January 12th 2009
Our final few hours in Vietnam pass uneventfully, the driver is early – again – and apart from an odd wait lasting a few minutes while they “check the room”, I did contemplate putting the safety deposit box in my rucksack but fortunately decided against it or else I would've been rumbled, we cut through the morning rush hour traffic to the airport.
Hanoi International terminal is pretty standard although there seems to be a lot of building work going on in the waiting area which does make it all a bit scruffy. Efficient checkin, back to no queues, and we pass through immigration and security with minimal fuss, really does go to show you not to believe half of what you read on the internet (this blog of course is simply copied from a guidebook), I was expecting some sort of drama at some point passing through these borders but nothing of the sort. Yes, the immigration and security officers are grim faced, but that's pretty standard worldwide and I don't for a minute believe these people are cutting corners anywhere either, details are taken meticulously and security appears to be just as tight.
After some very nice beef and pasta on the plane, oh and another last Vietnamese beer, we touch down at Hong Kong's new (to me) airport 25 minutes early. The airport is vast, quite a shock compared to where we've been travelling previously and the first indication that we're in a totally different kind of crazy – the “temperature control station” which from the front is a group of about 10 completely bored looking girls staring at screens. It's only when you get to the other side and look back that you see they're watching thermal images of everyone walking through – if you've got a fever they'll spot it and you're off to quarantine. I suppose it's sort of reassuring but still crazy.
Queuing for immigration is a bit of a chore, the queues are of US proportions and there are very few staff working the desks, but we're British so queuing is what we do best. When we finally pass through to get our transfer things do start to get a bit weird. Previously all transfers have been by private car so you just get used to it. Here we're going to be on a coach it seems, but only after we've been passed around a bit between staff, told to stand with fellow travellers (we had all been happily sitting) and wait for about 10 minutes like naughty schoolchildren and then walk through the airport for what seems like miles – it's perhaps 150 yards – till we're diverted off to an array of coaches. It's not much different to a package holiday transfer I suppose, just seems a bit odd the way we're being handled.
The transfer itself is only notable in that our first drop off is at Disneyland Hong Kong – which from the car park appears to be almost empty, good time to go I suppose! We continue along what is in effect a bridge that runs for miles all the way from the airport to Kowloon and Sarah gets her first glimpse of Hong Kong itself, it's a bit hazy but still an impressive sight even at distance. I can tell that a number of newer, and even more massive, buildings have been built since I was last here, it's all incredible and you immediately lose all sense of perspective.
Our hotel, The Langham Place, is just incredible from the word go. Kowloon side, which is relatively low rise in comparison to Hong Kong, our hotel is 42 storeys high, has a taller office block right next to it and is simply nowhere near the size of buildings further away. This is the sort of place where blocks of flats – and there are hundreds of them – are getting on for Beetham Tower size. Would be quite easy to write a complete blog entry on this hotel, but suffice to say if I could afford to see out our 180 day visa here while staying here, I don't think we'd be coming home till the summer! The only downer is the lack of free wifi here. Like most western hotels they choose to make you pay which I find somewhat ridiculous when they should be getting themselves a reputation as somewhere that facilitates good business not taxes it. Updates will therefore be very difficult to post.
Having watched our hotel orientation video and come to terms with being able to look out of the window without screaming – we're on the 20th floor – we head out to hit Hong Kong for the first time.
A combination of walking and the MTR (Mass Transit Railway, Hong Kong's underground) we end up at Central to find somewhere to eat. Selecting a place which is basically for locals I begin to have my doubts as we're shown up a narrow staircase into a tiny back room with about 5 tables and a scattering of stools to sit on, but the food is great. It comes in the when it's ready style that is so Asian, this time our soup is the last thing on the table, and that does make you rush a bit to ensure it doesn't all go cold, but that said my braised pork rib in spicy red rice sauce is without doubt the tastiest Chinese main course I've ever eaten.
We then hit a couple of bars in Soho just to finish off the evening. After 1 drink in the first bar the plan is to move on for 1 more. This falls apart however when we take our seats at Bulldogs just as the complete 90 minutes re-run of Manchester United's 3-0 battering of Chelsea comes on the screen. Oh well, fortunately they take credit cards as the booze is very expensive here, and we're back to pints too which my body certainly has forgotten existed.
We do finally get back to the hotel shortly after midnight, shattered, it's been a long but excellent day.
Showing posts with label Hanoi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hanoi. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Monday, 12 January 2009
Day 18 – Ha Long Bay to Hanoi
January 11th 2009
Firstly I'm tapping away at the computer on the open deck of our junk cruising through Ha Long Bay. The sun's out, wind has dropped and the French are incredibly curious as to what I'm up to – it doesn't get much better than this, well other than WiFi of course, but we'll let the Vietnamese off for not providing that out here I suppose.
Breakfast is indeed at 7:30am, simple but fills a hole. It's explained that the reason it's so early today is because our trip also includes lunch, which will be served at 11am – so we need a big enough gap to get hungry again!
On deck and some of the passengers suddenly shoot off on the small boat. We're puzzled but not alone on the boat so wonder what's going on. A bit miffed, Sarah establishes from our guide that they're going off to see something that's not really worth looking at while we cruise to the next stop. Once there they return and we all go off to visit a one entrance in/one exit out lagoon which is also the home to some small monkeys which thankfully we don't get too close to!
On deck again now, just stopped to take my millionth photo of the rocks – you just never know which one will capture it properly – and catch up on some blogging. Going to sit back and relax and enjoy the quietness of the cruising before we head back to Hanoi for our last night in Vietnam.
