Hoi An

Day 61

We thought we would make the most of the free cycle hire today and for a change it was pretty warm. First up we headed to a beach that was 8km, not far although the bikes are not the best.

The waves were huge.

We then headed 8km in the other direction, passing through a few local villages and seeing plenty of the local fishermen in the deltas.

Eventually arriving at An Bang Beach.  About 50 metres before the beach we were stopped by locals who said we could not takes any further, and we had to park them up, for a fee of course.  This annoyed us as it was only tourists that were getting pulled over.  So we took it in  turns to stay with the bikes and check out the beach for a few pics.  We had no intention of going in the sea, so we were not to bothered.

After cycling around for a bit we headed back to Hoi An for some lunch,  We found a place that had over 30 varieties of ice cream. You just helped yourself, weighed the tub and that was how much you paid. After trying a lot of them, I came to the conclusion you just cant beat good old chocolate.

Some of the boats in  Hoi An.

Hoi An

Day 60

Today we decided to hit as many tourist destinations in one go as possible.  Ooooh boy what a day of fun!!

First up Museum of  Trade Ceramics (sounds exciting!! do not all rush to buy your tickets at once)

Then onto Quang Trieu Assembly Hall

Japanese Covered Bridge

Cam Pho Communal House

Hoi An Bridge

Old House of Duc An

This Banzai Tree was sat in water.  There were loads of tropical fish underneath it, no filter, no heater ect.  

Can you believe after all that fun we ended up with our last double bonanza Treat as they were right next to each other

Museum  Of Hoi An History and Culture

Quan Cong Temple

Wow what a day of fun!!!  Now that I am finishing this blog entry, I am going to sit back, relax and watch The Apprentice ' The Final Five'.  Come On Rosin and Daniel ( he is entertaining!!!)

Hoi An

Day 59

The small streets of Hoi An are a huge contrast to Hanoi

I was looking forward to the English breakfast menu this morning, feeling health I ordered boiled egg with bread. I assumed I was getting two eggs (in egg cups) with some bread to dip in it. Well I was wrong, I got 2 eggs on a saucer with a 12 inch French stick.  God only knows how they expect you to eat it.  The egg was a proper hard boiled egg, combined with the  dry bread,  no butter or jam made it impossible to eat.

The main agenda today was to get Claire tailor measured for a suit. Hoi An is famous for its hand made suits at very cheap prices.  After looking around a variety of shops  Claire found what she was looking for Yalys.  She was measured up and the first suit fitting will be tomorrow, then any alterations can be made before we leave in a day or two.

Also checked out the local markets and cruised around on the streets on our free bikes.  All in all it was a fairly easy day.

We went out for a meal in the evening and we sat near a local family, who had four small young boys.  What a pain they were, throwing coke cans, fighting, putting paper all over the floor and not once did they get told off.  At one point of the children dropped their pants and did a wee right next to their parents table.  I might try it next time I am out.

Also the weather absolutely sucks, rain rain rain! It feels like Christmas back in the UK.

Hoi An

Day 58

We took it easy in the morning before our afternoon flight to Hoian.  Although the flight only took 1 hour, by the time we had got into our hotel (The Sun River) it was gone 5pm.  For £8 each per night it is amazing you even get breakfast was well.  The rooms are really posh

As the hotel is about 800m from the centre they provide you with free bicycle hire.  Claire was unlucky as she neither had lights or a bell.  The one bonus about Hoian centre is that it is closed to all motorised traffic until 9pm

After our first good traditional Vietnamese meal we headed back at about 8.55pm.  As soon as the 9pm deadline had passed we were on the road with the rest of the local nutters on their mopeds.  My initial thoughts is the place looks pretty good and we are looking forward to seeing some sites over the next few days.  It is also warmer than Hanoi, which is a big bonus.

