Hanoi and Halong Bay

The capital cities we've visited so far have been a mixed bag and Hanoi was no different. Hanoi has seen it's fair share of conflict over the years and as a result it's a bit backward compared to Vietnam's other major cities.

We were based in the Old Quarter of Hanoi which is where most tourists call home during their stay. If you're into shopping and markets the Old City is perfect. In the old days each street specialised in a particular trade e.g. shoes, silk etc. and there are still pockets that do this - useful if you're looking for something in particular.

From the Old Quarter it's a short walk to Hoan Kiem lake which can provide a reprieve, which is more than a little welcome, from the big city hustle and bustle. The lake gets it's name from a legend involving a sword and a turtle god and the island in the middle is called Tortoise Tower.


Hanoi is famous for not having an exciting night life. If you're looking for busy bars we're sure they're around but you'll have to do some searching. On the positive side Hanoi is the gateway to cool attractions such as Halong Bay and Sa Pa. We elected to go to Halong Bay. Of course there was no shortage of friendly locals trying to induce us to buy their or their families package trip.

We shopped around before deciding to go with Hanoi City Backpackers. We chose these guys because they were relatively cheap and the group was comprised of like minded individuals of a similar age.

The bay is picturesque. Smooth ocean as far as the eye can see and thousands of small islands dotted around the seascape.


After a couple of hours at sea we went kayaking. It wasn't like kayaking in New Zealand, things were a lot simpler, there were no spray skirts and the paddles were made of wood.


The highlight was paddling through a cave into an inlet within the island - confused? Picture below.


First pair back to the boat got a free drink so we turned up the pace to comfortably edge out two pairs of Aussies - one of whom we'd dubbed One Australia. Back on the boat with beer in hand it was time to bask in our glory whilst watching the sunset.


After Halong Bay it was back to Hanoi to continue the sight seeing. We checked out the Water Puppet Theater which was quite entertaining but the 45 minute session was long enough.


We'd heard on the grapevine that Vietnam were playing Lebanon at football whilst we were in town. Eager to witness the locals getting excited and generally carried away we made sure we were present in the crowd. The locals weren't as excited as we were about the match and the stadium wasn't at full capacity - we decided the Vietnamese must be 'fair weather' fans much like the supporters of Liverpool.

The fans that did show didn't let us down with several flares being lit and thrown before half time. 'Kungfu football' was the winner on the day with the locals running away with the match to win 3-1.


There are oodles and oodles of museums in Hanoi. We went and checked out the Ho Chi Minh Museum - all you ever wanted to know about the life of Uncle Ho. The best part was giving the man himself a high-5. Keep in mind he's old so Clint went easy.


We also swung by the Temple of Literature - Vietnam's oldest university dating back to 1076. Back in the day the universities highest award was the doctor laureat. The tests were extremely difficult and few students were successful in passing the final exams, which involved some oral questions from the king himself.

The names of the laureates of the university were carved on stone steles which were placed on top of stone turtles, much grander than having your name carved on a wooden honours roll.


Random Fact: When something bad happens at a football match the Vietnamese crowd choose to be silent instead of using the popular western response of 'boo!'.

Highlights:
- Third world football match. We can only imagine the atmosphere when Vietnam beat Thailand.
- The amount of cultural attractions on offer. From water puppets, museums and mausoleums, it's all in Hanoi.

Lessons Learned:
- Don't let a moto driver help you buy football tickets. They'll make it sound impossibly hard for you to complete the task on your own, but trust us it is very simple. We were either ripped off by our moto driver, or you could believe his side of the story and swallow the line that he was ripped off by the ticket lady. Sure thing buddy.
- Watch out for dogs. The little ones can be particular ferocious and have been known to show a liking for western guys.
- Go to Halong Bay in the summer. Whilst we weren't freezing things could have been warmer.
- If you go to the Mausoleum research when it's open. It is closed after 11am and some weeks days.