Following our early lunch we depart the junk almost exactly 24 hours after we got on, there's no doubt another set of overnight trippers waiting to come straight on as all the rooms have been cleaned while we were on deck, keep 'em coming through...
We meet up with our driver and are soon on our way back to Hanoi, the air con has stopped working, but with the windows down it's fortunately not too hot today. Rather than falling straight to sleep, sleep was at a premium last night as the boat was pretty noisy, we're actually quite awake and engage Dwan in some conversation. I establish that some billboards I saw on the way from the airport were indeed for “Vietnam Idol”, of which they've had 3 series so far – this causes great amusement of course and I explain the concept of Strictly Come Dancing, thus preparing him for what is inevitably coming their way. Also I ask the question over western style wedding dresses – as we pass yet more wedding parties going on by the side of the road. He explains that previously the bride would wear a long red dress, which they still do for the engagement ceremony as this is the most important part; red is a lucky colour here. The western style dress is now worn for the wedding party, it's always hired as “you only wear it once so why would you want to buy one?”
As we do start to drop off we stop at another of the roadside disabled worker warehouses. This one seems to specialise more in sculpture but also does the range of silk prints. Is amusing as the chatty sales person disappears swiftly when we explain we already have 2 and won't be buying anymore!
Back at our hotel for the last night in Vietnam, bigger room this time, not sure what we did to deserve that. It looks like there's a connecting door to another room, not unusual in itself except the noise from the street is very loud, it's as if the door is actually to the outside itself, which is a little more strange.
We select a very nice sounding restaurant that both our guidebooks agree on. It's a slight risk as it's in the opposite direction to the city centre, but the writeup is excellent so off we go. Quick look outside the hotel reveals that our door is actually the door to a disused balcony, now filled with an air conditioning unit – so that at least explains that one.
The Seasons of Hanoi restaurant certainly doesn't let us down, is excellent. For want of a better descriptive term, it's “posh”, excellent menu, beautiful décor, and the food of course is absolutely delicious, my sauted chicken with peanuts is to die for. This is a truly fitting way to end our Vietnam culinary experience.
Just time for a last Ha Noi beer in the hotel bar – solely to get rid of some Vietnamese Dong of course – before we settle back into our room to try and catch up on some sleep. The alarm's set for 6:45am again as we've yet another 8am pickup to take us to the airport and... Hong Kong!
Firstly I'm tapping away at the computer on the open deck of our junk cruising through Ha Long Bay. The sun's out, wind has dropped and the French are incredibly curious as to what I'm up to – it doesn't get much better than this, well other than WiFi of course, but we'll let the Vietnamese off for not providing that out here I suppose.
Breakfast is indeed at 7:30am, simple but fills a hole. It's explained that the reason it's so early today is because our trip also includes lunch, which will be served at 11am – so we need a big enough gap to get hungry again!
On deck and some of the passengers suddenly shoot off on the small boat. We're puzzled but not alone on the boat so wonder what's going on. A bit miffed, Sarah establishes from our guide that they're going off to see something that's not really worth looking at while we cruise to the next stop. Once there they return and we all go off to visit a one entrance in/one exit out lagoon which is also the home to some small monkeys which thankfully we don't get too close to!
On deck again now, just stopped to take my millionth photo of the rocks – you just never know which one will capture it properly – and catch up on some blogging. Going to sit back and relax and enjoy the quietness of the cruising before we head back to Hanoi for our last night in Vietnam.
Following our early lunch we depart the junk almost exactly 24 hours after we got on, there's no doubt another set of overnight trippers waiting to come straight on as all the rooms have been cleaned while we were on deck, keep 'em coming through...
We meet up with our driver and are soon on our way back to Hanoi, the air con has stopped working, but with the windows down it's fortunately not too hot today. Rather than falling straight to sleep, sleep was at a premium last night as the boat was pretty noisy, we're actually quite awake and engage Dwan in some conversation. I establish that some billboards I saw on the way from the airport were indeed for “Vietnam Idol”, of which they've had 3 series so far – this causes great amusement of course and I explain the concept of Strictly Come Dancing, thus preparing him for what is inevitably coming their way. Also I ask the question over western style wedding dresses – as we pass yet more wedding parties going on by the side of the road. He explains that previously the bride would wear a long red dress, which they still do for the engagement ceremony as this is the most important part; red is a lucky colour here. The western style dress is now worn for the wedding party, it's always hired as “you only wear it once so why would you want to buy one?”
As we do start to drop off we stop at another of the roadside disabled worker warehouses. This one seems to specialise more in sculpture but also does the range of silk prints. Is amusing as the chatty sales person disappears swiftly when we explain we already have 2 and won't be buying anymore!
Back at our hotel for the last night in Vietnam, bigger room this time, not sure what we did to deserve that. It looks like there's a connecting door to another room, not unusual in itself except the noise from the street is very loud, it's as if the door is actually to the outside itself, which is a little more strange.
We select a very nice sounding restaurant that both our guidebooks agree on. It's a slight risk as it's in the opposite direction to the city centre, but the writeup is excellent so off we go. Quick look outside the hotel reveals that our door is actually the door to a disused balcony, now filled with an air conditioning unit – so that at least explains that one.
The Seasons of Hanoi restaurant certainly doesn't let us down, is excellent. For want of a better descriptive term, it's “posh”, excellent menu, beautiful décor, and the food of course is absolutely delicious, my sauted chicken with peanuts is to die for. This is a truly fitting way to end our Vietnam culinary experience.
