A Chorus of Humanity in Hanoi and Enchanting Sights in Halong Bay

Neil and I returned to Vietnam, this time to the north, at the beginning of our spring break.  We started in the Old Quarter of Hanoi with a cool drizzle to welcome us.  In February, I found Ho Chi Minh City's dense traffic imposing.  On this trip, Hanoi's Old Quarter was chaotic and beautiful with its narrow streets, absence of usable sidewalks, and lack of a discernible traffic pattern. 

We walked (very alertly, as we would walk for the duration of our visit) from our hotel to Hoan Kiem Lake. 

   

We visited the small Ngoc Son Temple in the middle of the lake, which legend says was the escape route of a giant turtle who stole a magical sword from the emperor. A six foot long turtle was found in the lake, but we only saw one small turtle.  (Neil did his best to climb over the water and search for more).  

 

We wandered through congested streets that felt more like a huge market with motorbikes than a neighborhood (imagine Chatuchak Market filled with scooters)!  Not surprisingly, the shops are organized by the goods they sell with streets dedicated to blacksmith shops (where welding and hammering of molten metals happens on the sidewalk), shoe streets, button streets, and herbal medicine streets.   Additionally, vendors with carts, bikes, and baskets on a yoke had plenty of wares to sell. 

This could be the next big thing in prom fashion

Blacksmith, practicing his craft

Lots of kites!

Dragon delivery!

Roller skating lessons in the park

Old and New, plus a bunch of traffic 

Shopping for flowers, part 1

Shopping for flowers, part 2

Since my legs were weary, we took a cyclo (similar to a rickshaw) back to our hotel. Only later, we learned that cyclos aren't really for getting from point A to point B. Instead you rent them by the hour to sight see; no wonder our bike taxi seemed a little expensive.  

We had a dinner of legitimate fast food at Cha Ca La Vong (Cha Ca is the street and means roasted fish).  We found the right restaurant with good insight from a friend and specific directions from the concierge at our hotel, Hanoi Moment (which I highly recommend). 

The real Cha Ca La Vong!

The reason it was challenging to find is because there are two Cha Ca La Vong restaurants with the same menu directly across from each other on Cha Ca Street.  We found "the real" Cha Ca La Vong by looking for the neon sign and then going to the old looking restaurant across from it.  Apparently this is common practice in Hanoi, so if you visit, be sure you are aware of all if your options. 

We were well briefed for the indifferent service, and I loved the dinner.  Since there is only one dish prepared, there is no menu. Once we sat down, plates, utensils, noodles, hot sauce, and greens were brought to our table. Then a small frying pan on an individual burner with white fish, lots of dill and other greens, and fragrant spices was delivered to our table.  Once we finished our portion of fish and greens with noodles, we received another helping of greens, and then we were finished. All in less than 20 minutes with fewer than 10 words exchanged with the restaurant staff. 

We also visited the Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple that is nearly 1000 years old.  It is a beautiful and popular site made of five courtyards.  When we visited there were nearly 100 students taking graduation photos both in traditional Vietnamese formal wear and later in western cap and gown. It was the location of the first university in the country, and originally the king administered the oral tests for doctoral degrees.  Some of the graduate records are carved on large stone tablets.

List of doctoral degrees

Students gathered for photos 

We then had a delicious snack nearby at KOTO on Van Mieu, a nonprofit that teaches homeless and needy youth hospitality, restaurant, and tourism skills. 

We had excellent dinners at Little Black Duck and Cafe des Arts. We spent our time people-watching, enjoying fantastic baguettes, and marveling at the multitude of ways people defied gravity and physics on their scooters. 

An act of balance!

That looks like half the stock of a nursery!

Two people to a poncho and three to a scooter--no big deal.  Neil and I are waiting for the rainy season to start in Bangkok so we can try out our two person poncho!

Sure, those will fit on the scooter!

 

We left the chaos of Hanoi to cruise past the beautiful cliffs of quiet Halong Bay for three days and two nights.   

We drove past lush green rice fields on our way to the coast.

Neil and I were both impressed that these girls had made a bicycle built for one into a
bicycle built for two with BOTH of them pedaling!

Halong Bay is in the Gulf of Tonkin and has over 3000 islands. 

We had a fantastic time on the Auco One by Bhaya Cruises. And we got in a little practice for our retirement years, as there were 28 passengers in the small cruise boat and only four of us were under the age of 40. 

Notice the room service delivery happening in this photo

On this boat, room service also had an entirely different meaning. 

The boat was well outfitted.  I realized I was not in a regular hotel when our closet contained not just robes and slippers but also life jackets and crocs!  

The day started with a tour of the captain's bridge and engine room and a quick excursion to Hang Sung Sot cave.  The cave was 3 caverns and impressive in size. 

A woman and a young boy visit a small shrine in the cliff face

Looking out from the cave

Then the chef did a delicious fried spring roll demo...maybe the secret to the flaky, crispy exterior is only pressing the rice paper into a wet towel instead of dipping it. 

The next day we woke to foggy waters and watched a brief storm. Then we visited a floating village, Vung Vieng, where the houses are on rafts and are tethered to the cliffs. 

Villagers worked in squid fishing or tourism and parked their boats at their porches

Here a young girl rows her mom and baby brother or sister

Now it's mom's turn to row.  Not surprisingly moms here have learned how to multitask quite well.

We saw mostly women working and children at school. The men in the village sleep during the day and fish for squid at night. The squid are attracted to light, so the fishing boats have many lights. 

We also got to fish for squid on our cruise boat. We were rather unsuccessful until Neil started employing the net directly. At that point the squid expelled their ink (luckily not on us), and we released them back into the bay. 

Then we visited Viet Hai Village and the weather generously cooperated with clearing skies and sunshine. 

Road leading into town

We convinced our tour guide to let us run part of the 5k path to the village.  It was quaint, and yet when I looked up it seemed like I had been dropped in the middle of the set of Jurassic Park.  Luckily we didn't see any velociraptors.

Then we kayaked in the cold water and soaked up the beautiful scene. The water temperature was enough to deter me, but not Neil, from jumping off the third level deck of the boat. 

The views were stunning from start to finish, and I was thrilled to get to see such a beautiful place.