Halong to Hanoi

After a fun night keeping the other boats entertained with our karaoke we went to explore some of the caves in Halong bay. We worked up an appetite and came back to the boat for a delicious breakfast before heading back to port.

On the way back to Hanoi we stopped off at a cafe/ workshop run by Vietnamese people with disabilities making very intricate crafts. Ariah was very happy to try her first fresh coconut. She thought it was delicious and refreshing.

Back in Hanoi our lovely tour leader, Kien, took us on a street food walking tour. He also gave us a sneak peak into how the Hanoi locals live. We tried egg coffee from one of the oldest cafes in Hanoi. It’s like a coffee with a custard foam and is actually delicious. We then had some Vietnamese desserts which were a bit like crème caramel. We had some fresh banh mi. Finally we stopped off at a Vietnamese convenience store and stocked up on snacks for the next leg of the journey. We got mochis and Vietnamese pastries but we passed on the vacuum packed chicken feet.

In the evening we jumped on an overnight train to our next destination. All the kids set up a movie night with snacks in one cabin while the adults sampled the goods from the beer trolley in the cabin next door.Read more