So after a 15 hour train journey we arrived in Hanoi at 4.30am. Upon arrival it decided to rain. Great. We disembarked and were immediately hounded by hundreds of taxi drivers all shouting at us and demanding we pay extortionate amounts to get in their respective taxis. They were practically manhandling us. Well, my temper soon got the better of me (they didn't call me Rambo at primary school on account of my skills with a bazooka) and after a stern talking to, most taxi drivers shut up and we mananged to find a guy who took us directly to our hotel for a very reasonable amount of cash. The hotel was shut so we sat on the step in the rain and spent an hour watching an elderly lady walking up and down the road for exercise. Yes they get up insanely early over here. We were let in and crashed straight away. The hotel is great, it's got everything and the lady who runs it, Miss Moon, is a mind of information and very friendly. We seem to have struck gold again.
The following day we were booked on a junk boat out in Halong Bay. The trip to the port took about 4 hours which was grim. More so were the endless signs outside restaurants for Thit Cho. This is one of the only phrases i learned off by heart, as neither of us wanted to accidentally eat dog. Leanne even saw a few establishments with a selection of caged animals outside. We don't really like dogs but this was hard to see.
The junk was great fun. It's low season so the boat was only half full and our group was all older than us, and so we thought it would be a quiet, relaxing trip. Not quite. Two of the guys cracked straight in to the wine and joined us for lunch. We ate wonderfully fresh seafood and drank wine, completely forgetting we had to go and do anything. An hour after lunch we got off to see a massive cave, made in the limestone formations. It was awesome and much cooler than the weather outside. It was like an airconditioned cave. We then headed off and were soon sea kayaking. Me and Len were in one and the two guys (who had incidentally just met) got in the other. We paddled in to a hidden lagoon which was breathtaking (that's the paddling and the view) and then across part of the bay to a beach. We paddled for a few kilometers and were a bit broken upon hitting the beach. We waited for ages for the two guys to turn up, and it turns out the wine had played a part as they'd capsized no fewer than 8 times. Great work.
We boarded the boat again and had a few beers watching the sun start to set. This is a great thing to do anywhere, but in Halong Bay it was perfect. The beers, wine and exercise had lightened the mood and by 6pm Leanne was singing Karaoke with the crew. Dinner was great (more seafood) and then we went squid fishing. Turns out i had the magic touch and managed a haul of 4. One squirted ink all over my white shorts. I'm actually unwilling to wash them as i want to tell people about my battles with nature on the South China Sea. We headed to bed and fell asleep listening to the sea on the hull. Very nice.
Next day we were back to Hanoi and it was time to see Ho Chi Minh, who is handily still kicking around (despite being dead for quite a few years) in a mauseleum. It was a crazy morning. Everyone gets dolled up in their sunday best, and it's a big thing to go see "Uncle Ho". He is revered here and almost had godlike status. We queued for ages, for a 30 second walk past. We were literally manhandled past him (the guards obviously moonlight as taxi drivers) but it was still interesting. Watching the locals reactions was better than looking at Ho.
We then tried visiting the famous lake with the wreckage of a B52 in, but were pointed in the wrong direction and ended up at a museum dedicated to the "American Destroying War" instead. The heat/humidity got too much and so we chilled out at a temple before heading back.
Most of our days in Hanoi have been similar. You can only really sightsee early or late as the hours around midday are unbearably sticky. Fridays and Mondays the town shuts down and so we've spent a lot of time either in cafes or hiding in the shady streets of the old quarter, looking for bargains and just watching the locals.
Off to Hong Kong tomorrow and back to the UK on Sunday. Cannot believe it's nearly over.