Category: Must see Vietnam

Must see Vietnam covers my visits to Hanoi, Bai Tu Long, Hoi An, My Son and Lao Cham…for now.

The below links are some of my blog entries covering the locations I visited in, I hope to add to the list of Must See Vietnam in the future. This aims to show the highlights of each place I visit in order to inspire people to visit and save them time in researching a place before they do.

In addition to Must See Vietnam, if you are planning a trip, whether a short visit or an extended stay take a look at my Gear page. As my travels progress I will be updating, changing and adding to it too. I’ve bought, researched and tested lots of products throughout the years so I hope this helps others in saving them time and money.

Here’s to happy travelling in Vietnam or where ever you decide to go!

Here’s a link to my first post on Vietnam, I’d add links to the rest of the list below as I post them:

Hanoi

Here is a link to my Travel Gear

Lao Cham Island, off the beaten track island

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The visit to Lao Cham island became a bit of a last-minute arrangement, not a regrettable one. We road down the 8.3km to the small Cua Dai Quay/Pier two days prior, we had read that the ferry leaves early in the morning to the island, if you missed it you could easily hire a boat at any time for a small price. We got to Cua Dai Quay/Pier late morning, not for the lack of trying we couldn’t find or convince any private boats to take us – the language barrier didn’t’ help either considering we must have been there for near two hours. After some wondering around we stumbled upon the lighthouse keeper; a young man in his late 20’s I’d say. He welcomed us into the lighthouse and in quite good English explained how and when we should be there in order to catch the ferry – getting a private boat seemed not to be an option.

Lao Cham is not as frequented by tourists compared to other islands such as those in Ha Long Bay, it has only been open to tourists in the past few years. Prior to that it was only open to locals as the whole island was controlled by the military and island residence. The ferry is primarily used by the locals who work on the mainland, most tourists go for a day trip, including diving tours, with everyone returning to the mainland at 14:30/15:30. Meaning, that by 15:30 the beaches are void of people and you feel like you’re on a deserted island. The few tourists that remain are scattered across the island, by few, I mean when we were there we saw a total of 10 other tourists later that evening.

Two methods to get to Lao Cham:

The public taxi (apparently best to avoid; it takes everything from people, chickens, goats etc.), it leaves Hoi An (centre of Hoi An Ancient Town) from Nguyen Hoang street at 7am, first stop is Cua Dai Pier/Quay (about 8km from An Bang Beach) where it leaves at about 8am arriving at Lao Cham’s main harbour/pier Bai Lang at about 10:30. It returns back to the mainland between 11:00 – 12:00
Speedboat from Cua Dai Pier/Quay leaves at around 8:00 and takes 30 minutes to arrive at Lao Cham’s main harbour/pier Bai Lang. Leaves to return to the mainland at around 8:30

Tourism has yet to really hit Lao Cham, here many of the residence have been on the island for generations. The population spiked during the Vietnam war from people avoiding the war and those who tried to get away from conscription, even so the population today is only around 3000. There are no ATMs on Lao Cham, nowhere takes card payments, no public transport and even the mobile/cell phone signal is sketchy at best.

Cham Islands

Consisting of 8 islands of which Lao Cham (Lao meaning pearl) is the largest and only permanently inhabited island, the islands cover an area of 15 square kilometres – the area in part of a world biosphere reserve recognised by UNESC0. Because of the rich sea life, including coral around the islands it is becoming a destination for divers, along with small scale farming swallow nests are harvested from the island and it a large source of revenue for the islands; a Chinese delicacy that they pay a premium for.

Bai Chong Beach getting busy – Lao Cham

Lao Cham

So, we arrived on the island nice and early with the decision to leave the main harbour/pier and find a quiet beach, the first beach was just a short walk away. We walked as we couldn’t find any scooters to rent which was odd because everywhere else in Vietnam it’s very easy to do so. Our best efforts were unsuccessful in finding scooters, the next option was a scooter-taxi, but the locals seemed to want to charge quite a lot, so hence we walked and thought we’d find alternative transport when we headed to our next beach. Only later in the day, much later as in that evening, we found out that foreigners can’t rent (easily) scooters on the island. We met a couple from Switzerland whose homestay let them use theirs with the proviso were told that if they got stopped by the police they would confiscate them. The island is small, remote and being a Western tourist, you stick out like a sore thumb so there is no way to blend in as a local! It’s not like other islands I’ve been too, there weren’t even any taxi’s, come to think of it I can’t even recall seeing any cars!

Bai Chong Beach, the “busy” beach and the restaurant in the distance – Lao Cham

Oh well, we relaxed for a while on the first beach, the water was a tad on the chilly side and the coral had been dead for a long time, such a shame! A few hours had passed so we decided to move on…this became easier said than done. As I have alluded to we had not yet found out about the challenges of transport on the island, I mean surely a taxi would pass us by….! We walked for a few kilometres in the baking sun passing many stunning empty beaches, yes, we passed them all. I’m beginning to sound like a stuck record, Lao Cham has only been open to foreign tourists for a few years, most beaches can’t even be accessed from the road. The brush was so thick with the distance from the road ranging from 50-100m, even if we had machetes we still couldn’t have reached the beaches. Most beaches are reaches by boat, we didn’t have one 😊! We passed a couple from France who were also having the same problem as us.

A hill or two and a few kilometres (bit of an exaggeration, it was bloody hot!) later we found an access point to one of the beaches, Bai Chong beach. One of the more, if not most commercial beach on the island, only because it has a restaurant and it is used as the lunch spot for divers and day trips. Just so that I don’t set the wrong impression, commercial is a relative term; at its busiest there were about 40 people on the beach and the restaurant closes as 15:00.

The busy part of Bai Chong Beach – Lao Cham

Our naivety or ignorance about the how remote the island is meant we were blissfully unaware of some of the challenges we would face later in the day, so for the rest of the afternoon we relaxed on the beach and swam in the sea. Like the beach from earlier in the day, the coral had long been dead, we pretty much had the beach and sea to ourselves, well we shared it with a few others. Like clockwork, between 14:30-15:00 it’s like the island is being evacuated, the restaurant closed, the divers and day trips leave. A silence falls upon the beach and you do feel like you might be on a deserted island, this is why we came here.

Now, I won’t bore you will all the detail, the mobile/cellphone signal was terrible making finding accommodation a lethargic and frustrating exercise. Once the accommodation was sorted we needed to get there, this is when the reality of just how “different” things ran on Lao Cham (I mean that in the best of ways). I have mentioned the phone signal was bad (😊), luckily after a lot of frustration and an hour or two of messaging through Booking.com our homestay arranged (through interesting but welcomed broken English) for two scooters to pick us up.

Bai Huong

Lao Cham has two towns, the first is Bai Lang harbour/pier the other is Bai Huong, another harbour/pier which is mainly used by the locals. Bai Lang is like a metropolis compared to Bai Huong; as a Westerner you stuck out in Bai Lang, here in Bai Huong you are the tourist attraction.

Bai Huong town heading to the beach – Lao Cham

Walking through the town of Bai Huong chatting to the locals

We arrived at our homestay in Bai Huong, Island Smiles Homestay to some confusion as the owner (more about he later) thought Julie, Mila and I were a family so thought we would be sharing a bed – a quick fix and we had our own beds. On a separate note Julie and I had just become very good friends, nothing more. Back to the owner, Mama Kim, speaks a lot less English and I do Vietnamese, her motherly approach to all visitors makes here a wonderfully fantastic host. The correspondence (in broken English) when arranging the scooter-taxi’s was done by her granddaughter who we briefly met when we arrived, communication from there onward was a mixture of laughs, hand gestures and facial expressions all with a smile.

Another friendly local at Bai Huong town – Lao Cham

Bai Huong town is still a fishing village. Some traditional bamboo and newer versions of the round boats – Lao Cham

There isn’t much to do in Bai Huong, then again that’s not why people go there. It’s quiet, even with the town right there you cannot escape the feeling of being in a different time far from familiarity. The day had been a bit of a hack but that was ok, we were in no rush to get anywhere or do anything. The rest of what was left of the afternoon we spent walking around the town, pier, beach and swimming. Right next to the beach is Tinh Xa Ngoc Huong, now I’m going to say it’s a temple and I’m confident in that statement – having done some research some places say it’s a monastery, but I think they are confusing it with other temple and monastery on the island; the more well-known one called Tinh xa Ngoc Truyen (the Than Yen Sao shrine which was built in the mid-19^th century is there too). There is also pagoda called Chua Hai Tang which was built in the mid-18^th century, we didn’t get to see either unfortunately. Right on the beach too is a concrete pillbox/bunker/battery, I tried doing some research about when it was built but can’t find anything concrete, no pun intended! I guess it may be from the Vietnam War or even prior during the French occupation but that’s just me taking a guess.