Just time for a last Ha Noi beer in the hotel bar – solely to get rid of some Vietnamese Dong of course – before we settle back into our room to try and catch up on some sleep. The alarm's set for 6:45am again as we've yet another 8am pickup to take us to the airport and... Hong Kong!
Day 17 – Hanoi to Ha Long Bay
January 10th 2009
Alarm goes off at 6:45am as today we have an 8am pickup to take us to the legendary natural wonder that is Ha Long Bay, the bay of the descending dragon – well you can't ask for much more than that!
Breakfast and checkout completed we meet our new guide, Dwan, and our driver Comg. A younger crew than our Mekong team and a smaller car, but no lacking in enthusiasm as we make our way through the Hanoi rush hour.
The best news of the day though is the weather which is beautifully sunny. We'd been scared by the English we met in Hoi An who didn't get out to Ha Long Bay due to the poor weather ensuring that the rock formations would be completely hidden by fog, Dwan assures us that sunny in Hanoi means it should be fine in Ha Long Bay.
As is only natural I suppose, the first 30 minutes of the trip (it'll apparently take at least 3 hours to do the 100 miles to Ha Long Bay) is an almost constant barrage from Dwan with facts and questions about our trip so far. He is added to a long list of people on this trip who are incredibly excited that we're from Manchester and even more so that we actually live close to Old Trafford. News of Ronaldo's car crash is quickly relayed to us, although it's more to do with the fact that he had a brand new car the next day than the crash itself which causes a certain amount of disbelief. Dwan, however, has a bit of a fame story of his own being recently the guide for Jeremy Clarkson and family so, suitably impressed with each other we head off along National Route 1, the same road we took out to the Mekong Delta approximately 1,000 miles away. Up here it's much more like a classic dual carriageway, there are no shops alongside the road and hardly any other vehicles at all actually, so the pace is good – a steady 80kph of course.
First stop is ABC, a big warehouse of a building which doubles as a roadside service cafe and purveyor of arts and crafts. If we'd like to buy something that would be fine – thanks Dwan. This time though we take much more of an interest as this is a setup using disabled labour – many of whom are working in the warehouse itself. We're assured of a Manchester United discount from the salesman who is now following us at a discreet distance of about 4 feet all round the displays. The merchandise is excellent and we buy 2 silk embroideries which will be on display soon after we get home – especially as we get this morning's special price which is even less than the Manchester United discount we've already been promised!
Back on the road and after a few snoozes – it's warm in the back of the car, honest – we reach Ha Long 30 minutes ahead of schedule, it's taken us just under 3 hours.
After waiting for some other passengers – yes, we're actually going to have to share the boat, disgraceful – we take a small boat out to our Junk which will be our home for the next 24 hours or so. There's 14 people on this boat in cabins of 2, that doesn't include the crew, who all seem incredibly young, or the gaggle of guides who have accompanied the 6 or so parties who are making up this trip, most are French, just one couple who I think are Dutch. Dwan tells us that after dinner tonight he and the other guides will be taken off the boat to sleep on a different boat nearby. The crew, it turns out, sleep wherever they can put a sleeping bag down for the night.
I'm avoiding shellfish completely at the moment as it was most probably the reason for my illness when we hit Cambodia so despite my love of prawns and crab, it's simply not worth the risk. Fortunately Dwan has phoned this info through to the boat as lunch consists of about 7 very small courses, half of which are prawns or crab! There is certainly some curiosity when I'm brought out different stuff to everyone else, but at least they've catered for me which is great.
We're cruising into Ha Long Bay now which is straight out of the Man With The Golden Gun. There's a slight haze in the distance but that just adds to the mystical quality of the rocky outcrops further in the distance. There's no regularity to the rocks, everywhere you look is different and the outlook is constantly changing as we cruise along slowly and without so much as a ripple to disturb the gentle peace of it all.
Although there's not many people out here – plenty of tourist junks – there are some small communities actually living on the water. Some permanently, some move around. We just can't imagine living this way but Dwan points out that these people made the choice to live like this and, incredibly, believes that any kids they have up to the age of 9 or 10 won't have stepped foot once onto dry land.
After a while we stop and get into the small boat to be taken to shore, this is to visit some caves which have been naturally worn out of the rocks. While nothing like this is standard, for descriptive purposes it's the usual stalagmites, stalactites and weird and wonderful lookalike rock formations which Dwan takes pleasure in pointing out to us, all good stuff.
Back on the boat and we visit another island, this has a look out point at the top which we're told is 450 steps up. The island was allegedly named by Ho Chi Minh himself after the first Russian into space, but unless the Vietnamese know something we don't, or Yuri has had a name change to something close to Tito, then it isn't. We brave the steps in the hope of seeing the sun set over the rocks, it's hard work as the steps are pretty steep but I'm not having it that it's 450, Sarah speculates it's maybe 450 up and down which sounds more plausible.
The view from the top is stunning, on one side the lowering sun reflecting beautifully onto the islands, while on the other looking into the sun itself through the haze, its light shining off the water, is breathtaking. I ramp up the shutter speed and take some photos which I hope will capture it all. Unfortunately we can't wait for the sun to actually set, while it's going down rapidly, the rest of our party who came up the steps are long gone and we worry about holding everyone up. The sun does eventually set as we head back to the junk, it's beautiful but hasn't turned the sky completely orange so I don't feel we missed out by coming down too soon.
When the sun does go down it get much colder and we spend some time on deck before heading into our cabin for some reading ahead of dinner.
Dinner is 9 courses – all tiny – with more prawns and crab, but the chef's got me sorted out with alternatives so all is well.
