Next stop on the travelling front was Vietnam starting from the north, Hanoi.
As Ed and Mark were there before they had given us a little heads up about the cold... So out came the leggings!!
Having devoured a McDonald's breakfast at Bangkok airport and a sound solid sleep through the hour and half flight to Hanoi, myself and Charlotte were ready for the cold! And boy was it warm! It wasn't freezing but was a little bit like summer at home. After getting into an unmarked taxi (we think he was waiting for someone as he had a sign but scrunched it up and took us instead) we made our way to the Old Quarter for $16.
Now the currency here is a little strange. Its in thousands and hundreds in Vietnamese Dollars and they also use US Dollars (how confusing)! It especially don't help when my maths skills are so not up to scratch either (sad face).
We adventured out with Ed and Mark after getting a family room and dumping our stuff to the water puppet theatre to catch a show. It was closed. Fortunately for us though there were show times for the evening so we decided to come back later that evening. In the meantime we walked around the turtle river and visited the turtle temple in the middle. It was beautiful and more oriental compared to the temples in Thailand. Mark's skills a photographer really stood out to me today. His ability to capture beautiful moments (and the odd selfie here and there) is pretty impressive. I may even learn a thing or two...
After a delicious lunch (Spanish chicken and rice with the most chocolaty hot chocolate ever) we headed through the mental streets of Hanoi- its mental because of the way people cross traffic and traffic moving through each other. There is absolutely no system just total chaos. I always forget to look both ways at once... This is the only time I wish my eyes were at the side of my head rather than on my face. You totally need to stay vigilant at all times and keep your eyes open.
Before the puppet show I decided to get a haircut to get rid of my split ends... and I got the best 30 minute head massage and shampoo ever!!
The water puppet show was really different. It was like stepping into the Lycium theatre to watch the Lion King but not. There were puppets in water and fireworks and traditional music and folk tales. Definitely a must see is you're in Hanoi. We then headed back to the room whilst the boys headed out to eat with a group of girls (and one guy) they met when they arrived while me and Charlotte enjoyed a night in in our silk Thai shorts and cake!
(a traumatic experience when I went to get the cake. The reason for cake was to cheer Charlotte up because a small bottle had exploded in her bag and soaked all her clothes and had pieces of glass wedged everywhere- not her luck at all! So I thought some cake would cheer her (and me) up. So kitted up in my beats, scarf and purple woolly socks in pumps (so rocking it when I get back too) I headed out. I noticed a few on the way to the hotel throughout the day but thought I'd ask at reception anyway. So I asked and he said there's one on the right on the corner. So off I go out and turn right... when it actually wasn't right. I had turned left... it was the most scared I had been since I left home. I honestly didn't know where I was going. The sensible thing to do would have been to tum back but I just carried on walking around the block hoping I'd find my way back to some familiarity (or a cake shop- at this point I still hadn't realised I'd turned left). So I kept walking through these dark streets looking ahead or round corners to see if I seen something I'd recognise but no... not until I seen the lights of the Cathedral did I feel a sense of relief and bearings of where I was. I quickly walked into the cake shop brought a slab of cheesecake, pineapple cake, macaroons and almond biscuits and took it back to enjoy it with Charlotte who was eagerly awaiting. It was here I realised I had turned the wrong way (facepalm).
Ha Long Bay:
We had to be ready for an 8.30am start for a minibus journey to Ha Long Bay. Oh my god... the journey there was so bumpy and horrible we were all literally flying out of our seats every time we hit a bump or a ditch. It was a three hour journey but was well worth it.
We were escorted onto a boat by our tour guide who was wearing a bright blue bomber jacket and holding a yellow flag on a pole so we wouldn't loose him (genius). And we were served some delicious food. Its pretty hard to grasp what Vietnamese food is but the food we were being served was so impressive and yum. We were served a whole range of food from oyster soup and chicken strips to squid. It was genuinely good food and we soon forgot where we were whilst we tucked in.