Tinh Xa Ngoc Huong on Bai Huong beach – Lao Cham

Concrete battery on the beach of Bai Huong – Lao Cham

Another Lao Cham/Bai Huong lesson we learnt late was that homestay hosts also cook dinner for their guest, as we didn’t know we told Mama Kim we didn’t need to cook for us; thinking back on it now I thought see seemed a little perplexed when we told her….ah! We were going to have dinner at a restaurant by the beach, only to find out that there aren’t any restaurants open at night. There are apparently two restaurants by the beach, the only two restaurants (the town is small you could walk around the circumference in 20 minutes) but they close very early, just after sundown. The only other shop that was open was a tiny general store with a few crisps and chocolates, that also closed just after sundown.

One of the beaches at Bai Huong town – Lao Cham

Bai Huong pier – Lao Cham

Bai Huong town – Lao Cham

Luckily, we bumped into the Swiss couple who were with a Vietnamese lady (also visiting the island) staying at the same homestay. She spoke to their host who didn’t hesitate to bring out three more chairs (pushing her family aside), went back into the kitchen and started cooking for us. We apologise for the inconvenience, but the lady was having none of it, we were here guests now which is not far off from being family, the food was aplenty! Of course we had to pay, the price was insignificant both in cost (maybe £5 in total for the three of us) and just to merely say thank you. The evening ended with us relaxing on the porch at our homestay, with Mama Kim falling asleep on the couch. We were a little perturbed by the number of large rats we saw running in street, it was still a nice evening though.

Invited to dinner at a homestay in Bai Huong

Bai Huong town centre at night – Lao Cham

Next morning we had to leave Bai Huong early, we arrange with our scooter-taxi the previous day to collect us in the morning. Mama Kim must have been awake early as she was already busy in the kitchen before 7:00, she made me a cup of coffee with chocolate in it, apparently common for the island don’t ask me why. Mama Kim had asked us if we wanted breakfast, it was early, we didn’t have much time so we declined. True to form and fashion by the time we were ready to leave at 7:30 Mama Kim had made us a little something to take with us and made a little special meal especially for Mila. She gave us all a big hug goodbye, the kind of meaningful hug you would give to your close family who you were not going to see for a long time.

Bai Huong pier – Lao Cham

Bai Huong town – Lao Cham

The boat ride back took longer than the day before because of the heavy fog, that didn’t deter the driver to go any slower. We were speeding along when suddenly the fog cleared with a beach no more than 60m in front of us! The driver reduced his speed at an instant simultaneously jolting the boat to the left, we were luck! From there on we cruised at a glacial pace till we arrived back at the mainland, safe and sound.

Bai Huong beach – Lao Cham

Sunset on Bai Huong pier – Lao Cham

I was flying out later that afternoon to Kuala Lumpur; from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), from there to Bangkok for one night leaving the following morning to Kuala Lumpur – I’ll cover that interesting trip in my next blog. It was time to leave Julie and Mila, I was very lucky to meet and spend time with them, I cannot lie I was sad to leave them and a little choked. Vietnam was not what I expected, it was a fantastic 15 days filled with history, culture, relaxation, sun, sea, natural wonders, friendly people and so much more. It’s a country bringing its history, culture, political inclination, fundamental ethos, strong willed people and drive to improve themselves into the 21^st century, I just hope they do not become Western (whatever that means). I truly believe that Vietnam has something to offer to everyone no matter what you want from your travel destination. My only regret about Vietnam was me underestimating it before I went, had I known then what I know now, I would have spent at least another 2 weeks there. To put it into perspective in my two weeks I didn’t get time to go North of Hanoi and only made it halfway down the country, so much more to see and experience.

My Son, serene Vietnamese Hindu temples

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About 40km inland from An Bang are the ruins of My Son, once the spiritual capitol of the Cham people. Public transport isn’t great in Vietnam so I arranged a taxi to take me there and back, agreeing on a 2 hour visit – I have no idea how much it cost but nothing costs much in Vietnam. The drive there was pleasant enough, the roads are in good condition and not that busy, it was on a Saturday. One thing I did notice was that may of the houses were blaring local music from their disco speakers either from the porch or lounge. That’s something I hadn’t mentioned in my previous posts; many households have large nightclub/disco speakers, usually in their lounge – just what purpose they serve I have no clue. Even if no one is there visiting the volume is above casual listening.

My Son temple ruins

My Son temple ruin complex

Brief History & Background

During circa. 4^th – 14^th century Vietnam as we know it today was broadly divided into four regions:

North, ruled by the Chinese
Middle (region of modern Hanoi), ruled by the Viet people (not yet known as Vietnamese)
South (Hoi An along the coast to current Southern Vietnam), was the Champa empire of the Cham people with Đồng Dương as the capitol till the end of the 10^th century, moving further South to Bình Định Province afterwards
West, the Angkor/Khmer empire

Before and during the period 4^th – 14^th centuries there were many clashes between the regions primarily between the Cham and Chinese, the earlier part of that period was dominated by the Cham, the latter by the Chinese, after that period by the Viet. The rise and abandonment of My Son runs parallel to the fortunes and fall of the Cham. That is as shorter history and background as you can get!

My Son these days is in an isolated area, arriving there I questioned just how worth the visit would be, that’s how isolated it felt. The entrance to this UNESCO World Heritage site is odd, the first seems quite ordinary with a few nondescript shops and a small but nice museum. From there you cross a river by a semi-ornate bridge at which point I thought the main site would begin, I was wrong. The next stage reminded me of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, a well tarred road with a shuttle service on a golf-cart train (the best description I can think of) taking about 10 minute. Third and last is a 20-30 minute walk to the actual My Son archaeological site, more about this walk shortly. The second part of the entry is world class compared to the other places I’d been to in Vietnam, I was impressed.

“Second” entrance to My Son temple ruins

One of the many little streams running through the area – My Son temple ruins

My Son temple ruins

Reverting back to the third part of the entrance, the walk to the actual My Son site. Well, located in dense jungle, the well paved footpath the only reason you know you are not lost as it weaves through the trees, carpet and walls of green vegetation. There is an ever presence of water from numerous small streams to the regular trickling of water hidden by the thicket. Whilst in Hoi An my attire was shorts, t-shirts and flip flops (closed shoes when riding), it was always hot and humid, My Son brought this to a whole new level, especially the humidity…swimming in the sea felt drier! The walkway is about 2km, by the time I got to the site my t-shirt was drenched, the heat and humidity was relentless.

My Son

My Son was used for more than a thousand years, the site was used prior to the 4^th century for what some say hundreds of years, the site was at its peak around the 10^th Century – it is a Hindu religious site dedicated to Shiva. Throughout the centuries Kings, Priest and the wealthy build temples dedicated to Shiva at My Son, in total there were over 70 temples. I use the word “were” for a few reasons, firstly after the 14^th century the site fell into neglect and by and large abandoned, the jungle and time taking over. Interest in the site was rekindled by a Frenchman in the late 19^th century which lead to restoration of the site beginning in the 1930’s. Of this restoration work it included the main and most spectacular temple called now referred to as temple A1, build in the 7^th century. Secondly, during the Vietnam War the Americans carpet bombed the area over one week in August 1969 destroying most of the temples and obliterating temple A1. The remnants of the bombing still very evident today with craters and blackened brickwork, the centre of the complex was least affected but did not go unscathed.

Stele, pedestal and temple – My Son temple ruins

Stele and remains of a temple – My Son temple ruins

Entrance and remains of a temple – My Son temple ruins

There are 14 classifications of temple groups at My Son (of the original 70+ temples) in 6 architectural styles. Of the remaining structures all are thought to be religious:

Kalan- a brick sanctuary, typically in the form of a tower, used to house a deity
Mandapa – an entry hallway contiguous with a sanctuary
Kosagrha(fire-house) – a construction, typically with a saddle-shaped roof, used to house the valuables belonging to the deity or to cook for the deity
Gopura – a gate-tower leading into a walled temple complex

The site itself is well marked but with grouping and styles I got confused, especially when revisiting my photos months later and trying to link them to which group etc. It’s not a small area to cover either, not massive but with many temples being propped up, falling apart and many not more than a foundation remaining I’ve decided not to attempt to label my pictures with group &/or style unless I’m 100% confident!

What remains of a temple bombed during the Vietnam war – My Son temple ruins

The A1 temple and associated structures, restored in the 1930’s not totally destroyed after carpet bombing in August 1969

Destroyed temple complex, centre of the My Son temple complex in the distance

My Son is serene, ancient buildings fighting back the jungle (with a little help from us humans), there shapes of mostly sharp edges somehow compliment their surroundings. The structures are large but not overbearing, they have a symbiosis with their environment; whether this was the case when they were constructed I don’t know, I think they would have been. Their red brick an earthly colour now blackened due to recent history and coloured by green vines and moss, the gentle slow struggle between nature and man in unison.

One of the many destroyed temples during the Vietnam war – My Son temple ruins

One of the temples now used to house some of the finds that are not in the museum – My Son temple complex

I believe this was part of the A1 temple – My Son temple ruins

The exact construction technique is not known except that the sculptures are cut directly into the brickwork – when in the process of building is not known. There is no plaster or render, nor is it known what was used as mortar; the current hypothesis is that a resin was used in conjunction with the same material used as the bricks. When you look at the structures now it looks as if the bricks are stacked on top of each other with nothing between. It is also not known when the bricks were fired (before building or in situ) and when the carvings were done (pre-building or in situ). One of the reasons so little is known about these structures is because the Champa never left any writing behind, sure there are stele but these are used for religious purposes. They had and kept written records but wrote on degradable materials, combine that with the climate, these records perished long before any archaeologist visited the area.

