We arrived in Hanoi at about
6pm and eventually worked out with a taxi driver that we needed an atm so he drove us around Hanoi for a while trying to find one that worked. Our hostel was called Hanoi Backpackers downtown and it was really cool. The atmosphere was really lively and everyone was really friendly which was nice. We were booked to leave the next morning at 6.30 for the castaway halong bay tour so after we went for dinner we headed for an early night. Dinner however was a bit of an ordeal. The restaurant we went to had hotpots on the table so you were given a plate of meats or veg and then you cook it yourself. Amy and I ordered the vegetarian option and they were very confused by this and then they forgot about us so it ended up taking about an hour and a half. In the end the food was good but it was a bit disappointing.
We got up early for the journey to Halong bay and it took about 6 hours, arriving at the private island that we were staying on at about 1 o clock ready for lunch. The cost of the whole trip was £95 for two nights accommodation, all meals, a boat cruise and all transportation to and from the island.
The island itself was really nice but the issue was the weather. It was so cold and drizzly and it was impossible to warm up. All of our stuff was constantly damp and none of us were really prepared for cold and wet so we didn't pack accordingly. We didn't bring our main bags with us because there isn't really room for them so we were allowed to leave them at the hostel which was useful but it meant that we had to chose what to bring with us. None of us packed very well, least of all Becki who didn't even bring any trousers. We met some really great people there and all in all the trip was really great but it is definitely the kind of thing that would be so much better in the sun. The kayaking around the bay was really nice though and we all really enjoyed it as a whole though.
We got back to the hostel
on Wednesday around 5pm and we went to find somewhere to stay. We ended up at a hostel just down the road from our original hostel called Green Street hotel. This hostel wasn't so great, especially as we were all desperate for a hot shower and all there was was a dribble of cold.
After three days of buffet vietnamese food on the island - which was nice don't get me wrong - we all really fancied some western food, so we ate at the hostel and then had an early night.
We left our hostel for a walking tour in the morning. It wasn't the best walking tour because the guide didn't know much but it was nice to walk around the city for a while. We then had some disappointing vietnamese food for lunch - a tasteless pho for me, a cold ban chun for Becki and Kate and nothing for Amy because Vietnam is so far pretty difficult for vegetarians.
In the afternoon we did a bit of shopping as Katie and Becki really wanted a coat and Becki needed to get her phone fixed. We had a successful session and then got a taxi up to the Ho Chi Min mausoleum complex which has the Museum an the mausoleum, his house, the one pillar pagoda and the presidential palace. We really wanted to go to the mausoleum but annoyingly it was closed for some reason and we don't know why, but we saw the changing of the guards and looked around the house and the gardens so it wasn't a wasted trip.
We walked back through the city and got some food (western again, very naughty but sometimes you just need a pizza and chips) whilst waiting for our overnight bus to Hue. Hanoi is a really busy city which I really like but there isn't much going on here really and the one thing we did want to do was closed which is pretty gutting.