We've moored for the night in a sheltered natural harbour so when we head back onto deck after dinner it's all incredibly still and with no wind has gone warm enough to sit out for a while. The moon is full and incredibly bright which provides us with a clear view of the imposing rocks around us. I'm just a little disappointed (never satisfied I know) that with a clear sky and no man made light pollution we're denied a good view of the stars by the sheer brightness of the moon.
Back inside and after enjoying some wine while playing the extended holiday game, further details on request, we retire to our cabin. Breakfast is at 7:30am tomorrow and while I'm enjoying making the most of the day, it would be nice to get a decent night's sleep soon!
Alarm goes off at 6:45am as today we have an 8am pickup to take us to the legendary natural wonder that is Ha Long Bay, the bay of the descending dragon – well you can't ask for much more than that!
Breakfast and checkout completed we meet our new guide, Dwan, and our driver Comg. A younger crew than our Mekong team and a smaller car, but no lacking in enthusiasm as we make our way through the Hanoi rush hour.
The best news of the day though is the weather which is beautifully sunny. We'd been scared by the English we met in Hoi An who didn't get out to Ha Long Bay due to the poor weather ensuring that the rock formations would be completely hidden by fog, Dwan assures us that sunny in Hanoi means it should be fine in Ha Long Bay.
As is only natural I suppose, the first 30 minutes of the trip (it'll apparently take at least 3 hours to do the 100 miles to Ha Long Bay) is an almost constant barrage from Dwan with facts and questions about our trip so far. He is added to a long list of people on this trip who are incredibly excited that we're from Manchester and even more so that we actually live close to Old Trafford. News of Ronaldo's car crash is quickly relayed to us, although it's more to do with the fact that he had a brand new car the next day than the crash itself which causes a certain amount of disbelief. Dwan, however, has a bit of a fame story of his own being recently the guide for Jeremy Clarkson and family so, suitably impressed with each other we head off along National Route 1, the same road we took out to the Mekong Delta approximately 1,000 miles away. Up here it's much more like a classic dual carriageway, there are no shops alongside the road and hardly any other vehicles at all actually, so the pace is good – a steady 80kph of course.
First stop is ABC, a big warehouse of a building which doubles as a roadside service cafe and purveyor of arts and crafts. If we'd like to buy something that would be fine – thanks Dwan. This time though we take much more of an interest as this is a setup using disabled labour – many of whom are working in the warehouse itself. We're assured of a Manchester United discount from the salesman who is now following us at a discreet distance of about 4 feet all round the displays. The merchandise is excellent and we buy 2 silk embroideries which will be on display soon after we get home – especially as we get this morning's special price which is even less than the Manchester United discount we've already been promised!
Back on the road and after a few snoozes – it's warm in the back of the car, honest – we reach Ha Long 30 minutes ahead of schedule, it's taken us just under 3 hours.
After waiting for some other passengers – yes, we're actually going to have to share the boat, disgraceful – we take a small boat out to our Junk which will be our home for the next 24 hours or so. There's 14 people on this boat in cabins of 2, that doesn't include the crew, who all seem incredibly young, or the gaggle of guides who have accompanied the 6 or so parties who are making up this trip, most are French, just one couple who I think are Dutch. Dwan tells us that after dinner tonight he and the other guides will be taken off the boat to sleep on a different boat nearby. The crew, it turns out, sleep wherever they can put a sleeping bag down for the night.
I'm avoiding shellfish completely at the moment as it was most probably the reason for my illness when we hit Cambodia so despite my love of prawns and crab, it's simply not worth the risk. Fortunately Dwan has phoned this info through to the boat as lunch consists of about 7 very small courses, half of which are prawns or crab! There is certainly some curiosity when I'm brought out different stuff to everyone else, but at least they've catered for me which is great.
We're cruising into Ha Long Bay now which is straight out of the Man With The Golden Gun. There's a slight haze in the distance but that just adds to the mystical quality of the rocky outcrops further in the distance. There's no regularity to the rocks, everywhere you look is different and the outlook is constantly changing as we cruise along slowly and without so much as a ripple to disturb the gentle peace of it all.
Although there's not many people out here – plenty of tourist junks – there are some small communities actually living on the water. Some permanently, some move around. We just can't imagine living this way but Dwan points out that these people made the choice to live like this and, incredibly, believes that any kids they have up to the age of 9 or 10 won't have stepped foot once onto dry land.
After a while we stop and get into the small boat to be taken to shore, this is to visit some caves which have been naturally worn out of the rocks. While nothing like this is standard, for descriptive purposes it's the usual stalagmites, stalactites and weird and wonderful lookalike rock formations which Dwan takes pleasure in pointing out to us, all good stuff.
Back on the boat and we visit another island, this has a look out point at the top which we're told is 450 steps up. The island was allegedly named by Ho Chi Minh himself after the first Russian into space, but unless the Vietnamese know something we don't, or Yuri has had a name change to something close to Tito, then it isn't. We brave the steps in the hope of seeing the sun set over the rocks, it's hard work as the steps are pretty steep but I'm not having it that it's 450, Sarah speculates it's maybe 450 up and down which sounds more plausible.
The view from the top is stunning, on one side the lowering sun reflecting beautifully onto the islands, while on the other looking into the sun itself through the haze, its light shining off the water, is breathtaking. I ramp up the shutter speed and take some photos which I hope will capture it all. Unfortunately we can't wait for the sun to actually set, while it's going down rapidly, the rest of our party who came up the steps are long gone and we worry about holding everyone up. The sun does eventually set as we head back to the junk, it's beautiful but hasn't turned the sky completely orange so I don't feel we missed out by coming down too soon.