My Son temple ruins

My Son temple complex ruins

Good view of the carved brickwork – My Son temple ruins

One thing I must admit whilst walking around the area, I kept thinking of the many Vietnam war movies I had seen over the years (my three favourites being Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket and The Deer Hunter). Not to get political, I felt sorry for the young Americans sent here to fight in such inhospitable jungle environment that must have been foreign from where they came from. I can’t imagine what it must have been like in full army gear marching through this wet, thick forest, not to mention during the rainy season. Without local knowledge there was no way the Americans would succeed. You could have thousands of Vietnamese hiding around the circumference of My Son and you wouldn’t even know, that’s how impenetrable the vegetation is, it gets even worse the deeper you go. To some degree the only respite the locals would have had was that they knew the area, for them living and fighting in the tunnels and jungle must have been treacherous too.

My Son temple ruins

My Son temple complex ruins

My Son temple ruins

This is a beautiful place to visit, with that beauty comes the unforgiving jungle will all its danger and peril. Visitors come here every day to see the sites, not always remembering the killing fields around it. With the indiscriminate nature of carpet bombing nobody really knows who or how many people would have died at My Son and the surrounding areas. Maybe the only consolation to the killing that occurred here is that now this area has a serenity, an equilibrium between man and nature, I hope making it an acceptable last resting place for all those who died here.

The once red bricks now blackened, remnants from the carpet bombings – My Son temple ruins

My Son temple ruins

Yes, I was sweating like a waterfall, the conditions were uncomfortable, but I left My Son with many thoughts running through my mind war, the cruelty of man, beauty of nature, dedication of ancient civilisations and the lost knowledge of old cultures. I walked back to the shuttle cart in a solemn mood with and underlying current of joy, joy to be able to experience these things in life. I only waited for the shuttle for about 15 minutes, I filled my time watching a dog in total bliss playing for some toilet paper. Who knows where he got it from, but he was having the time of his life playing with it…it’s the little things in life that makes us happy – not a bad lesson to learn. I headed back to An Bang.

The area where the most restoration has been done – My Son temple ruins

My Son temple ruins

Not much but foundations and low walls remaining of some of the temples after carpet bombing during the Vietnam war – My Son temple complex ruins

My last 2 days in Vietnam were spent on the island of Lao Cham before I headed off to Kuala Lumpur etc. etc. Lao Cham will therefore be my last blog about my time in Vietnam which I’ll post a few days after this.

Damaged remnants of part of My Son temple complex

One of the many little streams (this was one of the bigger) around the area – My Son temple complex

The area where the most restoration has been done – My Son temple ruins

A dog having the time of his life playing with some toilet paper

Hoi An Ancient Town – Lanterns, Colours, Cultures

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Hoi An Ancient Town is a 15^th – 16^th century trading port, its diverse history is reflected in the architecture influenced by Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, French, other European and Southeast Asian countries who used to trade at this important location. Wondering through the streets you could easily be mistaken for being in Spain or Portugal. It somewhat reminded me of the old buildings in Porto on a smaller scale; buildings with their elegant lines, art nouveau’esc designs – the distinctive mustard yellow paint now aged in the only way that pollution and time can achieve.

The area and town has been called many names through the ages, the locals called Cham (Champa people), were powerful and wealthy as they controlled the lucrative spice route during the 7^th – 10^th century. During the 16^th – 17^th century the town port expanded into and international harbour bringing people from Europe, India and greater Asia to trade, work and settle in what was then called Hai Pho (Seaside Town). Not only was this estuary town strategic in location, the waterways served as a perfect means of transport inland and throughout the area. Although it town had been established for hundreds of years it only became a formal port at the end of the 16^th century lead in large degree by the Portuguese and the local Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Hoàng, this was very much the birth of Hoi An.

Depending on which source of information you use, by the late 18^th century Hoi An was considered one of the best, if not the best port for trading in Asia…nothing lasts forever. The region was split primarily into three groups; North, Middle and South Vietnam. The Tay Son Rebellion brought about the demise of Hoi An, with trade moving down South to Da Nang where the French were given exclusive rights to the port as compensation for supporting Emperor Gai Long. It seems to some degree that foreign influence was disliked, but impossible to stop. The compromise was to limit or in the very least control foreign influence, so French exclusivity seemed to kill two birds with one stone. Hoi An was forgotten about by people and time, reverting back to a small fishing village surrounded by remnants of its wealth and renowned past.

Hoi An Ancient Town

These days the mix of the past and present has made Hoi An a tourist destination, along with An Bang Beach at its doorstep it is fast becoming a prime destination in Vietnam. Like I had mentioned in my previous post about An Bang I spent my time mostly riding around the area between An Bang and Hoi An Ancient Town.

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the old town of Hoi An is both interesting, quaint and diverse with totally different atmospheres during the day and evening. I was going to say it’s not a large area, I suppose that’s true; by walking along the river you could walk from one end to the next in 20 minutes, but in my opinion it’s the roads parallel and perpendicular to the river that are the best. Now that Hoi An Ancient Town is a tourist hot spot the roads are filled with touristy shops selling trinkets, far from tacky though. Lanterns of assorted colours and shapes dangling across the street on string lines light up the roads at night of Hoi An Town, giving it an authentic Southeast Asian fell, almost an ambiance of an intimate carnival.

Hoi An Ancient Town

During the day there is a subdued buzz of activity in Old Town, still full of locals and tourists but not quite the same as the evenings. Most shops are open with a few waiting for later in the day or early evening to start their business day, at night everything is open, and visitors seem to double. Hoi An Ancient Town is closed to motorbikes and cars, a bonus, I don’t know when they introduced this but I would hate to have visited before then! Bicycles are allowed and so are rickshaws which vocally “hoot” to get people out of the way, it is so crowded that we tried to ride through on one occasion only, we gave up parked our bikes and walked…walking is much quicker and less stressful 😊

Having a coffee watching life go by along the Thu Bon river in Hoi An Ancient Town

One of the many restaurants and shops the line the river in Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient Town

As with An Bang, life here is at a pace of its own…slow and slower, this is an authentic outdoor shopping centre for want of a better phrase. A shopping centre set in an intimate historic setting where branded names are nowhere near to be seen….to my relief! You could visit Hoi An Ancient Town for a day or many times like we did, each time seeing something different, many times we had dinner overlooking the river and ate while we watch the scenery of boats and people pass us by.

Thu Bon River with Cầu Quảng Trường

Lanterns the cross the streets in Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient Town

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, I love water, especially rivers and streams. The Thu Bon River still plays a vital role in the lives and livelihood of the people and the town. Where it passes through Hoi An Ancient Town it is used as part of the tourist attraction taking visitors on rides through the nicer parts of town. Lanterns used by the boats at night dot the river with faint colour, at a distance resembling coloured fireflies slowly skimming across the water. It seemed every evening something was happening in Old Town, at first I thought it was a coincidence but Micha & Kim said they are always celebrating something, just about always!

Interesting light fixtures outside a shop in Hoi An Ancient Town

One of the many inventive and creative street vendors in Hoi An Ancient Town

Some of the thousands of lanterns for sale

Hoi An is more than just An Bang &/or Old Town, with a population of circa. 120k people. The periphery around Old Town is packed with locals, stores, street food and many large karaoke halls. Riding past them at night I had many evening chuckling hearing pop star wanabees belting out western songs like banshees! No, I didn’t go in at give it a go. They take karaoke seriously here, the karaoke halls are like the flashy nightclubs inside and out, it is big business! Our modus operandi tended to be ride around the outskirts of town during the day and spend the evening in Ancient town. Jumping back to something I mentioned in my previous post, on many occasions heading back from Old Town to An Bang in the evening (it’s very safe, even very late at night) we saw many rats, bloody big one’s too! I’m in no means being derogatory about the area, and absolutely have no intention deterring people from visiting either, its just an observation – in my opinion it’s a reality of having water, so many open markets, dense population and economic climate. What I can say, is Hoi An Ancient town is clean as are the restaurants of which there are hundreds that serve delicious food…that includes the street food!

Hoi An Ancient Town

Water Puppet Show

One evening we decided to go to the Water Puppet Show at the Hoi An Theatre (just before Hoi An Ancient Town when heading into town from An Bang); not as famous as the theatre in Hanoi but the three of us all enjoyed the show in Hanoi so thought why not see another show. An open multipurpose theatre with semi outdoor seating, like an amphitheatre with a corrugated roof with the sides open and seats a few hundred. It wasn’t busy and with the heat and humidity I was happy not to be sitting inside a stuffy theatre. The show was entertaining even though I had seen it before, yes, the show was exactly the same (we didn’t know that when we bought the tickets) as the one I saw in Hanoi…just not as “flashy”. Having seen the show in Hanoi, the most famous of theatres in Vietnam (possibly globally) for Water Puppets any other theatre is likely to come across as second best. However, I’d highly recommend going to watch the show if you don’t/didn’t get a chance to see it in Hanoi.

