I've been wee'd on (think my daughter has a bit of a bladder infection or bug), had tea poured all over me on the airplane and ended up with blue ink over my hands and arms from a dodgy pen.
I'm sitting in my hotel room in Luang Prabang,Laos now, enjoying the peace that this place seems to naturally and automatically bring, but back to Vietnam for now.
HANOI & SURROUNDS
Gosh, thinking back over the last few days, my mind is trying to pick through the most memorable and entertaining moments to share here on this post and I don't think I've yet told you about the attempted hotel room break in.
It must have been around 3am when I awoke to someone quite aggressively trying to get into the room. Luckily I had the large latch across the door as well as locked. Eventually I asked what they were doing as they were rather persistent. I got a broken English apology and then just went back to bed.
Once we went down the next morning for breakfast, it turns out it was the security guard who had forgotton we had moved rooms and was probably trying to find somewhere for a nap.
My impressions by this stage of Hanoi were not particularly great I have to say.
We spent a day touring Ninh Binh, including some beautiful old 16th century royal temples and took a 2 hour rowboat ride along the river through limestone cliffs from Tam Coc, rowed by a mother and daughter team, the mother 64 years old...... all in bone chilling 10 degree weather.
Now, I'm really not a cold weather person and would never intentionally take a holiday in a cold climate unless there was a specific reason like skiing perhaps. I'm not unlike a bear, I'd much rather sleep out the winter and wake up in spring really, so this cold snap of weather was rather torturous.
Luckily I was kept distracted and entertained by some fantastic sights, like the motorbike rider who had a cumquat or possibly mandarin tree on the seat behind him. Not a small tree, quite a large tree in a heavy cement pot with a diameter of around 45cm's.
HALONG BAY
There was also the day when we were returning to shore from our Halong Bay cruise that we spotted one of the boats in flames. At first we saw some smoke which got our attention, but then the flames became quite clear.
The trip to Halong Bay was beautiful if a little more crowded than I had expected. Once you get over that, the beauty of this place can still be appreciated because it is truly majestic.
There was a visit to a very large cave that offered fabulous views over the Bay as well as a visit to a floating village where you can buy seafood from the 'farms' straight out of the sea. These people live on the sea with no heating at all and winter can get very cold, so I'm sure they relish the arrival of the warmer months.
The cruise/boat company we used was Oriental Sails www.orientalsails.com and I have to say that they are a wonderful operator (no kickbacks here). The food was delicious and plentiful, the rooms very comfortable and a nice size too with only 12 rooms maybe at the most all at a very reasonable price. I think I had one of the best sleeps I have ever had on that boat, in spite of the fact we had a 'party boat' next to us - yay for ear plugs!! The beds were so comfortable with big fluffy doonas and great heating. We were all supposed to sleep in the one room and they ended up giving us 2 separate cabins, one twin (for the kids) and a double to myself.
We also met some great people on this trip. There was the older couple from Paris who got stuck with us at most meal times, the Brazilian family from Copacabana (which Declan found highly amusing due to the Barry Manilow song) and the young couple from Holland who Phoebe befriended and entertained at one lunch by leaving us and sitting with them on her own. She also insisted on sitting with them for the bus trip back to Hanoi and invited them to join us for dinner. Nice to see she's getting into the swing of this traveller mode.
BACK IN HANOI
I feel like I've finally found my groove in Hanoi/Vietnam and now it's time to leave, but I've definately enjoyed my time and have now made friends with the Hanoi Lake View Hotel after a rocky start www.hanoilakeviewhotels.com.
It is a 'what you see is what you get' kind of place. They say they are 3 star and that's what you get in terms of the rooms and amenities, but what you get in service surpasses that. From providing extra blankets, changing rooms, booking tours, booking taxis, wake up calls at 6am etc, all with smiles and genuine interest in your welfare and happiness. The rooms were quite large too and it's a good location for the price. Around $70 a night for the three of us.
FAST FACTS
The visa on arrival was pretty painless, but make sure you have USD and a couple of photos with you, which you'll be advised when you apply on line anyway. It added about 30-40 mins to clearing customs but the luggage was just coming out anyway when we reached the carousel, so no real delay.
www.myvietnamvisa.com
Stick to the reputable taxi companies and avoid the private operators. The main taxi companies are of a pretty good standard.
Unfortunately it was way too cold to eat out on the street, so I can't give you any advice on that, but maybe when we return to Hoi An and Hanoi later this month.
There are HEAPS of ATM's. There would have to be about 10 at the airport including an ANZ one and they are liberally scattered throughout the city, so don't stress about changing money etc if you haven't thought of it.
FOOD
I think it would be hard to go wrong in Hanoi in terms of food. There is so much to choose from and it's all delicious.
I was recommended a great restaurant by our Halong Bay tour guide called Ngon Restaurant, 18 Phan Boi Chau, Hanoi, frequented by a mass of locals and travellers alike. I've noticed it coming up in lots of web pages if you google it.
We ate whole steamed fish, rice paper rolls with Roasted pork that you roll yourself, noodle dishes and soups. Highly recommend it.
http://www.anan-vietnam.com/en/hanoi/f000038/
In Halong Bay we ate incredibly well and tried Kingfish bought straight from the farm, where we watched it's demise. It was $100 for the fish and was bought by a wealthy Saigon family on holiday, who generously shared it with the rest of the group.
We also ate a type of mollusc that they referred to as a mussel, but was more like a pipi/clam or cockle. Rather strange looking but very tasty cooked in spring onion, garlic and ginger. It was like one half was pipi like and the other end was almost squid or abalone like.
Ok, well I think that's about all for tonight. If there is anything you'd like me to look further into or describe in more detail, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.
The cooking classes are still to come and I can't wait to tell you more about Laos, but you'll have to wait a day or two for that.
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