When the sun does go down it get much colder and we spend some time on deck before heading into our cabin for some reading ahead of dinner.
Dinner is 9 courses – all tiny – with more prawns and crab, but the chef's got me sorted out with alternatives so all is well.
We've moored for the night in a sheltered natural harbour so when we head back onto deck after dinner it's all incredibly still and with no wind has gone warm enough to sit out for a while. The moon is full and incredibly bright which provides us with a clear view of the imposing rocks around us. I'm just a little disappointed (never satisfied I know) that with a clear sky and no man made light pollution we're denied a good view of the stars by the sheer brightness of the moon.
Back inside and after enjoying some wine while playing the extended holiday game, further details on request, we retire to our cabin. Breakfast is at 7:30am tomorrow and while I'm enjoying making the most of the day, it would be nice to get a decent night's sleep soon!
Friday, 9 January 2009
Day 16 – Hanoi
January 9th 2009
Breakfast at this hotel is all over by 9am, ouch, so there's no lie in this morning – not that there'd be much chance for that as we're positioned on the 1st floor overlooking a reasonably major junction, and of course there's no such thing as double glazing round here...
Surprisingly fresh this morning, well not me, I stuck to bottles of beer, but Sarah's black russians don't seem to have had any adverse effects either.
We did have a bit of a disaster last night which I omitted from my blog. While withdrawing a million dong (sounds impressive, it's about 40 quid) from a cash machine, the majority of which are in small cubicles that you have a door to, bit like a phone box, I got distracted looking at the map with Sarah and because I didn't retrieve my card it swallowed it. While I was furious with myself straightaway this sort of thing must happen all the time as Citibank, who's machine it was, had a full set of instructions up for how to reclaim your card. As I lost it on a Thursday night though I had to retrieve it Friday or that would've been it, closed over the weekend and our pickup on Monday is before the bank opens. So, after breakfast I call the bank and speak to a lady who tells me I can pick up my card at 5pm, phew, but that the bank closes at 4pm. What? “The bank closes at 4pm, come round at 5pm and bang on the door.” Oh, that's alright then.
We set off for today's sightseeing hopeful that the system will work.
Heading in the opposite direction to yesterday, towards Ho Tay, the West Lake, we are relieved to encounter fully functioning pavements, and so as not to go on about it, this is the same for the rest of the day.
Although the guidebooks don't mention much about it, it seems we're really close to a full on military base, right in the heart of the city – well I suppose they've repelled enough attacks to be better safe than sorry. We pay a pound each to go to the top of the old North Gate as our guidebook does promise views of the military grounds. Unfortunately it's not £2 well spent as you can't see anything, but there's a pretty temple up there so not all is lost.
Carrying on around the outside of the base we start to see the real Communist magnificence in terms of monuments, parade grounds etc. Given that Vietnam is a long way behind the old Soviet Union and China in the Communist hierarchy it does make you wonder at what Moscow and Beijing must be like, because the area around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is very impressive. Ho Chi Minh's in there apparently, although it's shut today. Top tip, don't visit Hanoi's government run buildings on a Friday, they're all closed! He didn't want to be in there apparently, his wish was to be cremated, but in a Lenin style he lies permanently in state here – well apart from the 3 months he spends in Moscow each year for routine maintenance. Yes, horrific, I know.
We then encounter the first real restrictions we've had in Vietnam, which I was reminded before we came here was a Communist country but apart from the odd old fashioned propaganda poster you'd never know. Once we leave the main parade square all the truly magnificent buildings – the Presidential palace, the Russian Embassy, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex – are all covered in “no cameras” signs, with uniformed security hovering in wait should you whip the camera out of its case.
Carrying on our way we get to the lake which is much bigger than the one in the centre of Hanoi. Wouldn't exactly call it picturesque but it would be nice to have such an expanse of water close by back home. As we sit to rest and look at the maps we attract plenty of attention from women selling fruit, which when we finally get the message across that we don't want to buy the next step is to ask us to take a photo of them, no, ok well take a photo of us wearing their old fashioned carrying mechanism – looks like a big set of old fashioned scales they carry over their shoulders, should know what it's called but then again, perhaps not. Either way we're not interested but it's a while before they go. Is strange because we haven't had any of this before, perhaps times are harder in Hanoi than the rest of Vietnam.
More wandering, through the botanical gardens, where we either see 2 weddings or 2 wedding fashion shoots, can't be sure as it's just bride and groom and photographers. A bit of a loop around the back of the Ho Chi Minh museum, closed of course, and we get to the Temple of Literature, a temple dedicated to Confucius which was also the site of the country's first University. Much of it has been rebuilt recently, modern but still in the old style, and it's another welcome respite from the traffic outside.
Lunch is a sandwich in the Smile Cafe, which I wouldn't normally mention but by total accident the Smile Cafe is one of a chain of educational eateries where disadvantaged kids are given training in the catering industry. We've read about the other outlets in one of the guidebooks, they do good work and we certainly feel good about eating there.
On to Lenin Park to see the statue of.... Lenin. Flag Tower, Military Museum (closed) and the rather disappointing Ambassador's Pagoda which wasn't the easiest thing to find and didn't live up to Sarah's “it'd better be worth it” when we got there.
