Kayaking in Ha Long Bay

While in Hanoi, Angela and I decided to visit one of the famous wonders of the natural world, Ha Long Bay. There are tours available that can let you spend several nights there but we decided just to do one day since we were trying to save a bit of money. The highlight of the trip was the kayaking we did among the beautiful limestone pinnacles of the bay.

A few hours out of Hanoi, we arrived at Ha Long City and boarded a ferry.

We met some friendly Russians on the boat. One of them, Sergei, insisted on pouring us shots of vodka every five minutes.

Enjoying some tasty seafood to dilute the alcohol.

We stopped off at an island in the bay to explore some caves.

As we headed deeper into the bay, the karst peaks became more abundant and impressive.

Now it was time to enjoy some kayaking.

Let's try squeeze through this.

Back on the ferry for some more views of the bay.

That was it for our tour of Ha Long Bay. To be frank, we weren't all that impressed with this place. Sure, it's pretty, but we've seen other limestone karst landscapes that wowed us more. Still, we're willing to admit that we might not have seen the best of it by taking a short day tour.

Afterwards we returned to Hanoi and spent a day or two more in the city, sorting out technical problems with my laptop and posting stuff home. Then we took the long bus to Laos, making this my final Vietnam post. It's been an incredibly fun country to travel through. The people have surprised us with their friendliness, and the country really didn't seem as aggressively tourist-orientated as we'd been told. We're also glad we devoted almost an entire month to travelling it, since there are so many varied places to visit: the palm tree-lined beaches of Phu Quoc and Nha Trang, the bustling cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, the deserts of Mui Ne, the European-style alpine resort of Dalat, the ancient merchant town of Hoi An...we visited so many magical places and yet there's still so much we didn't see; had we more time we might also have visited the watery villages of the Mekong Delta, the rice terraces of Sapa or the caves and mountains of Phong Na. I guess that gives us a good reason to return in the future.

A Treasure Hunt in Hanoi: Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this post if you haven't already.

Angela's next clue told her to find "Vietnam's former Communist leader, who gave his name to a city in the south," which led her to the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. She was also told to look for an umbrella.

Nope, not this one.

How about the umbrella near the flag?

This clue told Angela to find another flag, near the Ho Chi Minh Museum.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum with flag in front.

Next we went to the Temple of Literature, a Confucian sanctuary devoted to learning, knowledge and scholarly pursuits.

Angela had to go to the Courtyard of the Sage Sanctuary, admire the tree sculptures and find the next clue under a small red pagoda.

There it is!

Upon leaving the Temple of Literature, we next had to find a pet cafe.

Angela and I went to several pet cafes in Seoul, though they were mainly filled with dogs and cats. This was a slightly different pet cafe...

...one with reptiles!

There was also the occasional rodent.

Angela had to show some bravery to get her next clue, which was hidden in one of the reptile tanks.

Passing a statue of Lenin on our taxi ride to the next destination.

The final clue was in a plant pot outside a spa. Before following the clue, we went inside and treated ourselves to a herbal bath and massage.

Heading back through the Old Quarter to reach our final destination of the treasure hunt.

...a fancy dinner at Co Yen restaurant. Angela ate a tasty chicken-based dish.

I decided to try Tis sa cau nuong rieng me, or grilled crocodile meat with fermented rice and galangal. It was my first time trying crocodile. It had the texture of chicken but the taste of fish. Not delicious but enjoyable enough.

The pretty view from our table.

After dinner, the waiters and I brought out a cake, and we all sang Happy Birthday to Angela, with many of the other customers joining in.

With the treasure hunt finished, we soon headed back out onto the hectic streets of Hanoi.

And that was it for Angela's birthday. Overall, I think she was very happy with how it went, and we spent the next day lazing around and eating junk food in our hotel room, which was fun. Apart from a daytrip to Ha Long Bay (which we'll look at in my next post), we didn't do a whole lot else in Hanoi, except run some errands like posting a bunch of stuff home and buying a new plug for my laptop. The treasure hunt alone, though, helped ensure that we'll always remember fondly this city and its many sights.