Ha Long Bay is a beautiful place and definitely worth a trip to see. On the boat you're taken around the bay and whilst the sun is shining and setting creates a surreal atmosphere. Definitely one for the couples! We kayaked and also got to walk through the caves which was unexpected and pretty cool (the caves were lit up with colourful spotlights and the tour guide would tell of little stories created from the sculptures of the rock). We were then lucky enough to be on the way back to shore whilst the sun was setting... what a better end to 2013?
The journey was a long one back and typical me I got one of my pain in the ass headaches. So not good to have when you're sitting up right in a minibus which is going over some serious bumps! It wasn't a great sleep and at times I woke up to the giggling of Mark laughing at the way Ed fell asleep on the bus. His head rocking to and fro (I also had a little giggle too; it was so cute)!
My headache was not going anywhere so after a bite to eat I headed back to the hotel to sleep whilst the guys headed out. Happy new years to me! At about 12.30ish the guys came back with about 17 balloons which they'd brought off a street vendor and started singing (in the haply birthday song tune) 'happy new years to you,happy new years to you...' It was one of the best new years surprises ever and definitely makes it into my top three.
Hanoi on new years day:
So as we were leaving in the evening we had decided to have a chilled day and had lunch, shopped around on the streets and had dinner. We also stopped at the lush cake place for coffee (and cake for me).
Hanoi to Hoian:
An overnight sleeper bus is one of the best ways to travel around Vietnam and south east Asia. If you're willing to sacrifice a nights sleep in a hostel or hotel to keep moving I would definitely recommend this. Its nothing like the VIP bus we travelled in from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This bus had actual reclining chair which went all the way to a sleeping position! OK, it was also kitted with retro neon lights but it was a great way to get down south. We had a short stop in Hue where we were left stranded on the side of a street at 6am (scary if you were on your own) until the tour office opened at 8am! Lucky for us the streets of Hue were just waking up and we enjoyed a tasty street baguette with scrambled eggs and cheese and a coffee. What more could you want. We then left Hue, went around the block to pick up others on the mega, slow, old bus and off we went to Hoian.
As Ed and Mark were there before they had given us a little heads up about the cold... So out came the leggings!!
Having devoured a McDonald's breakfast at Bangkok airport and a sound solid sleep through the hour and half flight to Hanoi, myself and Charlotte were ready for the cold! And boy was it warm! It wasn't freezing but was a little bit like summer at home. After getting into an unmarked taxi (we think he was waiting for someone as he had a sign but scrunched it up and took us instead) we made our way to the Old Quarter for $16.
Now the currency here is a little strange. Its in thousands and hundreds in Vietnamese Dollars and they also use US Dollars (how confusing)! It especially don't help when my maths skills are so not up to scratch either (sad face).
We adventured out with Ed and Mark after getting a family room and dumping our stuff to the water puppet theatre to catch a show. It was closed. Fortunately for us though there were show times for the evening so we decided to come back later that evening. In the meantime we walked around the turtle river and visited the turtle temple in the middle. It was beautiful and more oriental compared to the temples in Thailand. Mark's skills a photographer really stood out to me today. His ability to capture beautiful moments (and the odd selfie here and there) is pretty impressive. I may even learn a thing or two...
After a delicious lunch (Spanish chicken and rice with the most chocolaty hot chocolate ever) we headed through the mental streets of Hanoi- its mental because of the way people cross traffic and traffic moving through each other. There is absolutely no system just total chaos. I always forget to look both ways at once... This is the only time I wish my eyes were at the side of my head rather than on my face. You totally need to stay vigilant at all times and keep your eyes open.
Before the puppet show I decided to get a haircut to get rid of my split ends... and I got the best 30 minute head massage and shampoo ever!!
The water puppet show was really different. It was like stepping into the Lycium theatre to watch the Lion King but not. There were puppets in water and fireworks and traditional music and folk tales. Definitely a must see is you're in Hanoi. We then headed back to the room whilst the boys headed out to eat with a group of girls (and one guy) they met when they arrived while me and Charlotte enjoyed a night in in our silk Thai shorts and cake!