Now I'm pretty certain we finally got scammed today, as my mother in law predicted we would at some point. At this stage of our walk we're stopped for the 3rd time today by a “student” - always a girl, and always with an equally young lad on a motorbike waiting to whisk them away. The first time was not far out of our hotel this morning at which point we were scammed or, with about a 1% probability, did something worthy. Obviously we're armed with experience for the 2nd and 3rd time this happens and after we scam some directions out of them, as of course part of their scam is their willingness to be helpful, we hit them with the “you're collecting for the Red Cross are you? Well we paid this morning” line and they go off on their way. It's well thought through though. Lots of credentials and a book that you're invited to write your name, country, and donation. Ever the cynic, and skinflint, I see what the others have donated and put in less, about £2, so not the end of the world. Some have donated a lot more though, £20 and above, must be laughing all the way to the bank these kids.
We get to the Citibank about 3:50pm, not being convinced about this coming back after the closing time (see cynic reference above), but are told “obviously” to come back at 5pm. OK, see you in 66 minutes time I suppose.
Time to kill, we hit a small shopping mall which is crammed with Western brands, it's just like walking into a 4 storey mini Arndale centre, Ronaldo's up there in the Nike Store, it's all very reassuring. Have the strongest decaf latte ever and after browsing some of the stores we head back the bank which is, as promised, closed – and shuttered. My faith in the system is certainly tested as we're about 5 minutes early so just have to stand and wait. Magically at 5pm on the dot the shutters come up and we're buzzed in, quick flash of the passport and my lovely cash card is back in my possession, as memorable moments go, not one I thought I'd be having but the relief is massive. Celebrate with a bit of haggling at the market and withdrawing another cool million.
The evening's setting in now and roads around the market are very busy but we find a parallel route to our inward journey of yesterday where at least most of the pavements are passable. Back to the hotel for a rest and packing, we're off on our Ha Long Bay excursion tomorrow – 8am pickup - before finding something to eat.
Decide to stick with the hotel fayre as after all the walking we've done today we're both really tired. So it's a quick bite then back to the room for more reading and the choccy bar we sneaked in a purchase of this afternoon :-)
Breakfast at this hotel is all over by 9am, ouch, so there's no lie in this morning – not that there'd be much chance for that as we're positioned on the 1st floor overlooking a reasonably major junction, and of course there's no such thing as double glazing round here...
Surprisingly fresh this morning, well not me, I stuck to bottles of beer, but Sarah's black russians don't seem to have had any adverse effects either.
We did have a bit of a disaster last night which I omitted from my blog. While withdrawing a million dong (sounds impressive, it's about 40 quid) from a cash machine, the majority of which are in small cubicles that you have a door to, bit like a phone box, I got distracted looking at the map with Sarah and because I didn't retrieve my card it swallowed it. While I was furious with myself straightaway this sort of thing must happen all the time as Citibank, who's machine it was, had a full set of instructions up for how to reclaim your card. As I lost it on a Thursday night though I had to retrieve it Friday or that would've been it, closed over the weekend and our pickup on Monday is before the bank opens. So, after breakfast I call the bank and speak to a lady who tells me I can pick up my card at 5pm, phew, but that the bank closes at 4pm. What? “The bank closes at 4pm, come round at 5pm and bang on the door.” Oh, that's alright then.
We set off for today's sightseeing hopeful that the system will work.
Heading in the opposite direction to yesterday, towards Ho Tay, the West Lake, we are relieved to encounter fully functioning pavements, and so as not to go on about it, this is the same for the rest of the day.
Although the guidebooks don't mention much about it, it seems we're really close to a full on military base, right in the heart of the city – well I suppose they've repelled enough attacks to be better safe than sorry. We pay a pound each to go to the top of the old North Gate as our guidebook does promise views of the military grounds. Unfortunately it's not £2 well spent as you can't see anything, but there's a pretty temple up there so not all is lost.
Carrying on around the outside of the base we start to see the real Communist magnificence in terms of monuments, parade grounds etc. Given that Vietnam is a long way behind the old Soviet Union and China in the Communist hierarchy it does make you wonder at what Moscow and Beijing must be like, because the area around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is very impressive. Ho Chi Minh's in there apparently, although it's shut today. Top tip, don't visit Hanoi's government run buildings on a Friday, they're all closed! He didn't want to be in there apparently, his wish was to be cremated, but in a Lenin style he lies permanently in state here – well apart from the 3 months he spends in Moscow each year for routine maintenance. Yes, horrific, I know.
We then encounter the first real restrictions we've had in Vietnam, which I was reminded before we came here was a Communist country but apart from the odd old fashioned propaganda poster you'd never know. Once we leave the main parade square all the truly magnificent buildings – the Presidential palace, the Russian Embassy, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex – are all covered in “no cameras” signs, with uniformed security hovering in wait should you whip the camera out of its case.
Carrying on our way we get to the lake which is much bigger than the one in the centre of Hanoi. Wouldn't exactly call it picturesque but it would be nice to have such an expanse of water close by back home. As we sit to rest and look at the maps we attract plenty of attention from women selling fruit, which when we finally get the message across that we don't want to buy the next step is to ask us to take a photo of them, no, ok well take a photo of us wearing their old fashioned carrying mechanism – looks like a big set of old fashioned scales they carry over their shoulders, should know what it's called but then again, perhaps not. Either way we're not interested but it's a while before they go. Is strange because we haven't had any of this before, perhaps times are harder in Hanoi than the rest of Vietnam.
More wandering, through the botanical gardens, where we either see 2 weddings or 2 wedding fashion shoots, can't be sure as it's just bride and groom and photographers. A bit of a loop around the back of the Ho Chi Minh museum, closed of course, and we get to the Temple of Literature, a temple dedicated to Confucius which was also the site of the country's first University. Much of it has been rebuilt recently, modern but still in the old style, and it's another welcome respite from the traffic outside.
