. The traffic was chaotic and noisy and the pollution was particularly bad today, with the low cloud cover the smog just hung in the air.

Today we came across a few religious sites, Buddhist temples, Catholic churches, Confucsious and of course Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum!

St. Joseph Cathedral, built in 1886, we were not allowed inside which was a shame as you could see that there was some nice stained glass windows. You could only enter during Sunday mass and we will be on our mini cruise to Ha long Bay and Cat Ba Island.

We visited Ly Quoc Su Pagoda, which had a large bronze statue of Confuscious. It was recently restored in 1954 after it was destroyed during the French colonial time.

Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum is a huge building holding his embalmed remains. Although he reportedly wanted a simple cremation his body is kept in a glass sarcophagus in this huge building.

The gardens in this area are lovely, but unfortunately we were not allowed into this area.

Adjacent to the Mausoleum is the One Pillar Pagoda. The One Pillar Pagoda was originally built by the Emperor Ly Thai Tong who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the annals, the heirless emperor dreamed that he met Quan The Am Bo Tat, the Goddess of Mercy, who handed him a male child. Ly Thai Tong then married a young peasant girl and had a son and heir by her. As a way of expressing his gratitude for this event, he constructed a pagoda here in 1049.

I didn’t go into the Pagoda as I was wearing a skirt that showed my knees. I asked a guide if I would be allowed in as there was a sign that said no shorts. He indicated that I could, but it would be better if my legs were covered. Out of respect I let Ralf go in on his own.

We walked past the Museum of Literature and were thinking of going in to explore the grounds, but I was getting really hungry.

We found a nice little café for lunch and had a nice omelet baguette. Then continued on to find Hoa Lo Prison nicknamed the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ by US Pows.

At one point during the tour I thought we were in the wrong place as the prison mostly depicts the stories of the Vietnamese peoples struggles against the French. There was even a guillotine on display!

There were only two rooms dedicated to the American POWs and they were looked after very well !! The site is considerably smaller than it was during the 1940s to 1970s. Opposite the Maison Central they have built a large office and shopping complex called the Hanoi Towers.

That was the end of the walking tour of Hanoi, we were going to head down to Trang Street and have some ice-cream, but I was getting very tired and I thought it was closer to 5:00 than it was. I suggested we head back to the hotel and get ready to meet Scott and Sara. When we got back to the hotel, it was only 3:30. Ralf headed back out to walk around the lake again to take the pictures that he lost yesterday. I wrote the blog and relaxed after doing a little bit of washing.

The Lake we walked around yesterday is called Hoan Kiem Lake. Legend claims in the mid-15th century Heaven sent Emperor Ly Thai To a magical sword, which he used to drive the Chinese from Vietnam. After the war a giant golden turtle grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of this lake to restore the sword to its divine owners, inspiring the name Ho Hoan Kiem (Lake of the Restored Sword). I am not sure there is anything living in this lake, the water is a strange murky green colour.

The bridge connects to Ngoc Son Temple, meaning \’Temple of the Jade Mountain\’, Hanoi\’s most visited temple sits on a small island in the northern part of Hoan Kiem Lake. We didn’t go into the temple yesterday but walked across the bridge. The temple is dedicated to General Tran Hung Dao (who defeated the Mongols in the 13th century), La To (patron saint of physicians) and the scholar Van Xuong

We met up with Scott and Sara and their traveling companion, Nick who also cycled from England and worked for a year in China. Another cyclist joined us (Josh) who recently arrived in Vietnam, he is going to be working a year as an English teacher and then will continue cycling.

We will try and get together again before we leave Hanoi.  Sara, Scott and Nick were cycling to their couchsurfing host tonight, he was home after 8:00 p.m. So after a great chat they headed out.

January 18, 2016

To avoid jetlag, it is always best to adjust your time to local time as soon as possible. If it is day-time when you arrive, try and stay awake until it is time to go to bed. If it is night-time go to sleep. We definitely went to sleep when we settled into our room at 1:30 a.m.

Breakfast is served between 7:00 and 9:30 a.m. and I thought we would sleep later and miss breakfast. We were awoken by the cacophony of Hanoi traffic at 8.00 a.m. Scooters and cars all hitting their horns, either to tell other users that they are there or a toot to get out of my way.

I was awake at 8:00 a.m. and thought I might be able to get back to sleep, but that wasn’t going to happen. We showered and went downstairs for breakfast which was very nice. A wide variety available of crepes, eggs-any way you like from fried to omeletes, fruit, and of course Pho –which is the traditional Vietnamese noodle soup.

After breakfast, I updated and posted the blog while Ralf put my bike together. He put his bike together later in the day.

At 12:30 we left to investigate the Old Quarter and take our lives into our hands with the traffic. The theory is you step out in traffic and keep walking. Praying to the saint of scooter riders may help. Surprisingly this suicidal technique works. You wait for a lull in the traffic and head across the road, you don’t hesitate, you just keep walking and like Moses parting the Red Sea the traffic goes around you, tooting their horns for good measure. Even at cross walks with lights for pedestrians, no one takes notice and will not stop for pedestrians. You cannot wait for a scooter or vehicle to allow you to go across, we would still be standing on the first street crossing.

We had a nice walk around the lake. Near the tourist office there were a few display boards showing what they want to do to improve this area. Just like a Community Improvement Plan in Ontario.

They are planting flowers ready for the Lunar New Year. I saw the strangest flower bed, Poinsettias and Geraniums in the same bed! A Christmas plant and a summer plant in the same bed.

