Category: Vietnam

To sunnier climes. You’ve probably noticed that sun and blue skies have been in short supply, although the temperature has generally been high teens to low 20s. Anyway, to Hoi An.

Mopeds and small motor bikes are the mode of transport here. Loved this family of 4 on a motorway – especially the little girl at the front – note they were probably doing 30-40mph.

Eileen had cleverly organised a hotel limousine to take us, with stop offs along the way.

And Hai Van Gate, described by one of the emperors without a hint of hyperbole

And, of course, a very strategic stronghold during the Vietnamese war. Now quite a tourist attraction. Don’t forget it’s Tet, so cameras and gladrags at the ready!

Finally the Pagoda and caves at Marble Mountain.

Bit of drama at Hoi An. Booked a peaceful homestay for a few days, only to find it was next door to a very loud karaoke bar (with dire singing thrown in). Beat a very hasty retreat – they were very sad, and so were we but they were lovely, and even carried our cases to the taxi. Found a peaceful place next to the river.

Good old eSIMs and Grab (plus Booking.com) meant it was all sorted within the hour. Independent travelling here is very very easy.

Still learning a bit about the history of Vietnam.

Mausoleums of 3 of the Emperors

Note the likeness to a French Chateau – this was one of the French “puppets”.

The next one was more of a poet than a great ruler so liked the tranquil setting before he died.

This is what it looks like in the summer!

Can’t remember much about the last one!

Another Pagoda – everyone out for New Year.

Minding our own business and stopped for a ginger and orange tea.

Staffed by teens doing karaoke (she’s a great singer, the boys much less so). No prizes for guessing which Celina Dion song they’re doing!

Tet (Lunar New Year)

Party on a boat. Our kind of New Year Party – all done before 9.00😃

New Year’s Day

Year of the snake.

The visit to the Imperial City really brought home to me my lack of knowledge of Vietnamese history.

Hue was the old capital city until 1945 when the revolution led to the end of the Emperors.

But during the French occupation the Emperors were essentially puppets, and built palaces a bit like French chateaux.

… with adornments.

Then the Imperial City was part of a huge US bombing campaign during the Tet Offensive in 1968.

Bullet holes still visible.

Interestingly the guides in Hanoi (in the old communist north) seemed far more. Exercised by the French occupation than the US campaign.

It’s well known that we like to get to places such as airports a bit early, to keep stress levels down. Anyway, 6 hours early for our flight to Hue is quite impressive.

To be fair, it’s Tet, and so we were advised by everyone that everyone would be on the move to see their families.

• The roads were fine. Took 2 hours to get back to Hanoi but had been warned it might take twice that.
• The airport was busy, but fine.

Luckily we could check the bags in straight away and pay £15 each for the use of a very quiet and comfortable business lounge with unlimited food and drink.

And the weather wasn’t the best.

IWe’ve done really well weather-wise so far. Not many blue skies, but temperatures consistently in the low to mid 20s which is very comfortable indeed.

Plenty of other highlights to keep us entertained for a couple of days.

Hoa Lu (Ancient Capital)

Mua Caves

499 (very uneven) steps, 142m.

Crazy right at the top – gave up on the last 10m or so to let the “influencers” do what influencers do!

Bich Dong Pagoda

Amazing setting which I couldn’t do justice to.

Ecological Park

And we liked the monument to the old tractor used to set up the site. Old Russian model cobbled together with spare parts and scrap metal. Then they had to dismantle it to transport it into the marshland and rebuild it which took 3 months.

Fun Evening!

When you get your second “once in a lifetime memorable experience” in 3 days, you have to pinch yourself . But it happened.

Essential it’s just a ride in a rowing boat (along with many others – and it’s very quiet at this time of year).

And then just sit back and enjoy.

The girls are here as well (of course).

After 24 hours on the boat it’s time to move on. It’s a shame we didn’t get any photos of me and Eileen kayaking (we really did).

The logistics of the cruises are awesome. Out of about 40 people on our boat, 7 of us had opted for one night rather than two (it was enough). So we did our cave and kayaking activities early, and then we’re transferred to a sister boat that was heading back to port where we were then guided towards our different taxis/buses going to all different places. And it worked!

So we’re off to Ninh Binh for 3 nights. Here’s where we’re staying.

Uneventful 4 hour journey, apart from me paying £1.50 for 2 satsumas, which in hindsight was rather too much!

We’re moving on from Hanoi to Ha Long for an overnight boat ride. If you haven’t heard of Ha Long you’ll certainly recognise it. And it certainly hit 10/10 on the wowee scale.

Early start and a longish taxi ride to get to our boat.

With a lovely room.

And then a ton of photos to enjoy

A few reflections on Hanoi before we leave tomorrow.

• It’s been a great introduction to Vietnam, especially the traffic and the food
• It’s been a pleasant temperature but a bit smoggy
• There are no real sights that could be described as “wowee” (apart from Ho Chi Minh’s body in a mausoleum which we swerved)

Our hotel

But there’s been lots of decent stuff to take in and get used to Vietnamese way of life, so here goes

Trains get pretty close!

Water puppets