Water Puppet Show – Hoi An Theatre

Even though I had seen the show before I still enjoyed it, it is something uniquely different and doubtful you’ll see anything else like it. The storyline is identical but that’s not why you go see the water puppets; it’s the puppets, music, spectacle and mythological drama of the story they tell in a simplistic and most creative of ways. This theatre is much more relaxed, you are able to get a much closer therefore clearer view of the show. Just like in Hanoi I was fascinated by the reticulating limbs of the puppets splashing around in the water, I would go again to either theatre tomorrow if the opportunity arose. Is it a life altering show, no, is it unique and enjoyable for all ages, yes – if you get the opportunity to see it I’d recommend you do so.

We were heading to Hoi An Ancient Town one evening deciding to take a new scenic route instead of the our usual quick one along the main road. Why a scenic route considering it was dark I don’t know, but familiarity can breed contempt &/or boredom (a saying one of my managers used to use, don’t fully agree with it), we seemed to try loads of different routes, why the hell not 😊! We passed what I can only describe as a workshop/house; workshop downstairs (over spilling onto the pavement and into the road) and house at the back and on top. I couldn’t quite figure out if this was a residential, industrial or commercial area, in all probability it was all three in one…seems common in Vietnam. At first what made us stop was what they were making, colourful water floats and carnival type masks of various sizes.

After stopping to admire their work and like clockwork their friendly and inviting demeanour we found out it was a family business, we couldn’t quite get to how many family members. Just like everywhere else they were happy to invite us in and show us what they were up to. Considering it wasn’t a shop it was in true Vietnamese style that they let up nosily watch them at work and sift through the many things on display and lying about. In Vietnam they do things differently, a Health & Safety worker in the UK (most countries) would have had a heart attack going through this place – almost all the plugs had live wires pushed straight into the sockets, never mind the welding around the many flammable substances and materials. We spent near an hour there, and true to Vietnamese style they sold Julie one of their masks…for next to nothing.

At the mask makers

hmmm doubt this would pass health and safety – at the mask makers

Over the road was a communist party hall, closed now because it was early evening, yet every 15 minutes or so they would play government statements bellowing into the area through tannoys. I found this very interesting, so different to my own upbringing and experiences. Through my time in Vietnam I didn’t get the opportunity to have a thorough discussion with a local to get their thoughts and opinions on life and politics. Not that I would want to convert them, but how interesting it would be to get the ideals of someone who has had a totally different experience in their surroundings and upbringing – this is one of the main regrets I have about my two weeks in Vietnam.

Lantern Festival

Once a month on full moon they have the Lantern Festival in Hoi An Ancient Town. All the main streetlights are turned off especially along the river, the town is awash with colour radiating from lanterns crisscrossing above head in the streets and floating candle lanterns drifting along the river. Sure, the selling of the floating lanterns is a money maker from the tourists but there are no pushy sales people, they cost almost nothing too! Old Town changes it’s vibe almost daily, I’ve said so before, this is especially evident in the evenings – a great place to visit, that’s why we went back almost every night!

Lantern Festival – Hoi An Ancient Town

The famous 16th-17th century Japanese Bridge – Chinese used to be on one side of the town and the Japanese on the other. This bridge was to link the different communities

All the street lights are turned off during the Lantern Festival

The lantern festival isn’t like a mardi gras though the place is abuzz including dragon dancing. We got to Old Town a little late on the evening of the Lantern Festival so missed the show of dragon dancers, we did however get to see them practising on a few occasions. Doing what must be like a cardio workout in seriously hot and humid conditions must be bloody tiring, not to mention wearing dragon costume! Watching them practise was insightful, I had no idea how physically demanding dragon dancing could be – I have a new-found respect and admiration for the performers.

Repeating myself, there is a lot to see in Old Town, like all places I’ve visited the more we went there the more I saw and noticed – I know that’s stating the obvious. Considering how many times we went we still didn’t see everything, many temples/monuments and places of historical interest…that’s just how things go when visiting a new place. There is an opportunity cost when visiting an area, you see some things at the expense of others in the hope that one day you will return to see the rest, time will tell – I’ve lived in London for 20 years and still have many things to see and experience. What I like about Hoi An is you could visit for a few hours, a day or a few and still be able to enjoy it. It’s the kind of place where you can stroll around the streets do nothing much other than looking and still have an interesting and enjoyable time.

stationary river float – Hoi An Ancient Town

Stationary river float – Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An – just some decorations on the pavement

Hoi An Ancient Town is a rustic revival of a once prosperous town. The mix of cultures and colours easily confuses you at times as to where you are or even what continent you are in, that’s just part of what makes this place so interesting. It may be surrounded by farmland and to a degree poverty, but here the Vietnamese embrace their historical and current diversity combined with its challenging past – each age of time and all those who temporarily settled here from near and far left their mark now reflected in the varied architecture.

My time in Hoi An and Vietnam was coming to an end, two weeks was to short – I had not anticipated how much I would enjoy the country. The original plan was to track down to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, instead I got caught up with the sites and lifestyle of Hoi An, no regrets. During my time in Hoi An I did a day trip to My Son, that will be my next post, after that a day and a half trip to the island of Lao Cham will end my time in Vietnam before I headed off to Kuala Lumpur for a few days then Indonesia.

Always keen to get thoughts and feedback on my blog, if you have the time I would really appreciated it. My Son should be posted soon….internet permitting!

Apparently a local favourite drink, supposed to be very healthy for you too. No idea what it’s called, came with a flower petal and leaf…tasted delicious

A huge hanging incense spiral, hanging from the ceiling of The Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall – Hoi An Ancient Town

The dragon fountain made out of pottery – The Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall – Hoi An Ancient Town

The Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall – Hoi An Ancient Town

Back at Hippie House after a night out in Hoi An

Hoi An Ancient Town

An Bang, bohemian Vietnamese surprise

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Getting to Hoi An and An Bang Beach went like clockwork; got back to Hanoi from Bai Tu Long earlier than expected, a quick taxi to the airport where we had some time to kill – the flight left on time arriving at Da Nang airport at 21:00. Our taxi driver got a little lost heading to our accommodation, can’t blame him as it is tucked away on the outskirts of Hoi An, right by the coast (about 6km from Hoi An Ancient Town) – our host (Micha) was waiting for us and were checked int our rooms in 2 minutes.

Julie had found the accommodation, which goes by two names The Happy Bird B&B &/or The Hippie House; it has two names as they are separate types of accommodation but owned and run by the same couple…more about them later. We must have arrived near or just after 22:00 leaving not much time to for anything except have an early night, the accommodation I must admit was a very pleasant surprise; slightly rustic with an elegant personalised flare and spotless. A real little gem hidden away off the main road, well I call it a main road, more like a tiny village road you would find in the middle of nowhere, in the area of An Bang. No, I’m not paid to rave about the accommodation nor do the owners even know that I’m writing about them – if I ever go back to Vietnam and remotely within the area I would go back to visit them. Not mentioning the cool area and surroundings, they have hit the perfect balance of homely feel, great price accommodation, excellent food and all-round great friendly hosts.

Lady working on her haunches in her rice paddy

An Bang

An Bang, if it’s a quiet, homely and friendly environment you are looking for then this location should be high on your list if you are visiting Hoi An. Around the corner from Hoi An Ancient Town and literally 2 minutes’ walk to the beach, I had only planned on staying for 3 days….I stayed there for 8. A large part of me staying there for that duration of time was because of The Happy Bird B&B and the owners Micha (Michael) and Kim (both from German, Kim’s parents were from Vietnam). Micha and Kim are fantastic hosts and bent over backwards to accommodate me every time I asked “can I say longer please!” – Kim is a whizz in the kitchen, I can honestly say she makes fantastic food, the best breakfast I’d had in many months!

Part of the Happy Bird B&B / The Hippie House

My room at the Happy Bird B&B / The Hippie House

Happy Bird B&B / The Hippie House

Unlike me to digress, back to An Bang. There isn’t much in An Bang, the pace of life is relaxing, a few kilometres South along the coast it is more commercial with hotels and resorts but here, oh no, this place turns the speedometer of life whey down! I can understand why Kim & Micha decided to call their first accommodation Hippie House; a decorative collaboration from visitors given free reign to add their personal touch to what has now become Kim & Micha’s home. That seems to have come from the environment around them, tucked away from the main tourist attraction of the area, Hoi An Ancient Town, this area is a secluded getaway. For some reason I imagined this is what a lot of Thailand would have been like 20 years ago….I hope it stays like this for many years to come. That’s not to say there is nothing to do or see in An Bang, with the beach on your doorstep you can relax to the sound of gentle waves breaking against the shore, take a stroll down the “High Street” and eat delicious food whilst been treated like a local. An odd thing I found was how many massage parlours there were, I’m not referring to “dodgy” places either 😊! An Ban was and to some degree still is a fishing village, here time has decidedly not caught up with the times, not much has changed over the years, yes, they have more tourists now but it is far from commercialised. The round bamboo fishing boats (I used the word boat very loosely) scatter the beaches during day, most fishing happening in the evening when you can see faint red lights bobbing in the water. Personally, I thought it was the perfect place as a base and head out from there, would I want to stay in central Hoi An, no not really.