Ralf and I took a lot of photos, unfortunately Ralf is still getting used to the iPad and when he wanted to delete a couple of the photos he actually deleted all of the photos on his card. He was really annoyed.

A strange thing happened to me as we walked around. I was looking at the flower beds and this young girl came up to me. I thought she wanted to take a photo of the flowers but she indicated that she wanted a photo of me. She put her arm around my waist, smiled at me and then pointed to her boyfriend who took a photo. No idea why!

For lunch we had baguettes, with meat and vegetables and a beer each for the grand price of $5.25 CAD.

We arrived back at the hotel about 4:00 p.m. and Ralf tried to get the air conditioning to work. It wouldn’t work. He went down to reception. The staff at the hotel are young Vietnamese and are very keen to help. First one guy comes up to our room, presses all the buttons on the remote “No its not working” then another guy comes up to our room, presses all the buttons on the remote “ No its not working” by the time it was all done and dusted five different guys had comet to the room to try the remote. One guy did bring a ladder and opened up the face of it, closed it all back up. We were moved to another room, which is very nice.

Tonight we went to the restaurant down the street for Pho, the staff here recommend it as the best place to eat Pho in the neighbourhood. Pho is a traditional Vietnamese meal, it starts with a tasty broth, add a good helping of rice noodles, beef and vegetables. We thought it was going to be a fancy restaurant, but it was a small hole in the wall place that was packed with Vietnamese and a few tourists. There were little kiddie seats on the side walk and inside were about four tables that sat about six people and one long communal table in the middle that would seat about 20.

Ralf ordered the Pho while I found us a seat and we ate with chopsticks and a spoon. It was very tasty and filling. Dinner cost a grand total of $5.80, we had two beers at the little place across the street for $2.32.

January 17, 2016

We were up before sunrise today, this is the first time I have seen 5:00 a.m. in a very long time. The flight was due to leave at 11:30, which means check-in at 8:30, leave Barrie at 7:00 a.m. However, with the bikes to check-in and possibly bad weather or traffic delays I had booked the taxi/limo for 6:00.

The taxi driver called to say he was going to be 10 minutes late, I knew I had planned properly. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on which way you look at it, there were no traffic delays and the limo had a 407 transponder which means he was able to miss the 400/401 interchange which is usually the cause for traffic delays.

We were at the airport at 7:30! The bikes were checked in and we were on our way through security by 8:00, a little too early. The check-in assistant appeared to be reading all of the policies for shipping bikes, then informed me that we would have to pay $50.00 for each bike. I could have told her that.

The plane needed de-icing which was really neat to watch.

As we were heading down the runway after de-icing, the captain announced that we were just waiting for the runway to be checked as the plane in front of us may have hit some birds. I really did not want to hear that, as we had just watched the movie “Sully” – the pilot who landed the plane on the Hudson River – because of bird strikes!! As mentioned before I hate flying and I must admit I was scared as we trundled down the runway, I figured this was going to be the end of us. I hung onto Ralf’s arm and watched the wing until we were safely in the sky.

The flight was good although very long – 13.5 hours. The food was not too bad, but we didn’t get wine with the meal. They scooted past us and didn’t offer us anything to drink.   I wanted Ralf to chase the woman down to bring me my wine, but he wouldn’t. Apparently they had to restock and came around again after we had eaten. Give me wine and no-one gets hurt.

I watched three movies (Bridgett Jones Baby – good, Jungle Book – excellent and Secret Life of Pets – should have slept instead of watching that one). I attempted to sleep, but was unsuccessful. Ralf also had a movie fest (Jack Reacher – along the lines of Jason Bourne, Jungle Book – excellent animation, Florence Foster Jenkins – fast forwarded through the singing and Tooth Fairy – silly, fun not Julie Andrews best movie).

When we arrived in Incheon Airport we quickly and efficiently headed to get our boarding pass and then had a 3 hour lay over in a huge airport. As we were heading up to get our boarding passes there was some very soothing music being played. The airport has two areas of “cultural interest” music is played and displays of artwork and silk.

The instrument was played by pushing down on the strings and crossing a \”violin\” bow across the strings at the same time.  The lady was singing, but I think she got a bit ahead of the musician as she kept watching him all the time.

We saw this procession as we were heading towards our gate. Apparently, it was a funeral procession.  I am not sure in hindsight we should have taken photos, but other people were doing it as well.

We did not have any Korean Won and cannot spend any money, but Ralf went window shopping as we will be leaving through this airport in April.

The flight from Korea was delayed and we arrived in Hanoi about 30 minutes late. The bikes were already waiting for us after we had cleared passport control, but then we had to wait another half an hour for the other two bags to arrive.

We chatted to an American who is staying in Vietnam for a year teaching English.

When we exited Customs we spotted our taxi driver, who was horrified to see our two bike boxes. He chatted excitedly to another taxi driver and then took us outside. He frantically got on the phone to Hanoi Brothers to tell them about the bike boxes. I had of course informed them every time I emailed them that there would be bicycles. The poor fella who came to pick us up only had a regular car. After much phone calling and using google translate (on his phone not the iPad) he told us that they were arranging for one of the big airport taxi vans to pick us up.

About half an hour later, he shows up we loaded the bikes and bags and headed to the Hanoi Brothers Inn.

“Gary” registered us, gave us a cup of tea, a map of Hanoi and told us the best places to see while we are here.  All we really wanted to do was go to bed, but he had his routine to go through and we sat patiently listening.

Exhausted we went to our room at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday January 18, 2017!  I quickly prepared for bed and was asleep in about 2 seconds.

Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of Toronto, total travel time from door to door was 30 hours.