Vietnam - Days 9-10: Hanoi
Ha Long Bay and final hours in Vietnam
The short cruises around Ha Long Bay are often touted as 2 day / 1 night cruises - but really, you’re on the cruise for less than 24 hours (board at noon and disembark the following day by 10:30am). Nevertheless, we were really excited about this experience because of all the glowing recommendations. We checked out of our hotel early in the morning. They kindly offered to hold our larger luggage so we only needed to carry essentials needed for the cruise. The travel company picked us up promptly at 8am and we set off in a very comfortable limousine van. The trip to Ha Long bay was about 2.5 hours long with a restroom break at a souvenir shop.
The cruise we booked spent most of the time in Lan Ha Bay, which is a neighbouring bay that’s a little less populated. It’s good for taking in the sights (fewer cruise ships obstructing your view), but it does mean after checking in at the dock, we needed to take a 40 minute ferry to our boat - La Regina 2. Fortunately, this also meant we could immediately observe the iconic sights that made these bays famous.
After a quick lunch, we checked into our room and started exploring the rest of the boat. This is the first overnight cruise (albeit short one) that Uma has ever been on as an adult, so there was a lot of excitement. Our home for the next 24 hours had 4 floors, rooms were on floors 1-3 and the 4th floor was a deck and bar. Along with rooms, the 1st floor had a jacuzzi + spa and the 2nd floor, where we stayed, had a kitchen + dining area (so convenient!).
After some rest, we changed into swimwear and got ready for the first activity - kayaking in the Bay. The schedule for the trip was a few small events on the ship and 2 main off-ship attractions. One was kayaking and the other was a short cave hike. Because we already did a cave expedition (Hang En), we were looking forward to kayaking more. The kayak route took us through a number of small caves, but the magical moments were when we left the caves and were immediately greeted by the towering limestone islands. It draws a similar imagined feeling of walking amongst giants. After an hour of exploring, we got back on the boat and prepped for the evening.
Since everyone was still in their swimwear, the captain allowed guests to go for a swim in the Bay before dinner. Uma went for the swim in the cold waters while Han opted for a warm soak in the bathtub, so in a way, we were both in the water? After a relaxing hour, we went up to the top deck for happy hour - the alcohol was pretty weak, so we didn’t feel anything. During the middle of happy hour, one of the crew members started a spring roll cooking demonstration. Many people joined in, and we even did coconut rice wine shots (rice wine is called “happy water” in Vietnam) together during the cooking. Uma really enjoyed the coconut rice wine.
The night ended with a four course preset dinner. The food was okay, but the ambiance was really nice. We got to wine and dine while watching the last few moments of sunlight set on the bay. It was a cloudy day, we the normal orange-red colors were missing, but watching these giants slowly disappear was cool in its own way. After dinner, there was also a squid fishing event on deck, but we (at least Han) turned in early. Uma walked around a little and watched our co-travelers unsuccessfully attempt to catch squid. The nighttime landscape was beautiful though - the full moon cast a silvery glow over the water, making all the mountains and islands look dream-like.
The next morning we started the day at 6am with a sunrise Tai Chi session. We essentially followed the movements of one of the ship crew. Han was not convinced by about the authenticity of his Tai Chi technique, nevertheless it felt good to start the day with some light exercise. After a hearty breakfast we headed out for an excursion again. This time we went to Cat Ba island to visit Trung Trang Cave.
A series of staircases and ramps took us through the cave. It had some really interesting rock formations, stalagmites and stalactites. However since we'd already been to Hang En, we weren't as impressed as we might have otherwise been. This cave was also brightly lit by colored lights, which enhanced the visibility, but cheapened the experience. It hid some of the natural beauty of the cave and made it feel more “dressed up”.
We returned to the cruise boat and spent the last couple of hours packing, checking out, and eating an early buffet lunch. By noon, we returned to the Ha Long Harbour the same way we came in. A very comfortable bus took us back to Hanoi. All in all, it was a very comfortable and enjoyable experience. The highlight was the beautiful, serene views of Lan Ha Bay in every direction. Sadly, we did see a lot plastic floating in the water close to the Ha Long Harbour.