An Bang beach with the round bamboo fishing boats

An Bang beach

I was sceptical at first about hiring a bicycle, it turned out to be a brilliant idea. Hiring a bicycle in some places I’ve been to is a death wish, here in Hoi An there may be the same amount of cars vs. bicycles, it’s very safe and for me the perfect way to explore, see the town and surrounding areas at a pace fitting to the vibe. For my entire time in Hoi An except for one day when I went to My Son, I/we spent our time to and fro riding from An Bang, Hoi An and any route or path we saw on the way. For me, riding around on a bicycle forced me to slow the pace of life right down, it gives a very different perspective and the freedom to stop and go whenever we felt like it. Riding through the farmlands with green rice-fields surrounding the town, palm trees jotted along the paths, the faint sound of water trickling through the jigsaw of rice paddies and the occasional frog croaking – I often forgot just how close we were to the vibrant, hustle and as I’ll get into my next blog post, polluted and dirty town centre.

Thu Bon River – between An Ban and Hoi An

Like I’ve already mentioned An Bang is an old fishing village, fast becoming an alternative location to stay in when visiting the area, and why not with quiet (most places) beaches, more locals and less commercial vibe, I’d say a slight hippie/bohemian atmosphere – with the added bonus of being around the corner from Hoi An Ancient Town, the space between filled with rice paddies, other tiny villages and a labyrinth or roads and pathways you can explore on bicycle or foot. There are no “no-go” areas, in fact the more off the beaten track we went the friendlier the people became, more curious too; most people tend to stick to the tourist areas so locals are surprised and I’d go so far as to say happy to see visitors. If I counted how many times strangers said hello I’d have needed a calculator to keep track. Vietnamese people (away from touristy areas) must be the some of the happiest and friendliest people I have every come across.

Some of the many holding dams for watering the rice paddies between Hoi An and An Bang

Uh, a lot of waffle written with not much said. Considering the majority of my time in An Bang and Hoi An consisted of cycling around &/or going to Hoi An Ancient Town I’ll going to try to break this blog post into these two categories. Yes, I know I’ve already said a bit about An Bang…there’s more.

There’s a lot of water in the area, can’t think of any place I went to in Vietnam where there wasn’t, the land between An Bang and Hoi Han is dotted with small holdings amongst residential areas and rice paddies. Like a jigsaw puzzle trying to fill any piece of land in between suburbia, rice paddies fill any void with a carpet of plush green. These fields can stretch far and wide as they creep into every nook and cranny broken by punctuation’s of roads, houses, holding lakes and dusty bumpy pathways weaving through this green sea like a snakes and ladders board.

Waterways and rice paddies

It’s an odd landscape, not just An Bang but the how area around Hoi An, parts are tranquil with the feeling of being secluded hundreds of kilometres from human habitation, yet quite the opposite. Most parts of Vietnam I saw was very much the same, farmland intertwined with cities, towns and residential areas, very little land left to its natural state (at least from the areas I visited, but that’s certainly not the case everywhere, my trip to My Son a perfect example).

Rice paddies covering every inch of land between towns and cities

In most part the people I met and encountered live a simple life, they may have a flat screen TV and mobile/cell phone I just couldn’t help but feel their life is tough. You wouldn’t think so if their attitude is anything to go by, mostly smiling and happy to have visitors in their country – in the more touristy areas they can come across as curt. There are two reasons for this change in attitude in my opinion, firstly, dealing it pesky tourist constantly wanting to bargain with them must become tiring and some tourists can be downright stupid, irritating, ignorant and rude. Secondly, Vietnamese people can be quite direct, not in a rude way, similar to that of how people stereotype German &/or Scandinavians (personally I like the directness of Germans and Scandinavians).

The moon shining through the murky hue

Yes, there are many places I’ve encountered people calling out “hello” when passing by, here it is just more frequent and an authentic tone to them too. At times I felt quite guilty riding through these villages on the outskirts of An Bang and Hoi An; here we were taking in the “sites” and environment, but this is their life, these conditions that they live in is their life. Me taking pictures as if at a show is a snapshot of what they do or how they live every day. There were many times I went off into my own world, riding on autopilot and hoping that what I see, experience and emotions I felt will be a lesson I take forward with my life. For people who have so little material things in life, they sure seem happier than me, not a bad lesson to learn.

Riding through the little villages between An Bang and Hoi An (Julie and Mila)

One arbitrary observation I noticed about the houses around An Bang and surrounding area is they almost all follow the same design; very boxy, the bottom floor with a little garden/courtyard (normally very tidy) leading to double doors into the family/tv room. A big TV with the rest of the room sparsely furnished (the dimensions normally quite small, 4/5m by 3-4m) with one or two couches at most – 50s/60s style wooden couches. Kitchen behind the lounge (those that have a kitchen – some cook outside outback), bedroom/s and bathroom upstairs.

On one of our rides just South East of Hoi An off the beaten track not a tourist in site for hours, we rode through the twists and turns of alleyways through another village. Not too different visually from many of the other places, but here I got the sense the inhabitants seldom to never see any of the tourists; this was where the locals live, there are no trinkets to bye or touristy shops. I got the feeling that we were the “site” to see as everyone pleasantly smiled as we rode by, just like before many saying hello. Here, people still live from the river and they eat I think just about anything they catch. They grow their own vegetables which they sell in front of their houses or in little markets of 3-4 stores. The river has been their lifeline for hundreds of years and still is, now the population is hundredfold and with that comes pollution…there is no way I would swim in the river. At one of the larger markets a kilometre or two from the village in the space of 100m we must have easily seen 10 dead floating rats…not to mention the muck washed up onto the shoreline…the pungent smell made me feel queasy.

Cockle type shell fish caught in the Thu Bon River – between Hoi An and An Bang

One of the little street side markets

Fresh fruit from the street side market

Keeping on the theme of how happy and welcoming the people are, I lost count of how many times we stopped to speak to people to ask them anything from directions to what they were selling. Without hesitation they would offer us a taste, sometimes that was nice others not! On one occasion we had what was similar to cockles, I think, very salty small shellfish. Communication throughout Vietnam can be a challenge, not for lack of trying on both sides it’s just their language is so different from Latin languages. These “cockles” are soaked in very salty water for some time (we couldn’t figure out just how long), then rinsed and eaten just like that. Who knows how many you would need to eat to fill your belly, maybe they don’t consider them a meal and instead just a snack, like popcorn, who knows!

Little village main road near Hoi An

One of the many little villages surrounding Hoi An

One of the most poignant experiences I had in Vietnam, actually throughout my time travelling, happened on An Bang beach by Happy House. We had spent the day riding about, after dinner we decided to take it easy that evening and have a glass of wine on the beach (Julie and I, obviously not Mila, she would have fruit juice). We hadn’t even found a place to sit down when we spotter a group of 4 local men, I’d say early 30’s, digging around on the beach with spades and torches. Clearly, they were trying to catch something, one of them was carrying a large bucket and they were digging far to deep for just the enjoyment of it. To cut a long story short, they were catching crabs in a way I have never heard of or seen before.

Quick summary:

Find a fresh clean hole dug by a crab that doesn’t seem too deep
Take the spade and dig quickly until the hole disappears but you can still see the outline of the hole
Start digging with your hand until you find a chamber where you will hopefully find the crab and grab it…trying not to be caught by one or both of its pincers
If you’ve taken too long to dig then they crab may have started to dig another tunnel from the chamber – keep following the hole until you find the crab, or your arm is too short to go any further

An Bang beach – catching crabs local style

We followed the group for the best part of an hour striking up a conversation along the way. They seemed very happy that we were paying such interested in what they were doing and happy for us to participate too…we were not successful in catching any. Conversation was challenging to say the least, made more so because they spoke very fast and thought their English was good, most of the time I had no idea what they were saying. It really made no difference and after both sides repeated themselves many times we all just laughed.

They invited us to join them for dinner later that evening after they had caught enough crabs, honestly, I was a little sceptical; why would strangers invite us to dinner, was it some ploy? We headed further up the beach to have our wine, 30 minutes later they returned and were persistent we join them…this made me more sceptical. Upon arriving at their little restaurant just 50m off the beach, now long past opening hours, they turned on the lights arranged seating for us as they took the circa. 20 crabs to be cooked. My scepticism was that they may now try to totally overcharge us for the food or something along those lines. Well, once the food was ready they whole family came out, pregnant sister and brother-in-law, brother, friend, wife (of the main person we spoke to – so pissed off I cannot remember his name) etc. etc. about 8 of them and the three of us. The crabs fried whole in a chilli sauce served in a soup, not sure what type of soup – bloody crunchy with the shells and all but absolutely delicious.

