The trip to Hanoi from Vietnam had us in a bit of a panic. First we booked tickets for the 24 hour bus journey overland, glad that it was cheap and prepared for the discomfort. However, about an hour before the bus was to depart we had a quick look on the internet for some other people's accounts of the journey. Practically everyone recommended not to do it by bus. Hours and hours of mountains in the middle of the night is apparently a very scary experience - even described as the 'death bus' by the Lonely Planet. So, after a bit of flapping we decided to just write off the money we had spent on the bus and buy a plane ticket. It only took an hour to get there and the cost was worth it for peace of mind!
Hanoi reminded us a little of some Indian cities. Lots of traffic, although nearly all motorbikes, and people burning their rubbish in the road. Once we got used to avoiding getting run over by motorbikes, we found Hanoi to be a an enjoyably fast-paced city, if a little busy at times. We made a visit to the Temple of Literature, where Confucious spent a lot of time, and arranged an overnight boat trip to beautiful Halong Bay.
This trip was the first to stir in us a jaded feeling towards organised tours. Packaged experiences, the same for everyone, with little thought involved can get a bit tiresome. The big old junk boat we stayed on was great and you certainly can't fault the turquoise blue waters and stunning limestone islands of Halong Bay. We also really liked the incredible cave we went to see on the biggest island. The problem is that you get herded about like a load of walking wallets and we found that, although we had booked for a two day one night tour, the customer service had all but disappeared after the evening meal on day one (and the food was horrible). I must say, though, that watching the sunset on the deck of the boat in great scenery isn't something you can really complain about.
