Xin chào Vietnam!

Hanoi, Vietnam

We boarded our 13hr sleeper bus from Hue to Hanoi, €30 cheaper than the stink wagon that is the sleeper train and by all means a far superior travelling experience for us this time around...

We awoke to find ourselves pulling into Vietnam's Capital Hanoi at 5.45am. After the usual struggle of getting though the crowd of super eager taxi men ready to pounce on the tired, naive westerner we found a rep from our hotel who was waiting with another man on two scooters to take us to the Elizabeth Hotel. http://www.agoda.co.uk/asia/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi_elizabeth_hotel.html?type=1&site_id=1410012&url=http://www.agoda.co.uk/asia/vietnam/hanoi/hanoi_elizabeth_hotel.html&tag=81CAF6DB-75D1-4D88-AB25-9452BD8E12C9&gclid=CO22-bmv_rICFUwa6wodfyUAvQ&cklg=1 Hitching a ride on the back of a scooter is one thing, but with a 20kg backpack on its somewhat of a challenge, my anxiety was heightened mid journey though when i caught a distinctive scent of alcohol in the air coming from my driver! We checked in and got some shut eye before venturing out into the city...

That evening we walked down by the lake and bought tickets to see the Thang Long Water Puppet Show. For 60,000 Dong (€3) we were treated to a 45 min show celebrating the ethnic diversity of Vietnam  with local music and singing. The puppets and choreography were colourful and entertaining.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

We were up early the next morning to take a 4hr bus journey to Ha Long City located in the Quang Ninh province. The bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site that features thousands of limestone karsts. The limestone is this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. We boarded our boat belonging to the Papaya Cruise Company. We chose the 2 days/1 night package for $67.

The bay consists of a dense cluster of 3,000 limestone monolithic islands each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising spectacularly from the ocean. 

Spot the tourist!

After lunch on board we docked at Surprise Cave, which is a huge grotto with 3 chambers that was discovered in 1901. I think the biggest 'surprise' is that there is 100s of tourists at it!

We then decided to take to the water for a spot of kayaking to get a closer look at our stunning surroundings and the floating village. 

As the light was fading on what had been a truly memorable day, the boat docked at a private beach to allow us enough time for a swim while taking in the breathtaking scenery all around us, a genuine 'pinch me' moment...

As the sun was setting we made our way to the top deck, cracked open a can of Hilida and watched the sun glow on the surface of the water as it slowly sank behind one of the islands.

After a beautiful dinner and a few beers with our new dutch mates Simone & Sander we retired to our cabin and reflected on what had been our best tour yet!

The next morning we were up early for breakfast and cruised around the various islands as the boat made its way back to Ha Long City for Lunch. We arrived back to Hanoi that evening exhausted but with great memories. 

To save any hassle we just booked back into the Elizabeth Hotel - what a MISTAKE that was... That night as i lay on my bed at 1 am awaiting the live streaming of the Drumgath game from home i heard rustling coming from the shelved ceiling, i glanced up, hoping and wishing that if i didn't see anything i could maybe let the noise slide and put it down to sheer exhaustion, but unfortunately no, my eyes met that of a very large fat rat!!

Ok, yes in fact this is Splinter from Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles fame but in my moment of panic the camera wasn't my main priority! Needless to say we were out of that room in a shot and managed to convey through interpretive dance and role play the situation that had unfolded in our room to the boy at reception (who had no english!) He moved us to a different room, but we left early the next morning having barely slept. The hotel didn't seem too bothered about the RATA who had taken up residence in our room - que the slating they will receive in my hostel-world review!

We booked into our new hotel - Hanoi Style http://www.hanoistylehotel.com/ to get some much needed sleep! It really was excellent, so clean and well furnished.That night we strolled down by the lake and the night markets. 

Clearly still traumatised by the rodent episode we decided to sample a few Bia Hoi - this is local beer basically served on street corners illegally for 5,000 Dong $0.25 for a large glass. As we sat and enjoyed the buzz around the streets a local 12 yr old boy 'Duong' approached us and asked if we would speak some English with him so he could practice. His English really was very good and he proclaimed 'Please do not speak slowly', i don't think he knew what he was getting into asking two girls from Northern Ireland who were excited at how cheap Bia Hoi was to speak at full speed!!

We could hear music coming from the 'Make Some Noise' bar so we dandered over. It wasn't long to we were introduced to management and some of the locals. I thought this was my best chance of getting to experience karaoke South East Asia style - as i took the mic and looked down, i began to worry how the 99% Vietnamese crowd would take to me and my Cher number,  i decided to go for it, starting with 'Xin Chao Vietnam' (roughly translates into Hello Vietnam!!) from their reaction they seemed VERY positive so needless to say it wasn't one of my shy/retiring performances haha!

After that things just got a little crazy... A game of Uno with locals, back to the beer corner, hitting a night club for a dance, dodging scooters in a lane way, ending up in the Aussies hotel for a nightcap and getting lost on a scooter on the way home...

Clearly being bullied into singing by the manager Jenny!

Aussie Couple Courtney + Nathan

Karen's BFF Ted

We decided to have a lazy Sunday watching the Ladies All Ireland Finals live on the internet. Strangely i felt unwell, we're putting it down to the Malaria tablets! Monday we walked down by the lake and some of temples to unwind. 

We redevouzed with Max + Acacia again to hang out and plan our journey to Luang Parbang. We checked into our 3rd hotel in Hanoi http://www.agoda.com/asia/vietnam/hanoi/stars_hotel.html it was cheap, clean and comfortable. We definitely stayed a lot longer in Ha Noi than planned, a mixture of exhaustion, pest control, dread of doing the 29hr bus journey to Luang Parbang alone and malaria tablet poisoning played its part. 

It really was great to see the guys again, as we all prepared to say Goodbye to Vietnam, nothing could have prepared us for the journey from hell that was just around the corner... 

Next stop Luang Parbang, Laos...