A poignant dinner at the Red Apple – An Bang Beach

Here we were, joining their family dinner, they don’t have much, but we took pride and place at the table and were treated like honorary guests. Communication was “interesting”, it really didn’t matter, I still had a niggling feeling at the back of my mind as the evening went on, hmmmm this seems to good, too unlikely to be without an agenda. Two or more hours must have passed, we had eaten and had a long funny convoluted conversation long after the plates had been cleared, time to leave. We had explained that we were just out for a walk on the beach and didn’t have money with us, I didn’t even have my wallet with me, they were not fussed at all. Julie had a little money with her 200 000 Vietnamese Dong, about £6. She gave it all to them after many times of them refusing, objecting that if we were to give them anything 200 000 was far too much, we insisted.

We left hugging and shaking hands, leaving down the little path back to the beach I had a sinking feeling of guilt. I enjoyed the evening, food and company, but that little niggling feeling I had through most of the evening couldn’t have been further from the truth. They really weren’t interested in the money, I wouldn’t say they were poverty stricken (they have a little restaurant (the Red Apple Restaurant) and homestay – the whole family works there) compared to many people we had seen but they certainly were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, maybe they would be categorised as lower middle class at a push (grrrrr even using those terms makes me cringe)! We showed a genuine curiosity and interest in what they were doing, they in turn opened their door to their house, introduced us to the family and fed us like we were long lost friends. I’ve not encountered hospitality like this before, language barriers meant nothing, we discussed everything for tourism, politics, weather and life in general. If you are ever in the area go have a snack at the Red Apple, please.

Days had passed, I pondered my perceptions of people and the world, recounted the events of the evening many times over too, I still think about it regularly (now 4 months later). I’ve not come to any epiphany, it has however given me some humility of thought and now I question my perceptions of people to much greater extent than I possibly would have in the past. Vietnam had been an odd journey of experiences to date, filled with people so different to what I have been accustomed to in my life. Through all the countries I had been to so far I’ve experienced a true undercurrent of humanity, sometimes from the smallest gestures – these are the stories I have learnt from the most and will last in me till the end.

Uh, I’d say that about covers it for An Bang. Next post will be on Hoi An Ancient Town, vibrant town filled with culture mixes from China, Japan, France and of course Vietnam. I do hope this post was at least a little more interesting than my last (Ha Long Bay) – enjoy and thank you for reading.

Happy Bird B&B / The Hippie House

Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long – descending dragon bay!

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My destination was Ha Long Bay for a three-day cruise, starting in Ha Long Bay then heading on to Bai Tu Long. I did quite a lot of research into the cruises because there are a lot of suppliers offering similar. After speaking to a few people especially the owner of my homestay in Hanoi (irritates me that I cannot remember her name and forgot to write it down), it was recommended to find a cruise that goes to Bai Tu Long. Ha Long Bay is very crowded with ships and the water is murky and polluted, Cat Ba was another option but seemed more like a holiday resort type of destination. Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long and Cat Ba are all part of Bai Tu Long National Park.

I’ll give some general information about Ha Long Bay cruises:

Duration of cruises:
- 3 day two nights
- 5 (they say 2) days 1 night (I didn’t look into these)
Types of 3 day Cruises:
- Low end cruise, these range from around $150 – $350
- Middle range, from around $350 – $500 (this is what I chose)
- 5 Start, didn’t look into these, but I saw some starting at $600
What do they include:
- Pick-up from hotel (in Old Quarter Hanoi) and drop off back at hotel or Old Quarter Hanoi
- All food on boat – breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks except alcohol, these are paid for separately
- All excursions, kayaking, cave visits etc.

A murky early start to the morning in Hanoi I was collected from my hotel, Julie and Mila had already been picked up along with about 10 other people – a spacious small bus in good nick. Julie and Mila had arrived back from the North the night before but were ill, especially Mila who had a bad fever. It took little convincing for Julie to convince our guide to stop at a pharmacy somewhere along the way to get something for her (Julie by the way is a pharmacist) – we left Hanoi before most of the shops were open.

Ha Long Bay isn’t far from Hanoi, less than 200km, but a combination of traffic, road conditions and speed limits mean it takes close to 4 hours to get there. The landscape is very flat and wet with rice fields filling the gaps between the residential areas. It’s easy to identify which are official government buildings, their style distinct, well-kept and adorned with flags….not like the other buildings which have a neglected appearance, likely more so a lack of resources to maintain them and not out of the will of the occupants. A little over halfway into our journey we stopped at what could only be described as some sort of government built roadside stop, only for tourists. Outside of the main building is full of stone carvings for sale, but you cannot take photos of them, why I have no idea. Inside the building is a very large store/shop selling Western sweets, snacks amongst local produce, the place is very clean, but extremely expensive – converting back into Pounds things were twice the price, wine was near three times the price you would pay in London.

Hon Gai International harbour with Bai Chay Bridge in the background

We were within earshot of Ha Long Bay, near the many ports around Bai Chay Bridge, a very impressive kilometre long cable-stay bridge located at the beginning of Ha Long Bay. Crossing the bridge from West to East a large dated red ferris wheel stands on the right on top of a hill that overlooks the bay. It seemed out of place, a random place to have one, the views from there must be quite spectacular…not today with low misty clouds handing over the bay as far as the eye could see. Even so, I still thought what an odd place to have such a big ferris wheel – I know there is an amusement park on the other side of the bridge.

The ferris wheel at Hon Gai International harbour

Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long

Jumping back to the beginning of this post, we chose Cristina Diamond Cruise in the end, at the port we disembarked from the bus at Hon Gai Harbour onto a type of longboat, very similar to one I went on at Khao Sok National Park only wider and people sit around the edge. Hmmm, so I guess not like a longboat at all ?! Our boat, aptly name Cristina Cruise was pleasantly surprising, very nice indeed! Now, for some or other reason I can’t find photos of my room, I’m sure I took some, grrrr guess not! Oh well, a double bed, on-suite with an awesome shower, air conditioning and a balcony too!

Day 1 – Bai Tu Long Cruise

Having left the overcrowded Hon Gai International harbour and checked into our rooms it was time for lunch. I’m sometimes sceptical on “all inclusive” deals because you never know what you are going to get when it comes to food. Well, they certainly did not disappoint! Each table seats 4 or 6 and my oh my do they pile on the food! As soon as you think the meal is done they bring another dish, then another and another….delicious food! Tummy full, it was time for our first excursion, the pearl farm Vung Vieng village, a floating village.

Ha Long Bay making out way to Bai Tu Long

Heading into Bai Tu Long

Bai Tu Long heading to the Pearl Farm

Pearl Farm and Vung Vieng village

I had not idea what to expect from a pearl farm, other than I was going to see some pearls. The pearl farm is interesting, we got there by transferring onto a smaller boat which took around 20 minutes to get there. At the farm they showed us the different types of pearls black, white, cream and green (I think those where all the colours). It was interesting but what I was astonished about was that they have at most a 10% yield, the 90% are either duds or no pearl is formed, that’s bloody low! No wonder what was for sale was so bloody expensive; I wanted to buy a black pearl, nothing to big and for no other reason than just to have one, at $350 I decided not to!

Near the pearl farm and Vung Vieng village

Heading to Vung Vieng village – Bai Tu Long

Part of Vung Vieng village – Bai Tu Long

For me the best part of this excursion was after the pearl farm, a bamboo boat trip around Vung Vieng village. Each boat takes 4 passengers and all the boats are rowed by a single woman. I’ve never been in a rowing boat where the strokes are near silent, the technique they use standing up is very unique with the power stroke a pushing movement. You can almost not hear the oars leaving and re-entering the water as we glided across the still mirror like water. The village itself is a floating village, although technically the inhabitants are Vietnamese they are self-sufficient; to the extent that the government has made it more difficult for them over the years as a means to incorporate them into the rest of the country.

A traditional fishing boat used by the inhabitants of Vung Vieng village – Bai Tu Long

In our bamboo boat going around Vung Vieng village near the pearl farm

Our bamboo boat ride – Bai Tu Long

The “biggest” part of Vung Vieng village – Bai Tu Long

The rest of the days was very much relaxing back on the boat, there was the option of going kayaking &/or visiting the beach, but I along with everyone else wasn’t keen to sit on a beach in a drizzle and rather chilly overcast afternoon. We cruised to Cong Dong area where we would anchor down for the night….as do so many other cruise boats! We did try and attempt to do some squid fishing not very successful though ?

Vung Vieng village, the lights on the boat are used to attract squid in the evening

Showing us how they help the oysters create round pearls – Bai Tu Long

Pearl Farm

Bamboo boat ride – Bai Tu Long

Cong Dong area in Bai Tu Long where we docked every evening

Day 2 – Bai Tu Long Cruise

I had mentioned earlier that Mila wasn’t looking nor feeling well, the next morning she seemed worse, so Julie and Mila decided to stay on the boat and get some rest. The rest of us headed off on the day boat to visit the Master Cave (Thay cave), not a big cave and to be honest it was ok – it was only a short distance away and the trip there and back was done and dusted in less than an hour. Back to the cruise boat where people doing the 2 day cruise left leaving only 6 of us.

