Northern VietNam Travelogue

My Vietnam Travel Itinerary

2005-12-25T00:46:00.000+08:00

This travelogue has been integrated with Travel Diary that contains all existing and future travelogues.

The full itinerary and the activities on the trip to Northern Vietnam, in descending order:

Monday, June 13, 2005
- My Postcard Arrived

Thursday, May 12, 2005
Around Vietnam Hanoi Old Quarter
- Arriving in Singapore
- Good Bye Hanoi, Vietnam
- Checked in Tiger Airways on Return Leg
- Vietnam Airlines Mini Bus
- Taxi in Hanoi
- A Peek Into Wing Hotel Room
- Bought T-Shirt Again
- Street Vegetable Seller
- Old Quarter
- Ben Ngoc Son and Huc Bridge
- Ly Thai To Statue
- Mail a Postcard at Post Office
- The Tortoise Tower at Noon
- St. Joseph Cathedral

Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Hanoi Ba Dinh (Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum), West Lake, Temple of Literature and OldQuarter
- Thap Rua (The Tortoise Tower) at Night
- Sinh To Hoa Qua Tuoi
- Shopping at Old Quarter Hanoi
- Different Dinners - Cha Ca and Bun Bo
- Xich Lo (Cyclo)
- Temple of Literature and Royal College
- Summer Weather in Hanoi
- Quan Thanh Pagoda
- Pretty Girl in the Park
- West Lake (Ho Tay)
- Chao and Coconut Drink
- Ho Chi Minh Museum (Bao Tang Ho Chi Minh)
- Dien Huu Pagoda
- One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot)
- Ho Chi Minh's Stilted House
- Vietnamese Long Dress Traditional Costume
- Vietnamese Children
- Presidential Palace
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
- Ha Noi Citadel
- Statue of Lenin
- On the way to Ba Dinh District
- Early Check In
- Nice Breakfast
- Good Morning Hanoi

Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Sapa and Beyond with Vietnam Minorities
- Train from Lao Cai to Hanoi
- Painful Sunburnt
- Beautiful Vietnamese Girl
- Cute Hmong Girls and Small Tout
- Bus to Lao Cai
- Sapa Town
- Dinner at Royal Hotel's Friendly Cafe
- Experience with Mountain View Hotel
- Sapa Markets
- Where is Ma Cha Village?
- Hang Ta Phin Cave
- Ta Phin Village
- Native Agriculture Cultivation
- The Way to Ta Phin Village
- Sapa Church
- Hoang Lian Hotel and Modern Girls
- Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall)
- "Protection Fee" for the bike
- Tram Ton Pass
- On the way to Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall)
- Bike Rental
- Hmong Girls (or Child Exploitation)
- Bus from Lao Cai to Sapa
- Soft Sleeper Berth
- Safety on Train

Monday, May 09, 2005
Halong Bay, Ngoc SonTemple and Vietnam Water Puppet
- Vietnam Railways Train to Lao Cai (Sapa)
- Bag Keeping in Hanoi
- Sugar Cane Juice
- Mien Luon
- Thang Long Water Puppet Theater
- Monument in Vietnam
- Ngoc Son Temple
- Vietnamese Hospitality
- Traffic in Hanoi Vietnam
- Mid Way Stop
- Halong Bay Tour Package Selection Guides and Tips
- On the Way to Hanoi
- Lunch at Thang Long Restaurant
- Bien Mo Junk
- Chat on the Junk
- Fishing in Halong Bay
- More of 'Other Part' of Majestic Halong Bay
- Our 'low cost' Bien Mo Junk
- More of Cat Ba Island
- Cat Ba Island
- Back to Cat Ba Island, Again
- Bien Mo Junk Cabin
- Good Morning Halong Bay

Sunday, May 08, 2005
Vietnam Halong Bay
- Sleep ON Halong Bay
- Dinner ON Halong Bay
- Route to Cat Ba Island
- Kayaking in Halong Bay, but no life jacket!
- Hang Sung Sot Grotto (Cave of Surprises)
- Shrine in Halong Bay Grotto
- Halong Bay Floating Fishing Village
- Halong Bay Limestone Rock Islets
- Dao Ti Top Island & Beach
- Vinh Ha Long (Halong Bay)
- Lunch on Boat
- Pretty Down Mood
- Vietnamese Women as Workforce
- Refill Water.... For the Junk
- Boat Hawker
- Halong City Bai Chay Tourist Junk Pier
- Thang Long Restaurant
- It's Raining All Days
- Dai Nghia Humanitarian Center
- Bus to Halong City with the Guide