Hanoi

Day 57

We actually took it fairly easy today as there were only a couple of tourist attractions of sorts left to see. All the main sights are within walking a 5k walking distance. The only problem is crossing the road.  I know I have mentioned it before but unless you have been here it is difficult to explain.  Once you have put two feet out on the road there is no going back as mopeds will drive behind you.  Once you have stepped out you are fully committed, no going back.

You also have to watch out for the power cables, these things hang down at about 4 feet off the ground. You hang yourself and get a electrocuted at the same time.

The citadel that overlooks down town Hanoi

The Hoa Lo Prison was our next stop.  This was built by the French to hold Vietnamese revolutionary fighters when they occupied the country.  The french were a brutal lot, they kept the prisoners shackled in chains.  The rooms were dark and prisoners often saw no light for weeks at a time.

Later on the prison was used to keep American POWs and by the looks of it they were not kept in quite so harsh conditions.  One of the American prisoners here was John McCain. After he was released, he  went back to the states he became a senator and came very close to being president.

McCain being pulled from the water after being shot down.

His jump suit.

Statue of former king

Hal Long Bay

Day 56

I had a bit of a hangover this morning and I did not make the 06.15 tai chi.  Today we went to explore the amazing cave (Sung Sot).  This is its actually name, to be fair it was a very impressive.  The cave was made up of three huge chambers.

Look out point from the caves exit.

The area is full of enterprising fishermen and women who stock their boats full of beer and chocolate to sell to the tourists, at a severe mark up of course!

Hal Long bay was excellent and definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far.  It also dawned on me that there is only a month left, time is flying!!!!!

Ha Long Bay

Day 55

No trip to Vietnam is complete without visiting Hal Long Bay.  The area is UNESCO world heritage site and comprises of just under 2000 islands.  We were on a one night  full board cruise, our room even had its own balcony.

After lunch we headed through the islands and to our first mini trip.  We had to leave the ship on go onto a local Vietnamese boat and take us through a small cave.  On the othere side thee were lots of monkeys.  However, we could not get too close as they could get aggressive and steal our stuff.

Next up was a small climb to a lookout point over Hal Long Bay, this gave us the opportunity to take some  good panoramic shots as the sun was setting.  Sadly we did not get a clear sky, however the view was still amazing.

After tea we had a try at squid fishing. We did not even see a squid never mind catching one.

In the evening we also had a cooking class, we simply had to make some spring rolls.  I failed big time, mine ended up in the bin.


Myself and a Canadian called James decided to get involved in happy hour.  We drank a lot of beer, a hangover coming my way.

Hanoi

Day 54

I thought that Vietnam was a hot all year round, well I was wrong.  The North gets quite cool, it was about 15c today, I had to dig my hoodie out. The locals however had scarves, hats,full winter jackets on, you would thought the place was about to freeze over.

There are many sight seeing spots on the agenda today,  first up Hoan Kiem Lake.  This is situated in the centre of Hanoi old town.   To be honest after seeing tons of lakes on our travels, it was not overly impressive.  The water was bright green and did not look too healthy.

We wandered the streets for a couple of hours, trying not to get killed when crossing the road.

Pavements are not for walking on, that is where you park your moped. All pedestrians have to mingle with the road traffic!

Some cycling Santa's, looks like they have my onsie from last years Christmas party.

In the afternoon we had booked in with Hanoi Kids.  This is essentially a volunteer organisation that send local university students to guide you round the city, we could choose wherever we went.  They are improving their English skills and in return you get a free tour guide.  These guys spoke perfect English, they did not need to practice.

Hanoi Kids Volunteers. Harriet and Lee

We went to the temple of literature, which was the first university in Vietnam.

We spent a good 6 hours with guys and they would have stayed longer. At the end they would not accept any money whatsoever.  It was against the rules, if we wanted to make a donation to the organisation it would have to be through pay pal on their website.  All they learnt from us were some new slang words.

In the evening we headed to the night market, it was jammed packed.  It sold all the usual clothes and stuff,  I ate something that looked like a hotdog!