Lunch is a sandwich in the Smile Cafe, which I wouldn't normally mention but by total accident the Smile Cafe is one of a chain of educational eateries where disadvantaged kids are given training in the catering industry. We've read about the other outlets in one of the guidebooks, they do good work and we certainly feel good about eating there.
On to Lenin Park to see the statue of.... Lenin. Flag Tower, Military Museum (closed) and the rather disappointing Ambassador's Pagoda which wasn't the easiest thing to find and didn't live up to Sarah's “it'd better be worth it” when we got there.
Now I'm pretty certain we finally got scammed today, as my mother in law predicted we would at some point. At this stage of our walk we're stopped for the 3rd time today by a “student” - always a girl, and always with an equally young lad on a motorbike waiting to whisk them away. The first time was not far out of our hotel this morning at which point we were scammed or, with about a 1% probability, did something worthy. Obviously we're armed with experience for the 2nd and 3rd time this happens and after we scam some directions out of them, as of course part of their scam is their willingness to be helpful, we hit them with the “you're collecting for the Red Cross are you? Well we paid this morning” line and they go off on their way. It's well thought through though. Lots of credentials and a book that you're invited to write your name, country, and donation. Ever the cynic, and skinflint, I see what the others have donated and put in less, about £2, so not the end of the world. Some have donated a lot more though, £20 and above, must be laughing all the way to the bank these kids.
We get to the Citibank about 3:50pm, not being convinced about this coming back after the closing time (see cynic reference above), but are told “obviously” to come back at 5pm. OK, see you in 66 minutes time I suppose.
Time to kill, we hit a small shopping mall which is crammed with Western brands, it's just like walking into a 4 storey mini Arndale centre, Ronaldo's up there in the Nike Store, it's all very reassuring. Have the strongest decaf latte ever and after browsing some of the stores we head back the bank which is, as promised, closed – and shuttered. My faith in the system is certainly tested as we're about 5 minutes early so just have to stand and wait. Magically at 5pm on the dot the shutters come up and we're buzzed in, quick flash of the passport and my lovely cash card is back in my possession, as memorable moments go, not one I thought I'd be having but the relief is massive. Celebrate with a bit of haggling at the market and withdrawing another cool million.
The evening's setting in now and roads around the market are very busy but we find a parallel route to our inward journey of yesterday where at least most of the pavements are passable. Back to the hotel for a rest and packing, we're off on our Ha Long Bay excursion tomorrow – 8am pickup - before finding something to eat.
Decide to stick with the hotel fayre as after all the walking we've done today we're both really tired. So it's a quick bite then back to the room for more reading and the choccy bar we sneaked in a purchase of this afternoon :-)
Day 15 – Hoi An to Hanoi
January 8th 2009
Technically Hoi An to Ha Noi of course, but that's going to be a pain to remember so will carry on with Hanoi!
Pleasant start to the day in Hoi An, up before the alarm for a change and get in a nice early breakfast giving us plenty of time to prepare for our pickup.
We go and say goodbye to the sea, although realising that we'll see the same sea in both Ha Long Bay and Hong Kong does make it slightly less sentimental!
We have a whole minibus to ourselves on the way back to Da Nang and I have to retract something said a couple of days ago. Having been driven to the centre of town for each airport we've landed at – because that's obviously where we've been staying – in going from Da Nang to Hoi An we've simply skirted round the periphery of Vietnam's 3rd largest city and I don't know whether it was just the weather or the angle with which we left but on the way back in with clearer skies we can see in the distance a whole bunch of what look like tall office blocks congregated in what must be a fairly substantial city centre. Looks like there's a lot going on here afterall, although they'll need to upgrade the airport if they're going to get serious traffic through, it's tiny...
Out flight is on time and, apart from some hassle over the weight of Sarah's carry on bag from an overzealous official, passes without incident.
Stepping off the plane it is, no other way to describe it, cold. I've been hearing all about the deep freeze that's going on back home so 15 degrees must sound like a heatwave, but not when you've come from 32 degrees with a brief stop off at 25 degrees it doesn't! It's going to be coats on and long sleeves for the duration of the holiday I think, the locals are wrapped up as if it's 20 below, all a bit of a shock to the system.
Hanoi is back to Vietnamese crazy, our driver is waiting for us but there's quite a scrum for stopping space so it's a while before he can go and pickup the car to collect us. Not mentioned the drivers much, basically because they've all just gone about their business in a very professional manner on roads which would terrify most people, not the speeds but the lack of rules and volume of motorbikes cutting in everywhere. This guy however is a bit different. Extremely pleasant and helpful with the bags, then we get in his car and as Sarah refers to it, it's the party bus. Techno music pumping out of the speakers – with some pretty choice lyrics in there at times - and then from the moment we set off to reaching the hotel, a journey of about 40 minutes, our driver is either has his phone glued to his ear deep in conversation or is looking at his phone – as opposed to the road. Nothing hairy actually happens, but we do seem to be using all of the 2 lanes rather than just the 1, oh well, we arrive in 1 piece and he gets the lowest tip possible.
Our hotel again is fine, a business hotel really. Location not quite as great as in HCMC and it takes quite a while to find ourselves on the map.
We decide to hit the streets straightaway as we're not actually in Hanoi for that long. The walk into the more central area – like most cities there isn't an actual central point – isn't far but takes quite a while as we have to walk the whole way along the road with motorbikes whistling past our ears, it's not the most pleasant stroll ever. The roads are incredibly narrow here compared to HCMC, so the pavements are given over exclusively to market stalls and parking of motorbikes, of which there are thousands, so the humble pedestrian has no choice but to run the gauntlet on the road itself.