Saturday, May 07, 2005
Vietnam Hanoi
- Banh Bao
- Hanoi at Night
- Booked Train Ticket to Sapa
- Booked Halong Bay Tour
- Sinh To Trai Cay Fruit Shake
- First Taste of Vietnamese Food - Bun Thang
- Thanh Vinh Tourist Hotel
- Minibus to Hanoi
- Hanoi NoiBai Airport
- Some Arguments with Adeline
- Tiger Airways Check-In and Boarding
- Heavy Backpack Caused Delay
- Finally, depature time!

Friday, May 06, 2005
- Last Minute Shopping
- Weather in Hanoi Vietnam a Big Concern
- Travel Insurance

Thursday, May 05, 2005
- Huong Hai Junk
- Bai Tho Junk
- Let's Go Vietnam Travel Guide

Tuesday, May 03, 2005
- Final Travel Plan
- Final Countdown
- Things to Pack

Monday, May 02, 2005
- Response to Email Enquiry

Thursday, April 28, 2005
- Virtual Tourist
- Change in Travel Plan again

Wednesday, April 27, 2005
- Vietnam Railways Tickets

Saturday, April 23, 2005
- Temporary Travel Plan
- Some Arguments

Friday, April 22, 2005
- Tiger Airways reduces fare again, and I am furious

Thursday, April 21, 2005
- Travel Guide in Singapore National Library

Monday, April 18, 2005
- Still Undecided

Thursday, April 14, 2005
- No Update?

Saturday, April 09, 2005
- Air Tickets Booked

Thursday, April 07, 2005
- Tiger Airways
- Destination Vietnam

My Postcard Arrived

2005-06-13T19:53:00.000+08:00

I mailed a postcard to myself from Hanoi at 12th May 2004. I would have thought it was lost after such a long time. But finally the postcard reached me today, 1 month after I posted it. Late is always better than none.

Arriving in Singapore

2005-05-12T23:30:00.000+08:00

Tiger Airways flight was punctual. We arrived in Singapore at around 11 pm. Adeline went back by bus, while I tried to catch the MRT train to the city, but there was no more connecting train to the city at Tanah Merah interchange. So I had to rush to take the bus at the basement area of the airport to the city. The bus runs well until 12 midnight.

Good Bye Hanoi, Vietnam

2005-05-12T18:00:00.000+08:00

We arrived at Noi Bai airport at around 4.30 pm, pretty early as our departure time was on 6.45 pm. This enabled me to walk around the small Noi Bai airport.

Inside the Noi Bai airport departure / arrival waiting area, it was pretty empty without much passengers. And, amazingly, the chairs are all hard steel seat. Inside this area, which was after checked-in and immigration checked, there didn't seem to have any restaurant available. However, there are 2 restaurant at the highest floor of the public area in the airport, albeit the price is expensive.

Checked in Tiger Airways on Return Leg

2005-05-12T17:00:00.000+08:00

Checked in to Tiger Airways was handled by Vietnam Airlines staff. The print out of the confirmation email of the reservation was needed here. The process was fast and smooth, and the Vietnam Airlines staffs were very friendly.

However, international departure from Noi Bai airport will be levied USD $14 Ve Thu Phuc Vu Hanh Khach, or in English Passenger Service Charge. It was in essence departure tax, which I thought was very expensive.

Vietnam Airlines Mini Bus

2005-05-12T16:00:00.000+08:00

Vietnam Airlines operates minibuses that run between Noi Bai airport and Hanoi for USD $2 each. The buses and ticket office are located opposite the Vietnam Airlines office at Quang Trung. We pre-bought the bus tickets, although it's not necessary. Prepare small change of US Dollars, if not they will give you the change in Vietnam Dong instead, of course, also in unfavorable rate (typically VND 15,000 to USD $1).

