Bai Tu Long Bay Islands

Bai Tu Long  Il

Our journey took us 3 hours drive from Hanio to the port of Ha Long to join our overnight cruise to the area of Bai Tu Long Bay, which is a coastal area made up of hundreds of islands and islets. It is part of the Ha Long Bay islands which is an UNESCO world heritage site and has a total of 1969 islands. An amazing and beautiful place, which is a perfect setting for a James Bond closing scene. It’s difficult to describe in words, so leaving to pictures rather than words: 

Our lead for the journey was the very energetic Sunday (his Nickname), whose objective was to keep us busy and entertained. Our fist adventure was Kayaking, paddling out among the islands to find a secluded beach. Once there we could swim freely in remarkably warm water.

After a good nights sleep, we had another early morning. Our guide, Sunday, offered a 6am Tai Chi for beginners lesson on the top deck as the sun rose. This was followed by breakfast and a tour of an island with a hidden cave called Thiem Cohn Son Cave.

                                                  Our Guide Sunday - who wanted to make it a funday.. 

 

The cruise finished around midday, just in time for us to say goodbye to our new friends and meet our new guide called Leo for the journey to Ninh Binh, which is an inland area of beauty, with Paddy Fields surrounded by amazing scenery. 

Water buffalo enjoying their bath

So ends an an amazing, but whirlwind 24rs. A little sleep is needed as we have a 6am cycle ride in the morning 😏

 

Hanoi Vietnam

 

Our time in India is over. We took an over night flight via a very busy Vietjet flight from New Delhi to Hanoi, arriving at 5am. Before leaving Hanoi airport, we bought two pre paid SIM cards, only £11 each for 30days, offering local calls and 4 Gb data per day, which means we can stay in contact if we loose each other, 

We had a driver organised to meet us at the airport, which was about a 30 minute journey. Hanoi is a large developing city with a population of about 8.3 million. We have flown 3.5 hours east to a much more tropical country, but there are a number of similarities to Delhi. The first is the polution, a thin haze of smog sitting above the city and second is the dependence on motor bikes. Vietnam was controlled by the French from the mid 19th century until the 1950's, which ended after a long war with the French, then came the American Vietnam war. They now have their independence. It’s a communist country, but feels very relaxed. As we drove across Hanoi city at 6 am on a Sunday morning, it was busy with people exercising - Runninng, Cycling, Tai Chi and Badminton. We drove past the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which was busy with parades and people looking to pay tribute to their great historical leader. It feels like a country which has embrassed communism and not a repressed communist state, which is how the west tends to view communism. Our first guided trip was organised for 9am, which was not the best organisation after a night without sleep. After a quick a snooze and breakfast we met our enthusiastic guide who marched us off around the city. You have to be confident and brave as a pedestrian. There is a constant flow of cars and motorbikes. Pelican type crossings are at all the major junctions, but these seem to be advisory only, so our guide demonstrated the tecnique of gently holding out your arm and then walking into the oncoming traffc. Walk with confidence, don't stop and the traffic will find its way around you. A bit like Moses crossing the Red Sea. A little dsconcerting, but oh well, when in Hanoi.

Our guide could see we were tired and stopped for coffee. At this point she attempted to give us our first lesson in Vietnamese. She soon realised that she would need patience with her new students, but she seemed to be up for the challenge, even though we were showing no enthusiasm and struggling with English through our tiredness. 

For those interested, a few words: Hello : xin chào, Good bye : Tạm biệt and if you need a motorbike : xe máy.

Once our Vietnamese lesson was over we identified a restaurant for the evening for traditional Vietnamese Noddles. Beef Noodles - 130,000 Vietnamese Dong (approx £5 for us both).

As we are in Hanoi - the drink of the day, Cheers