Hanoi, Halong Bay and Christmas in Hoi An - Hoi An, Vietnam
Hoi An, Vietnam
First of all Merry Christmas to everyone – hope you had a great day.
Today is Boxing Day and as I write this I am drinking a nice cold beer (it's only 11am) and looking out across the beautiful blue pool while the sun shines down. It is also the half way point of our travels and it is hard to believe how quick the time is going.
My last entry was on Saturday when we were still in Hanoi – we are now in Hoi An so here’s what we’ve been up to since then.
The party!
In my last entry I mentioned that we had been invited to an end of year party in our hotel at Hanoi. This was certainly an experience not listed in any guidebook.
As promised by the hotel manager there was a wide selection of food - including the aforementioned wine and cake. The party resembled a UN conference with people from Columbia, Malaysia, France, Vietnam and of course England. After the initial welcome from the hotel manager we started the first of two Vietnamese party games…you’re going to love this bit.
The first was fairly routine and involved picking a piece of paper from the Christmas tree. On the piece of paper was a question - such as 'What is your best Christmas memory?’ or ‘What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?’.
When it was my turn to pick a question I was not fortunate enough to tell everybody what my most favouritist type of bauble is or what my favourite colour of tinsel is. No – I had to sing a Christmas song.
Mercifully Karen came to the rescue with the suggestion of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and thanks to the abundance of red wine (from a box) we both entertained the masses with our rendition of this well known Christmas song – actions included!
The second party game was by far one of the strangest games I have ever played – and I have played cricket. The game involved the woman sitting on a chair while the men knelt down in front of them and raced against each other to drink from a milk carton placed against the breast of their beloved. This game, we were told, had some significant meaning in Vietnamese culture however it was lost on me. Still it was jolly good fun and an experience we won’t forget in a hurry…plus I won!
Halong Bay
On Sunday morning, and thankfully not nursing a hangover from the party the previous night, we headed for Halong Bay. The area is made up of 2,000 limestone islets that reach from the sea to form the most beautiful scenery.
After a three hour coach trip we arrived on the dock at Halong City and boarded our boat – Victory. We ate lunch as the boat sailed out to our first stop – a traditional floating fishing village. The village was made up of small floating houses tied together to create a small village. If this village was on land it would not be anything out of the ordinary – however seeing children play on a floating house and watching woman do the laundry in the sea was an amazing site.
We returned to the boat and relaxed in our cabin until dinner. Before dinner we all took part in a cooking class and learnt how to make spring rolls. Dinner was a medley of seafood dishes including preying mantis prawns – a rather disturbing looking creature that would not look out of place in the Alien movies.
We also met Nick and Tracey, an English couple from London who were travelling around Vietnam. After dinner Nick and I attempted some squid fishing – but the indignity of holding a bamboo rod over the side of our boat while bobbing it up and down got too much and we headed back to the bar for more beer.
The following day we visited the ‘Surprise Cave’ – the largest cave in Halong Bay. It certainly was a surprise – the cave was stunning with moon-like features that really did make you think you were on another planet. It also featured a rock that looked like a thingy (to quote Baldrick from Blackadder) - much to my amusement. After the cave visit we headed back to our boat and sailed to the dock ready for our return to Hanoi.
Heading for Hoi An
We returned to Hanoi on Monday afternoon just in time to grab some dinner before taking the overnight train to Hoi An – our next destination in Vietnam. The train was a tedious 17 hour journey – however thankfully most of it was overnight.
We arrived at our hotel in Hoi An on Christmas Eve and after freshening up we headed into the beautiful town centre. The streets were alive with people and lanterns and after dinner and a quick visit to a bar we returned to our hotel.
IT’S CHRISTMAS
In true Christmas style we woke up early and went for breakfast. Unfortunately there was none of my grandma’s delicious ham and porkpie usually consumed on Christmas morning – but it sufficed.
After breakfast we hired some bicycles and went for a ride to the beach. The sun was shining as we cycled to the beach – it was not when we arrived! Still it was warm and we pushed on walking along the front. This is also where I learnt another lesson of travelling – never put your shoes and backpack on the beach where the tide can reach it! They, and I, got very wet.
Christmas day is all about relaxing and what better way to do this than with a massage. We found a spa as recommended by the guidebook and treated ourselves to a massage and a pedicure – yes I had a pedicure!
We then cycled into town for some lunch and a bit of shopping. We had eaten at a fantastic restaurant on Christmas Eve and despite being fully booked we managed to squeeze ourselves in for the evening…much to my charm and wit I imagine.
We returned to the hotel and made calls to family and friends back home before getting ready for dinner. After a three course meal and a bottle of wine we were satisfied that Christmas day in Vietnam had been a very special one.
Tomorrow we fly to the largest city in Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City – where we stay for three nights before heading to Cambodia.
Until next time.