Taxi in Hanoi

2005-05-12T15:30:00.000+08:00

After a short rest at Wing Hotel lobby, it was time to go back. We took a taxi, although the Vietnam Airlines office is just a kilometer away. The taxi used meter, and it was air-conditioning, the main reason why we took a taxi. The fare from Hang Non, the street beside Wing Hotel, to the Vietnam Airlines office costs VND 11,000. Basically it was the flag down fare, with the meter not moved at all for such a short distance travel.

A Peek Into Wing Hotel Room

2005-05-12T14:00:00.000+08:00

Our room at Wing Hotel (or Wing Cafe, as cafe is more common term in Vietnam). Room was comfortable, with air-conditioning, satellite TV and hot shower. It costs us USD $11, due to $3 extra for early checked in.

Bought T-Shirt Again

2005-05-12T13:30:00.000+08:00

I almost immediately sweated when stepped out of the air-conditioned hotel room. So the t-shirt got wet so easily that I had to bought new cloth to change everytime I went out. Luckily the clothes in cheap in Hanoi. The t-shirts I bought costs around VND 20,000 to VND 25,000.

Street Vegetable Seller

2005-05-12T13:00:00.000+08:00

There was a common sight in Hanoi, where the vendors, typically women, carrying whatever that can be carried, from vegetables to fruits, to sell on the streets.

Old Quarter

2005-05-12T12:30:00.000+08:00

'Old' in Old Quarter is a bit confusing, as only small proportion of the buildings here are more than a hundreds years old. So the 'old' in Old Quarter more reflected the activities that are carried on it since ancient times. However, the buildings in Old Quarter have interesting architecture too.

Because shops were taxed by the width of frontage on the market, storage and living space moved to the rear. They developed into the long and narrow houses, called tube houses, where small frontage hides very long rooms. Typical measurement for such a tube house is 3 m x 60 m.

Ben Ngoc Son and Huc Bridge

2005-05-12T12:00:00.000+08:00

Ben Ngoc Son (Ngoc Son Temple) with the beautiful Huc Bridge (Sunbeam Bridge) stands majestically on Hoan Kiem Lake.

Ly Thai To Statue

2005-05-12T11:30:00.000+08:00

Statue of Emperor Ly Thai To, founder of the Ly dynasty (1010-1225) is around Hoan Kiem Lake towards French Quarter.

Mail a Postcard at Post Office

2005-05-12T11:00:00.000+08:00

We walked through International Post Center at 6 Dinh Tien Hoang, just beside Hoan Kiem Lake. I decided to mail a postcard back to Singapore to myself. There were postcards on sold in post office, however, only when I was about to leave only got people to man the counter. So I bought a stack of 10 postcards for VND 25,000 (Expensive!) from street sellers that roamed around looking for 'prey'.

The postage to Singapore was cheap, only VND 7,000. I was not sure it's air mailed or surface mailed though, as the postcard only reached me 1 month later.

The Tortoise Tower at Noon

2005-05-12T10:30:00.000+08:00

We walked around Hoan Kiem Lake to passed through the French Quarter. However we didn't venture afar as the weather was very hot and humid. Anyway, again The Tortoise Tower (Thap Rua) wouldn't be missed at Hoan Kiem Lake.

St. Joseph Cathedral

2005-05-12T10:00:00.000+08:00

It was our last day in Hanoi and Vietnam, so we went to some places that we hadn't been to yet and did some last minute shopping. Our first stop was French-built St. Joseph Cathedral, which is located two blocks west from Hoam Kiem Lake, where Ly Quoc Su becomes Nha Chung.

Interior of the St. Joseph Cathedral. The statue is dedicated to "Queen of Peace".

Thap Rua (The Tortoise Tower) at Night

2005-05-11T22:30:00.000+08:00

We saw The Tortoise Tower (Thap Rua) in the early morning, how could we missed it at night?

Sinh To Hoa Qua Tuoi

2005-05-11T22:00:00.000+08:00

We went back to the Pho To Tich street to eat fruit shake again. This time we chose a stall that sell Sinh To Hoa Qua Tuoi for slightly cheaper price, VND 6,000. There was a slight different in ingredients for the fruit shake, but it was as delicious!