We got back to Hanoi around 3pm and decided to spend some time at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. It houses the Khue Van pavilion, the symbol of present day Hanoi. The other central feature here is a temple dedicated to Confucius, the first of its kind we've seen so far on our trip. The campus of the temple has many more buildings, pavilions, and statues. Established in 1070, these premises were a very selective university (Imperial Academy) till 1779. After that the ruling dynasty moved its capital and the school moved with it. Then the buildings continued to be used as a local school, till the French started demolishing it in the early 1900s. Students from here went on to play important roles in the Kings court. There were several examinations held here and the school was extremely selective. More so than the UPSC exams held in India. Only 2898 graduates made it through in the schools entire history, and they were treated very well after they did. They received large processions and gifts for their journey back home. And starting in 1484 (Lê sơ Dynasty) large stone steles were erected with all the doctoral laureates names inscribed on them (and they’re still there today). While they were students in the school though, life was rigorous with a lot of hard work. Badly behaved students were expelled and very badly behaved students were beheaded. The premises are beautiful and solemn (and we loved all the topiaries, bonsais and banyans!), much befitting a school and we were glad we were able to make it here and learn of the confucian scholarly traditions in Vietnam.
After exploring the Temple of Literature, we went to Vegan Bahn Mi for some more tasty sandwiches. This tiny restaurant was in a little lane that also houses the family that runs it. While we ate our bahn mi, the owner’s young son ate his dinner next to us and kept giving us adorable, goofy smiles. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at yet another popular bahn mi stall (you can never have too many, really) and Han picked up one to eat for dinner.
We still needed to burn a few more hours before our 1am flight, so we decided to go to a coffee shop (Circle Coffee - Bar) close to where we were storing our bags (the hotel we stayed at). The coffee shop was a quaint little shop tucked deep into an alley. Guarding the front door was a small golden doodle that Uma affectionately referred to as Maya (shout out Naj). Although the coffee shop was small, it had the drinks we’ve tasted. Han’s smoothie came with a salted whipped cream that should be the standard in every drink that uses whipped cream. It was so yummy.
Since we had nothing left to visit in the final hours, we decided to head to the airport early and reduce the stress of traveling with big backpacks (more full than we’d like, given the new clothes from Hoi An). It was a good thing we did, because the security line was legitimately hundreds of people long and took nearly an hour to go through. The Hanoi airport is a pretty packed place, the station lobby was full and had thousands of people just sitting around; our guess is that they’re waiting for family members to arrive. By the time we got through, it was only 2 hours before boarding. We decided to go to the airport lounge, a trick we only figured out in Bangkok. Oh my goodness was that a great experience. The Song Hong lounge had one of the best buffet meals we’ve had on this trip. There were foods from a number of Asian countries, you get your pick of beverages (including beer), and you can order fresh pho. This was going to be a nugget-of-the-day, but it felt too exclusive and bougie, but if you get to an airport early, go to the lounges - in the case of Hanoi, pay for this lounge even if you don’t have a Priority Pass, this was that good.
Final thoughts from Han: There were so many places in Vietnam we didn’t get to see on this trip that we still like to (re)visit. A short list are: Da Nang (for real this time), Phong Nha (trek Son Dong!), Hue, Sapa, Ha Giang Loop, Dalat, and Mekong Delta. There’s still so much nature we haven’t had a chance to see. We’ll for sure come to Vietnam again.
Final thoughts from Uma: I didn’t expect to have much luck with vegetarian food but I was happily quite wrong. There is even a Vietnamese word for vegetarian (Chay) and many Vietnamese people do not eat meat on the 1st and 15th lunar day of each month. That last one is a Vietnamese buddhist tradition but we were told that many non-Buddhists also practice this. Aside from the one misadventure with the eggs, we had no trouble finding vegetarian food and restaurants. I also loved Vietnam’s coffee culture. There is such variety and innovation in the coffee, and there are so many great cafes in all the tourist cities. The food, coffee, pleasant weather and natural beauty, all make us want to come back and spend more time here. I’d also love to see some of South Vietnam next time and hear their take on the Vietnam war and it’s impacts.
Nugget of the day: Vietnamese parks are very similar to Chinese parks in that they’re filled with aunties and uncles (grandmas and grandpas? Are we getting old?) exercising throughout the day. At the park next to the Temple of Literature, Uma got to see two uncles kick around some metal shuttlecocks (jianzi). Having never seen the game before, she was thoroughly surprised and impressed.
Great blog. It would be better if the videos can be played.