Hanoi to Halong Bay to Hoi An
On Wednesday 4 March, we were up early for our bus ride to Halong Bay. We’d had an amazing tropical thunderstorm overnight – lightning, buckets of rain flowing over gutters - the works. Inevitably the bus was about 30 minutes late – not an issue for us, but Liza was very tense. Afterall, we did have a boat to catch. We climbed on board, settled in and were soon winding through the streets of Hanoi, and eventually wider 4 lane roads – not exactly freeways, but certainly faster than the normal streets.
I was on the right hand side, watching the world go by, and wowing as we came very close to some of the scooters – too close at times. No harm was done to the poncho-wearing scooter riders, even to the one that was riding with his feet up high and dry just below his seat, but it certainly felt that we were closer than we needed to be.
Hanoi is home to large industry - electronics, manufacturing, steel companies. Passing the Canon factory’s street frontage of maybe 800 meters, was impressive. I couldn’t see how far back it went, but there were around 1,000 motor scooters parked under long awnings that protected them from the rain and sun.
After around 2 hours, we made the obligatory stop at a giant store where we were dropped at one entrance, and picked up at the other. This meant that we had to walk through the store, passing the clothes, nick-knacks & souvenirs - and yes I did succumb to a couple of very nice scarves.
It was then one more hour to Halong Bay, where our modernised junk, the Dragon Legend 1, was waiting for us. Access was easy via its tender, and I was soon in my very large cabin/stateroom, with a very large window in the bedroom and another in the bathroom above the spa bath. How nice to be able to sit and watch the world go by, even for the short time we were in there.
We were soon underway, heading deep into Halong Bay, passing those amazing limestone islands that this area is so well known for. There are literally thousands of them, ranging from small ones rising straight up out of the water, to larger ones with massive rock faces and occasional small beaches . We enjoyed the next 2 days in and around this area, watching small fishing boats nudging up close to islands to get their catch, while others motored from place to place. Large tankers travel through this area too, transporting goods to and from the major port next to Halong Bay.
Sunrise photo shoots were planned for both Thursday and Friday mornings at the very civilised hour of 6am. Sadly, drizzle and low cloud meant that there was no sun to be seen! However the low clouds created opportunities for some nice black & white photos, and of course we had time to practise managing low light levels.
The weather was surprisingly cool, and although I’d prepared for this by bringing my new rain jacket that I bought for the Africa trip [May/June 2020 - now 2021(?)], I’d lost this in Hanoi. Wonderful Ari loaned me one of his, so, with one of my new scarves, all was well!
Sailing really is such a very nice way to travel - gentle and relaxing. We anchored in the evening, usually near other boats - this meant that for those on the other side of the boat, keeping curtains opened meant less privacy, but I had views of the islands - just lovely to wake up to.
On Thursday morning, after trying my best to take photos in the drizzle, I joined Amanda and Debra for Tai Chi in the dining room (the outside deck was too wet). A really nice way to start the day!
Then after a yummy breakfast (Vietnamese & western), we were back in the tender and motoring to a floating fishing village. What a fascinating place. About 20 people live here, their houses built on floats, boats moored alongside, and many with dogs that presumably act as watch-dogs. We climbed into long & low-to-the-water boats rowed by local women and men, we were taken around the whole of the village, passing about 5 different sites.
As beautiful as all of this was for us in a comfy boat, the local people live in fairly harsh conditions, with few health and education services and full dependence on what they can get from from tourism and the ocean, including from sizable aquaculture farms. We sailed passed their floating homes, one man sitting on the steps just watching us go by, others doing maintenance or repairs. We passed the “shop” boat that takes groceries from house to house, and another boat rowed by a women dressed in black (recently widowed) with a bright yellow plastic chair placed behind her. Our tour ended at a beautiful floating building that sells white and black pearls - this time I did not succumb, although others did!
Friday morning we sailed back to Halong Bay, climbed back onto the bus, and headed to a large regional airport for our 1 hour flight to Da Nang, and bus to Hoi An.
Friday afternoon, 6 March 2020
Woohoo! At last the sun was shining – and the temperature was rising, along with the humidity. What a pretty place this is - and popular with tourists, although way fewer than expected. From the moment we arrived here, until I was on the flight back to Singapore, my hair was an absolute frizz-ball!
Our hotel was glorious – very, very comfortable, in a great location near the river, and with good aircon! The top floor (level 8) has a bar & pool, and was a great place to gather at the end of each day.
Friday evening we walked into town, following the river. As the sun set, lanterns lit up on the long boats on the river, and people slid candles in cardboard containers onto the water. Very, very pretty with lots of colourful reflections off the water. Sue & I enjoyed a nice boat ride (once we managed to get into the boat without falling in the river), and I have one very nice photo that I’m super-happy with!
Saturday, 7 March 2020
Saturday morning was a very early “wheels up” at 5am in the Lobby, for our 20 minute ride to the local fish market. The market is basically a road alongside the river, with ramps and piers over and into the water at 20-50 meter intervals. It’s a wholesale market where large and small fishing boats bring in their early catches for sales to restaurants and retailers.
Boats had been coming in well before we arrived – small trucks were being loaded with buckets of fish surrounded by crushed ice. Women, some with head lamps, seemed to be grabbing whatever they could & I’m not sure from whom! It was still dark and very, very noisy, scooters “meep meeping” down the narrow street, people shouting and haggling. Frenetic was the first word that came to mind. Two women grabbed onto a basket, each claiming ownership – the fight, as in a physical fight, was on for several minutes until a man intervened and settled the argument.
As the sky became lighter we could see more of the area and found a good spot near some boats that had dropped their catches, and were now organising their nets. Hopefully my photos will tell the story far better than I can describe it here.
The range of fish was amazing - tiny little shrimp and pink versions of white bait, large skate, snapper, even some eel, and a form of barracuda with very ugly sharp teeth. It was an amazing place to be.
From the frenetic to the peaceful: our next stop was a beautiful herb farm about 15 minutes away. The first point of difference was the smell of the earth and the onions – quite a change from the fishy smell that was still clinging to our shoes. The workers in the fields were mostly wearing the ubiquitous cone hats, and wandered from place to place watering seedlings either via sprinkler systems or using 2 watering cans at a time. They were relaxed and happy, with very big, beautiful smiles!
When they rode down the paths on their bicycles, instead of the electronic “meep meep” that we were used to hearing, they called out “ding ding” – perfect!
Then it was back to the hotel for a late breakfast, and just enough time to pull photos together for the next class/critique.