Shopping at Old Quarter Hanoi

2005-05-11T21:30:00.000+08:00

Old Quarter is located at Hoan Kiem district, and known as Pho Co in Vietnamese. Enclosed by Ha Noi Citadel, Hoan Kiem Lake and the Red River, the Old quarter is also famously known as the 36 Pho Puong (36 streets), and its history spans 2000 years. In the 13th century, 36 guilds established themselves here with each taking a different street. Street names reflect the type of merchandise being made/sold. Nowadays, some of the streets have taken up new commodities, but still cluster together along a single street - Hang Can (once scales, now stationary), Hang Dau (once oil, now shoes), Hang Buom (once sailcloth, nowconfectioneryy and wine) and Thuoc Bac (once medicine, now tools), for example. While some still retain the names as of the original trades – Hang Ma (Votive Paper Decorations Street), Hang Gai (Silk Street), Hang Thiec (Tin Street), and Hang Dong (Bronze Street).

Actually there is now more than 70 streets in Old Quarter. Some researchers believe that the number 36 came from the 15th century when there might have been 36 guild locations, which were workshop areas, not streets. When streets were later developed, the guild names were applied to the streets. Others attribute the 36 to a more abstract concept. The number nine in Asia represents the concept of "plenty". Nine times the four directions makes 36, which simply means "many". Most street name starts with "Hang", which means merchandise or shop.

Hang Ngang (Transversal Street) is lively at night, has a lot of shops selling clothes.

Cau Go Street, which means "Wooden Bridge", is located one block north of the Lake of the Restored Sword (Hoan Kiem Lake), and was in fact the location of a wooden bridge. About 150 years ago, the bridge crossed a thin stream of water connecting the Thai Cuc Lake with the Lake of the Restored Sword. Dyers from the neighboring Silk Street (Hang Dao / Hang Gai) set out their silk to dry or bleached their fabric beside the bridge. Under the French occupation, the lake and stream were filled as health measures and to increase buildable land. The little wooden bridge became a regular street.

Cau Go today is a commercial street specializing in womenÂs accessories.

Immediately assembled the shoe for the customers.

For Old Quarter street name description, refer here.

Different Dinners - Cha Ca and Bun Bo

2005-05-11T19:00:00.000+08:00

I initially agreed with Adeline to have dinner at Cha Ca La Vong, at Pho Cha Ca, which is very famous. But after saw the price of VND 70,000, I felt it's too much expensive and decided to give it a miss, and located other cha ca shop instead.

Adeline prefered to dine at Cha Ca La Vong, and here the dishes of cha ca.

I tried to locate a cha ca shop at Duong Thanh. However, the shop no longer existed. So I settled my dinner with Bun Bo Nam Bo at 65 Hand Dieu, which made of wheat noodles tangled up with citrus-scented herbs, beefs, peanuts and lime juice for around VND 15,000.

Xich Lo (Cyclo)

2005-05-11T18:30:00.000+08:00

Due to the very hot weather, we decided not to walk back to our hotel. So we decided to take either a taxi, motorcycle (xe may or xe om) or xich lo (3-wheeled pedicab or trishaw) to go back. After leaving Four Pillars of Temple of Literature, a xich lo driver was approaching us. We bargained from VND 50,000 to VND 20,000. It was very interesting and exciting to see how xich lo managed to find a winding route among so many traffic on the road.

The Xich Lo and the driver. At the end, we paid him VND 10,000 more. The whole fare of VND 30,000 was excessive, while normally VND 5,000 is enough. But I was appreciative as I was getting unbearable with the heat.

Temple of Literature and Royal College

2005-05-11T18:00:00.000+08:00

Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) was built in 1070 during Emperor Ly Thanh Tong to honor scholars and literary men, and was dedicated to Khong Tu (Confucius). In 1070, the Royal College (Quoc Tu Giam), Vietnam's first university, was founded here to educate the children of court mandarins, which remained until 1802 when the national university was moved to the new capital, Hue. Here is the entrance gate to temple complex, which reserved for the royalties.

Khuc Van Cac open pavilion which provides space for study and leisure.

Dai Trung Gate or Gates of Talent and Virtue, as view from the inside temple.

