Hanoi

Unlike Bangkok, Hanoi is a city that is difficult to understand. The streets are hectic everywhere as is the traffic. There are very limited pavements so people walk along the road weaving through the many scooters - it is not a city to relax in. Hanoi has its Old Quarter which is very French inspired and more evident during the day before the chaos ensues at night. We spent the last few days exploring the city including lakes, markets, the national military museum, the Chinese inspired temple of literature (Hanoi’s first ‘university’) and even tried Hanoi’s famous egg coffee. I’m not a fan of coffee but was told this should not be compared to regular coffee. The coffee was very thick and creamy and the egg yolk is supposed to remove the bitterness. I’m still not a fan although glad to have tried. It is very common to see an entire street selling goods of the same kind and sometimes pretty unusual goods. For example we’ve seen streets selling nothing but fans, then another selling hot pots then the next selling bespoke motorbike seat covers, sewing machines, pet bedding, lamps and sunglasses (picked up a pair). Odd but ideal if you need a replacement suitcase castor wheel, just head down castor wheel street which will inevitably exist.

We had booked to move on to Sapa next, a remote northern village where you can see workers on rice terraces set against beautiful mountain scenery. With difficulty travelling there, and being the rainy season (which also means a high chance of fog due to altitude) and reading up more to find out this has become a tourist trap and not what it used to be, we decided to change plans. Although it will be a shame to miss the scenery, it just didn’t feel right so instead we are moving straight onto Halong Bay. Having got the 5-star bug, we decided to book onto a 5-star 2 night/ 3 day cruise around Halong bay. Looking forward to this one!Read more