Cong Dong area in Bai Tu Long

Bai Tu Long

Cong Dong area Bai Tu Long

After lunch, 4 of us (not Julie and Mila) headed off for some kayaking around the Vung Ha area. Off onto another day boat, much bigger this time with an indoor area too (we would be thankful for it later). The kayaking was nice, the landscape surrounding the area was striking! Barely a ripple in the water and no wind, the only sounds to be heard were our paddles in the water. What stuck out to me was the lack of marine life, nothing, not even a little fish. Our destination was another cave about 45 minutes of steady paddling away between numerous jagged stone islands with speckles of deep green vegetation. The myth about these islands is that they were created by dragons sent to help the Vietnamese against invaders. The dragons spat out jewels of jade into the bay which turned into the islands creating a barrier to protect the Vietnamese against invaders.

Cong Dong area in Bai Tu Long

Cave 2, that’s what I’ll call it was much bigger than the Master Cave, but still nothing to write home about. We only spend a few minutes there then headed back to our boat. Kayaking to the cave and back I didn’t see a single marine animal, I couldn’t get an answer from our guide, the only rationale I can think of is either over fishing &/or pollution. The latter doesn’t make sense because the water was very clear yet still not a single fish, hmmmmm!

Cave 2, where we kayaked to – view with the cave entrance behind me

Cave 2 – the wavy ceiling of the cave

The rest of the day would normally be for chilling &/or swimming where we had anchored in Vung Ha, not today!!! I would have needed a fully body wet suit to go swimming, maybe not even then, so for the rest of the afternoon the 6 of us (we were joint by an Australia couple from another cruise) relaxed on the deck taking in the scenery around use (with out fleeces on!). Oh yes, there were a couple of Black Kites flying near the boat, a little to far for my lens to get a good pick – added to that every time the cam close to the boat, I mean flew right above the boat I didn’t have my camera ready! I actually got a shot of it catching a fish and flying off with it, but the resolution wasn’t good….so I guess there must be some fish in the bay!

Vung Ha, where we anchored for the afternoon after kayaking

One of the Black Kites flying around in Vung Ha

Vung Ha, anchored for the afternoon after kayaking – Bai Tu Long

We headed back to our mother ship which was near the pearl farm. Our skipper on our day boat was a little too excited to get us back and bottomed out the boat on the sea bed! A little toing and froing for 15 minutes with the engine heaving and spewing diesel smoke he managed to set the boat free and we disembarked back to our mother ship. Another evening of drink on deck followed by being over fed on delicious Vietnamese food. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day.

Making full circle after kayaking in Vung Ha, headed back to the pearl farm…just before our captain grounded us!

Day 3 – Bai Tu Long Cruise

It the last day of our Bai Tu Long cruise, the weather had still not abated but there is nothing one can do about it. After breakfast we headed out on the day boat t visit Thien Canh Son cave, this was the biggest and by far the most attractive cave compared to the other two. A congregation of other boats had arrived at the same time meaning there was a 20 queue at the entrance, well managed though; they gave each group enough time to see the cave without packing it full like a nightclub. Mila was feeling much better and looked it too. I was lucky enough to get a few pics of the cave inside almost void of people, a large cavern like a school hall in length and width.

Thien Canh Son Cave – Bai Tu Long

View from Thien Canh Son Cave – Bai Tu Long

On the island of Thien Canh Son Cave – our Cristina Cruise awaiting us

Our mother ship was waiting for us, a late morning (we had already checked-out of our rooms) cooking lesson on making traditional Vietnamese spring rolls was followed by lunch, whilst we made our way back through Ha Long Bay to Hon Gai International harbour – from there we transferred back to our little bus to take us back to Hanoi.

We needed to get back to Hanoi on time to catch a flight to Hoi An, about half way down Vietnam on the coast. Flight was at 19:45 from Noi Bai in Hanoi to Da Nang, we hoped to arrive in Hanoi at 16:45 but got there with more than enough time. Ah, so a perfect segue way to say my next stop would be Hoi An!

I’ve struggle like no end to get this post out, sure I’ve had a few interruptions with my routine (visiting my brother and sister-in-law in New Zealand) and many others but they are no excuse for brain freeze and a lack of motivation – so not the best of posts in my opinion, nor has it done Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long justice. For anyone reading I will do better next time!!!

The cruise was great, a combination of relaxation and being constantly surrounded by stunning fairy-tale scenery. Of course, it would have been great if the clouds cleared, on a pristine day the views must be out of this world. Maybe I should take another view, maybe the fog was the remnants of the smoke from the dragons drifting along the water to mystify and disorientate us invading tourists ?

Old Quarter Hanoi, wonderful effervescent city

Gallery

Moving into Old Quarter Hanoi had nothing to do with my homestay, they were fantastic, I wanted to be in the thick of it, that means Old Quarter Hanoi. I had been at the homestay for 3 nights which gave me two full days of sightseeing, my new hotel was Mai Charming Hotel and Spa. Lots of hotels have a “spa”, nothing fancy nor what I would call a “spa”, it normally means they do massages, waxing etc. I chose it because of the price and location, slap bang in the middle of Old Quarter Hanoi, perfect.

Something I forgot to mention in my previous post (Hanoi, cauldron overflowing with charisma) was the weather. Although overcast and murky on most days, it wasn’t cold, with a few days having a light drizzle even a few heavy rains during the evening. Even so, I wore shorts and a t-shirt just about the whole time, only needing my fleece on two evenings. Even though the sun wasn’t out during most of the days, it stayed hot and muggy, fine for traipsing about the city but not so great for photos.

Old Quarter Hanoi

Think of Bangkok’s busiest area, then condense it, add more people and scooters, a less well-off and heaps more charm, that’s the easiest way to describe Old Quarter Hanoi. You could explore the area till the soles of your shoes wore through and you’d still only see a fraction. It’s not because it’s so big, it covers a reasonable area, no, the reason is the mesh of roads of varying width and what seems like hundreds (exaggeration) of alleyways, added to that, every centimetre is used for something. Example, what I assume would have been an entrance passage to an old house is now a clothing store, where if you walked straight instead of sideways, your shoulders would brush both sides of the clothing hanging up. So many of the “restaurants” are so tiny they only have seating for 5 or 6 people, the rest side on the pavement.

Street vendors carting their products like they have done for many years

Just on of the labyrinth of alleyway roads in Old Quarter Hanoi

An example of just one of the hundreds of narrow shops that line the streets of Old Quarter Hanoi

Mixed between high-fashion brands is an array of colourful stores selling everything, I mean absolutely everything. Describing Old Quarter Hanoi as vibrant is an understatement, with the buzz of people punctuated with a backdrop of noise, colourful stores and the smell of delicious food wafting through the air. Of course, there are many knock-off clothing stores, especially outdoor brands but they are outnumbered by the craft stores from paintings to pottery, the latter of very high standards. There is no uniformity, I walked past an exclusive whisky store (very high-end) tucked in the middle of nowhere. The only part within Old Quarter which is a little familiar i.e. well-known coffee franchise and Western’esque feel, is just in front of St Joseph Cathedral on Nha Tho road.

A colourful road display of Hanoi

Beautiful hand-made pottery on the wheel at a tiny store in Old Quarter Hanoi

The vivid coloured paintings from one of the many art stored throughout Old Quarter Hanoi

Hanoi Food

Not having much choice for food by my homestay, moving to Old Quarter Hanoi was a double edge sword; with so much to choose from it was difficult to choose. I tried to eat at a different place every timey, only eating at the same place twice. To confess, my first meal in Old Quarter Hanoi was at a upscale restaurant, great food but for the price no worth it considering the great eating street food you can get at a fraction of the price. Even the little restaurant/stalls, the food may not look flash, but they are full of flavour and gives you a much better experience to every day like of residence of the city. My fear for want of a better word of eating street food had long past, since my first few days in Bangkok. There were many times in Hanoi that the food may not have look very appetising, only to be proved wrong once I taste it. I can honestly say there was nothing I ate that I would go back to tomorrow to eat again. Vietnamese food throughout my time in the country grew on me, I really like the variety, simplicity and mixtures of flavour.

Hanoi food

Hanoi street food

A stupid yet obvious observation to say, if you don’t eat properly whilst travelling it eventually comes back to bite you in the ass, with lack of energy and motivation…for me that includes bad headaches, if I don’t drink enough water too then migraines. So, no matter where I go I make sure I eat properly, luckily Hanoi have fantastic food, for long trips I try keep at least one banana (or fruit) and always some nuts to snack on to take the edge away. As much as I hate to admit it, I was rather pedantic at my house in London when it comes to cleanliness, I had to become flexible with my stance on that as soon as I started travelling – except for a little hiccup in Koh Phangan I have had no problems whatsoever – going make to my “mantra” Learn, Explore and Expand your being…I’m trying hard to do all.