(a traumatic experience when I went to get the cake. The reason for cake was to cheer Charlotte up because a small bottle had exploded in her bag and soaked all her clothes and had pieces of glass wedged everywhere- not her luck at all! So I thought some cake would cheer her (and me) up. So kitted up in my beats, scarf and purple woolly socks in pumps (so rocking it when I get back too) I headed out. I noticed a few on the way to the hotel throughout the day but thought I'd ask at reception anyway. So I asked and he said there's one on the right on the corner. So off I go out and turn right... when it actually wasn't right. I had turned left... it was the most scared I had been since I left home. I honestly didn't know where I was going. The sensible thing to do would have been to tum back but I just carried on walking around the block hoping I'd find my way back to some familiarity (or a cake shop- at this point I still hadn't realised I'd turned left). So I kept walking through these dark streets looking ahead or round corners to see if I seen something I'd recognise but no... not until I seen the lights of the Cathedral did I feel a sense of relief and bearings of where I was. I quickly walked into the cake shop brought a slab of cheesecake, pineapple cake, macaroons and almond biscuits and took it back to enjoy it with Charlotte who was eagerly awaiting. It was here I realised I had turned the wrong way (facepalm).
Ha Long Bay:
We had to be ready for an 8.30am start for a minibus journey to Ha Long Bay. Oh my god... the journey there was so bumpy and horrible we were all literally flying out of our seats every time we hit a bump or a ditch. It was a three hour journey but was well worth it.
We were escorted onto a boat by our tour guide who was wearing a bright blue bomber jacket and holding a yellow flag on a pole so we wouldn't loose him (genius). And we were served some delicious food. Its pretty hard to grasp what Vietnamese food is but the food we were being served was so impressive and yum. We were served a whole range of food from oyster soup and chicken strips to squid. It was genuinely good food and we soon forgot where we were whilst we tucked in.
Ha Long Bay is a beautiful place and definitely worth a trip to see. On the boat you're taken around the bay and whilst the sun is shining and setting creates a surreal atmosphere. Definitely one for the couples! We kayaked and also got to walk through the caves which was unexpected and pretty cool (the caves were lit up with colourful spotlights and the tour guide would tell of little stories created from the sculptures of the rock). We were then lucky enough to be on the way back to shore whilst the sun was setting... what a better end to 2013?
The journey was a long one back and typical me I got one of my pain in the ass headaches. So not good to have when you're sitting up right in a minibus which is going over some serious bumps! It wasn't a great sleep and at times I woke up to the giggling of Mark laughing at the way Ed fell asleep on the bus. His head rocking to and fro (I also had a little giggle too; it was so cute)!
My headache was not going anywhere so after a bite to eat I headed back to the hotel to sleep whilst the guys headed out. Happy new years to me! At about 12.30ish the guys came back with about 17 balloons which they'd brought off a street vendor and started singing (in the haply birthday song tune) 'happy new years to you,happy new years to you...' It was one of the best new years surprises ever and definitely makes it into my top three.
Hanoi on new years day:
So as we were leaving in the evening we had decided to have a chilled day and had lunch, shopped around on the streets and had dinner. We also stopped at the lush cake place for coffee (and cake for me).
Hanoi to Hoian:
An overnight sleeper bus is one of the best ways to travel around Vietnam and south east Asia. If you're willing to sacrifice a nights sleep in a hostel or hotel to keep moving I would definitely recommend this. Its nothing like the VIP bus we travelled in from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. This bus had actual reclining chair which went all the way to a sleeping position! OK, it was also kitted with retro neon lights but it was a great way to get down south. We had a short stop in Hue where we were left stranded on the side of a street at 6am (scary if you were on your own) until the tour office opened at 8am! Lucky for us the streets of Hue were just waking up and we enjoyed a tasty street baguette with scrambled eggs and cheese and a coffee. What more could you want. We then left Hue, went around the block to pick up others on the mega, slow, old bus and off we went to Hoian.
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| Mmm cake time |
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| The view of the turtle temple in the middle of the lake in Hanoi |
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| Water puppet show |
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| Waiting on the corner in Hue |
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| Smile! |
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| Silent streets at 6am in Hue |
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| Mmm fresh lime juice at the coffee place (cake place too) |
And pose!
Cathedral next to where we were staying
The turtle temple
The singers and instrument people during the puppet show
Charlottes shoe getting super glued together!
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| Happy New Year! |
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