Reaching Ho Hoan Kiem, a lake in the centre of Hanoi, is a relief as there's a chance to put a little distance between us and the traffic. We head into a sidestreet to a small bar for a drink and to collect our thoughts. We head back to the lake for a restaurant overlooking the water, and as it's getting dark – very rapidly this close to the equator – this becomes a very pleasant spot with the lights coming on all around. More Vietnamese food, including the Hanoi speciality Ca Cha – a bit like Thai fishcakes – and I have a pork dish which has caramel in the description but isn't at all sweet and is delicious, and we're ready to hit the town.
Our guidebook has a good range of bars to frequent and we're able to plot a decent looking route back to the hotel that'll take in a few of them. Keeping warm is a bit of a challenge in the first few bars which are open to the street, Sarah tackles this admirably by moving on to black russians! Quite a few places appear to have changed names since the book was written and while we visit “Mao's Red Lounge” - formerly Bar Labyrinth – we give “Bar Loo” a miss, not just for its toilet reference but the volume of the music pumping out when the doors open.
On the way back to the hotel we pass by the market which is only just closing up – is apparently open from 6am to 10pm! As my map reading skills seem to have passed the test, we get back to the hotel in time for a nightcap before calling it a night.
Technically Hoi An to Ha Noi of course, but that's going to be a pain to remember so will carry on with Hanoi!
Pleasant start to the day in Hoi An, up before the alarm for a change and get in a nice early breakfast giving us plenty of time to prepare for our pickup.
We go and say goodbye to the sea, although realising that we'll see the same sea in both Ha Long Bay and Hong Kong does make it slightly less sentimental!
We have a whole minibus to ourselves on the way back to Da Nang and I have to retract something said a couple of days ago. Having been driven to the centre of town for each airport we've landed at – because that's obviously where we've been staying – in going from Da Nang to Hoi An we've simply skirted round the periphery of Vietnam's 3rd largest city and I don't know whether it was just the weather or the angle with which we left but on the way back in with clearer skies we can see in the distance a whole bunch of what look like tall office blocks congregated in what must be a fairly substantial city centre. Looks like there's a lot going on here afterall, although they'll need to upgrade the airport if they're going to get serious traffic through, it's tiny...
Out flight is on time and, apart from some hassle over the weight of Sarah's carry on bag from an overzealous official, passes without incident.
Stepping off the plane it is, no other way to describe it, cold. I've been hearing all about the deep freeze that's going on back home so 15 degrees must sound like a heatwave, but not when you've come from 32 degrees with a brief stop off at 25 degrees it doesn't! It's going to be coats on and long sleeves for the duration of the holiday I think, the locals are wrapped up as if it's 20 below, all a bit of a shock to the system.
Hanoi is back to Vietnamese crazy, our driver is waiting for us but there's quite a scrum for stopping space so it's a while before he can go and pickup the car to collect us. Not mentioned the drivers much, basically because they've all just gone about their business in a very professional manner on roads which would terrify most people, not the speeds but the lack of rules and volume of motorbikes cutting in everywhere. This guy however is a bit different. Extremely pleasant and helpful with the bags, then we get in his car and as Sarah refers to it, it's the party bus. Techno music pumping out of the speakers – with some pretty choice lyrics in there at times - and then from the moment we set off to reaching the hotel, a journey of about 40 minutes, our driver is either has his phone glued to his ear deep in conversation or is looking at his phone – as opposed to the road. Nothing hairy actually happens, but we do seem to be using all of the 2 lanes rather than just the 1, oh well, we arrive in 1 piece and he gets the lowest tip possible.
Our hotel again is fine, a business hotel really. Location not quite as great as in HCMC and it takes quite a while to find ourselves on the map.
We decide to hit the streets straightaway as we're not actually in Hanoi for that long. The walk into the more central area – like most cities there isn't an actual central point – isn't far but takes quite a while as we have to walk the whole way along the road with motorbikes whistling past our ears, it's not the most pleasant stroll ever. The roads are incredibly narrow here compared to HCMC, so the pavements are given over exclusively to market stalls and parking of motorbikes, of which there are thousands, so the humble pedestrian has no choice but to run the gauntlet on the road itself.
Reaching Ho Hoan Kiem, a lake in the centre of Hanoi, is a relief as there's a chance to put a little distance between us and the traffic. We head into a sidestreet to a small bar for a drink and to collect our thoughts. We head back to the lake for a restaurant overlooking the water, and as it's getting dark – very rapidly this close to the equator – this becomes a very pleasant spot with the lights coming on all around. More Vietnamese food, including the Hanoi speciality Ca Cha – a bit like Thai fishcakes – and I have a pork dish which has caramel in the description but isn't at all sweet and is delicious, and we're ready to hit the town.
Our guidebook has a good range of bars to frequent and we're able to plot a decent looking route back to the hotel that'll take in a few of them. Keeping warm is a bit of a challenge in the first few bars which are open to the street, Sarah tackles this admirably by moving on to black russians! Quite a few places appear to have changed names since the book was written and while we visit “Mao's Red Lounge” - formerly Bar Labyrinth – we give “Bar Loo” a miss, not just for its toilet reference but the volume of the music pumping out when the doors open.
On the way back to the hotel we pass by the market which is only just closing up – is apparently open from 6am to 10pm! As my map reading skills seem to have passed the test, we get back to the hotel in time for a nightcap before calling it a night.
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