Hanoi street food

Hanoi street fruit and food

Temple of the Jade Mountain

I had walked around quite a bit on my second day in Old Quarter Hanoi, I’ll get to why I didn’t do much on my first later. Throughout Vietnam, there are streams, rivers, dames and lakes everywhere, in Hanoi that is no different. Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the bigger lakes in the city, with the Temple of the Jade Mountain located on the lake access by a red footbridge. For such a prominent location I was surprised I could find much information about it, it is dedicated to Confucianism, Taoism and Trần Hưng Đạo the latter a 13^th century war hero, the mix of these three is odd in itself! It was built in the 18^th century with repairs done in the mid-19^th century

Temple of the Jade Mountain in Hanoi

Wondering around the temple, I didn’t go in, gives you some fabulous views of the city even though the muggy murky sky gave a blanket of haze. The island trees have taken a life of their own, the very opposite to the potted trees that resemble bonsais, so perfect some of them don’t seem real.

Temple of the Jade Mountain in Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake

Itself has an interesting story, Hồ Hoàn Kiếm meaning “Lake of the Returned Sword” or “Lake of the Restored Sword”, very similar to the Lady of the Lake story of King Arthur, only this time the lady is a golden turtle. The lake’s name was changed by Emperor Lê Lợi to honour and thank the God as he used to sword to conquer the invading Ming Chinese. I haven’t been able to find out when the lake was built but seems there has been a lake in the area since the 15^th century at least. On the other end of the lake is Turtle Tower, this was built circa 17^th-18^th and is linked to this folklore.

Hoan Kiem Lake with Turtle Tower in Hanoi

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

Water Puppet show, never heard of it, never knew there was anything like it not to mention Hanoi being famous for it. I heard lots of people mention it, with my first day in Old Quarter Hanoi having heavy rain I had cabin fever, at least I got to catch up on some writing. Next morning was spent exploring the area and took the late afternoon show. Terrific location for the theatre right across from Hoan Kiem Lake very near to the Temple of the Jade Mountain, I had no idea what I was going to see, at worst it was only a 45-minute show so why not.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre – Water Puppet show in Old Quarter Hanoi

Well, what an entertaining show which mixes theatre, music, myth and legend in a style unique to Vietnam. The tradition of Water Puppetry dates back to the 11^th century, in Vietnamese they call it Múa rối nước (I have no idea how that is pronounces! ?) which translates to “making puppets dance on water”, and that is exactly what they do. Without getting too descriptive, there is a pond for a stage about waist deep, the puppeteers hide behind the curtain at the back of the pond. The puppets are attached to a rod (I guess) that stays hidden in the water and controlled by the puppeteers, sounds simple, that’s what I thought. Not at all, some puppets have articulating arms, there are water spouting sea serpents, magic turtle misting the water, phoenixes, fire breathing dragons along with everyday scenes from catching fish to planting rice, it was a great show, every interesting and an experience I’ve never heard of or know of another country that has it.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre – Water Puppet show in Old Quarter Hanoi

The next day started off much the same, it may sound crazy but I just walked around, up and down roads into areas I had not been, even revisiting the same areas. I headed towards the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, just up the road I found and intersection that to a degree reflects my thoughts on Western brands arriving into Vietnam. What is quite a stylish building, now plastered with advertising, what a pity! Vietnamese food is great, why they hell would they want some rubbish burgers etc! Along my surveying of the city I came across a road running parallel to a raised train line on Phung Hung Street, under the arches were painted frescos of various scenes, many of Vietnamese life from city to countryside. I’d classify it as organised street art, they were painted in celebration for the Lunar New Year, Tet in Vietnamese – these paintings have become quite an attraction for the locals. I love urban/street/graffiti art, what I found intriguingly interesting was how the locals were interacting with the art; where as in most other countries I’ve seen people take pictures of the art, not always, but here most people were taking photo’s to be a part of the pictures. As if taking the pictures as if they were in the countryside or part of the actual picture. Nothing wrong with that, I just found it interesting how culturally different they were interacting with these paintings.

Western branding adorns many of the old buildings in Old Quarter and throughout Hanoi

urban/street art murals in Hanoi

urban/street art murals in Hanoi

NB. Before I carry on with my story I wanted to mention about using my mobile/cell phone:

Mobile phone reception is quite good in Vietnam (at least where I went) and in Hanoi especially. With the road names not being clearly signed compounded by their density and the myriad alleyway roads it is easy to get lost and disorientated, so getting a PAYG (pay as you go) sim card is in my opinion essential so you can use the maps on your phone – I used Google Maps and it was perfect. Converting back into British Pounds it was very cheap; I can’t remember the exact prices, but I bought a Viettel sim with a few gig data and cost me around £5-8 – I used it heavily throughout my two weeks in Vietnam without topping it up.
You can get sim cards everywhere, I got mine at a large phone/electronics store in the middle of Old Quarter Hanoi, it took about 10—15 minutes at most to get everything up and running. I’m quite reticent to use little corner stores that sell everything including the kitchen sink to buy sims, but that’s just me.

Hanoi Street Train

Scouring travel blogs, I read about a street in Hanoi where a train runs through a neighbourhood so close to the houses that you can touch it (definitely not recommended!). I found the location easily, very much in the heart of Hanoi, just a little on the outskirts of Old Quarter Hanoi – from my hotel less than 10minute slow walk. The first time I got there I had just missed the train, I got there just before 16:00 as I was told the train comes past at 16:00, wrong.

Even during daylight, it doesn’t take much imagination to see how close the train tracks are from the houses. Running through this residential area twice a day there is about 2m either side of the tracks before the backdoor “porch” of the houses begins, these themselves vary in width, with widest 1.5m max. All the residence belongings outside are packed against the properties, the following evening I’d experience first hand just how close the train passes through.

Hanoi Street Train – Old Quarter Hanoi

For anyone planning on going to see the Hanoi street train, here are some help points:

The most common and easiest location to see the train is near where Tran Phu and Ha Trung streets meet
The train is scheduled to pass through at 15:30 and 19:30
It often runs late, for me it was 30 minutes late.
It goes faster than I thought it would – don’t try to touch it when it does, guaranteed to hurt or injure

The next evening, I arrived just after 19:00, like I mentioned above it arrived 30 minutes late, so I killed the time pretending to act like a professional photographer clicking away. Hmmm, some pictures came out ok, many not – still learning how to fully utilise my Fujifilm X-T2….with little success and more frustration (it’s the user’s fault not the camera ?)

Hanoi Street Train – Old Quarter Hanoi

Finally, the train arrived, it’s a bloody big train! I’m used to trains living in London, this is one of those older types of trains (the horse more like a freight train), it seems even bigger as you stand on ground level, obviously there is no platform. It motors past at what speed I don’t know, I recon between 40-50km/hr. Only once the train arrives do you really appreciate how close to the houses it passes, it must be near 4m high too! As quickly as it arrives it goes by just as quickly, like nothing had ever happened the residence come back outside to carry on with their daily routine. This is an odd “tourist attraction”, to me it just reinforced how densely populated the city is and how it has grown organically whilst adapting to its needs.

Hanoi Street Train – Old Quarter Hanoi

If I think to how some other countries are (my adult experiences are dominated by living in London), this sort of thing wouldn’t be allowed for a hundred of reasons, health & safety would have a heart attack! Here common-sense with the economic drive of a capitol city (no doubt money plays a part too), the inhabitants are not concerned with this minor inconvenience, no, they’ve adapted to it and no doubt have other more pressing issues in life to worry about – not a bad lesson to take through in life.

St Joseph Cathedral

After the delayed Hanoi Street Train my stomach was calling me for attention. I headed back into the hub of Old Quarter Hanoi to get some dinner, finding a hostel with a terraced rooftop restaurant overlooking St Joseph Cathedral – a central point for tourists, hostels, homestays etc. etc.

St Joseph Cathedral – Old Quarter Hanoi

A great example of Gothic Revival, it’s made to look even more gothic with the pollution stained concrete. Reminiscent of Notre Dame on a much smaller scale, it was built in the late 19^th Century when the French occupied Hanoi, it was completed in December 1886. It has a checkered history. An 11^th temple pagoda was destroyed in order to build the cathedral, given, the pagoda was in a very bad state from its original glory at 80m high. After the retaking of Hanoi by the Vietnamese (Viet Minh) circa. 1954, the government closed down the cathedral, it was reopened in 1990.

Taking a look back at my time in Hanoi (part 1 – Hanoi, cauldron overflowing with charisma) including what I have written in this post, I feel I have not done it justice. Hanoi is a beautifully ugly city that is underrated in every respect, I wouldn’t hesitate to visit it again. Filled with friendly people, delicious food, tradition, religion, politics and colour, this is a city and people that against many setbacks have refused to give up. Amongst the many deteriorating buildings, the city blooms with flowers, literally and figuratively, there is an effervescent undercurrent of positivity and determination. From strolling through the streets like I did, I only touched the surface of what this city has to offer, so much more to learn and explore.

Tomorrow I would be heading to Bai Tu Long National Park, my time in Hanoi was sadly at an end.