Thien Quang Tinh pond and after it, Dai Thanh (Great Success or Synthesis) Gate, which leads into the temple precinct. The flag with 5 colours which each represents an element of the nature: metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

One of the 82 Tortoise Stelae which recorded names, birth places and achievements of the 1306 successful triennial examination candidates. All of them was erected between 1442 and 1778. The Tortoise Stelae pavilions are on both sides of the pond.

Courtyard of the temple and the Bai Duong (House of Ceremonies).

Large bonsai in front of the building to the right of sanctuary.

A statue at the courtyard of the Temple of Literature.

Rafters in the main temple sanctuary were constructed without nails or screws. It's interesting to note also how the building overhanging eaves help to keep these buildings cool; large doorways are also important in cooling the buildings. In the winter, when it is cold in Hanoi, the sun is lower and heats the inside.

The main temple sanctuary of Temple of Literature with stork statues, symbolizing longevity.

Inside Temple of Literature sanctuary, housing statue of Confucius and his four greatest disciples.

Entrance fee to the Temple of Literature: VND 5,000.

Summer Weather in Hanoi

2005-05-11T17:30:00.000+08:00

My feared nightmare became true. The hot and humid weather in Hanoi was always a big consent to me. Worse, the weather today was even hotter than I imagined, reaching 39 ºC. I was sweating non stop just by doing nothing and stood under shade! It's very tiring and uncomfortable to roam around Hanoi at this steamy weather. Thus we skipped a lot of attractions in Hanoi and even cut short the time spent outside just to get back to hotel room for the comfort of air-conditioning.

Quan Thanh Pagoda

2005-05-11T17:00:00.000+08:00

There are a few pagodas around West Lake. We passed thru Quan Thanh Pagoda (Den Quan Thanh) without went in... the hot steamy summer weather in Hanoi was taxing a heavy toll on our energy, and hence the mood to visit the sights. Anyway, Quan Thanh Pagoda was built by Emperor Lo Thai To during the 11th century. Of course, entrance fee required to go in, as almost any other non Ho Chi Minh related sights in Vietnam. About 150 meters towards West Lake from here, along Duong Thanh Nien, there is also Tran Quoc Pagoda (Chua Tran Quoc).

Pretty Girl in the Park

2005-05-11T16:30:00.000+08:00

Before coming to Vietnam, I was thinking Vietnam should be a relatively underdeveloped country. In most sense, it is, but not the girls. Vietnamese youths wear very fashionable, and looks very attractive. Here, a pretty girl walked in the park around West Lake.

West Lake (Ho Tay)

2005-05-11T16:00:00.000+08:00

West Lake located at Tay Ho District is about 500 hectares, a 20 minutes walk north of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. At the time of our visit, there was nothing much interesting here except few pagodas, but it should filled with Vietnam's youth by evening.

Another view of West Lake

Beautiful tree-line boulevard Pho Phan Dinh Phung that leads to Ho Tay (West Lake)

Chao and Coconut Drink

2005-05-11T15:30:00.000+08:00

We walked to the West Lake at Tay Ho district. All restaurants here by the West Lake was pretty expensive. So we settled our lunch at the only food stall in sight, had a delicious chao (rice porridge) and a no taste coconut drink.

The stall owners opened the coconut for us, as the initial opening was just enough for us to drink only. The coconut meat was very very hard, it's not possible to eat!

Ho Chi Minh Museum (Bao Tang Ho Chi Minh)

2005-05-11T15:00:00.000+08:00

Bao Tang (Museum) Ho Chi Minh, located about 200 meters from One Pillar Pagoda. Entrance fee is VND 5,000.

Exhibits inside the museum.

Ho Chi Minh statue effigy at the between floor's centre.

The museum exhibits a lot of things used by or related to Ho Chi Minh.

Dien Huu Pagoda

2005-05-11T14:30:00.000+08:00

Dien Huu Pagoda is just a few steps away from One Pillar Pagoda, but often overlooked by tourists. We managed to come to here by following the university students, as I assumed they should be studying tourism.

The shrine inside the Dien Huu Pagoda

One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot)

2005-05-11T14:00:00.000+08:00

Right beside the Ho Chi Minh stilted house is One Pillar Pagoda, one of the few structures remaing from the old Thang Long. One Pillar Pagoda is dedicated to Quan Am, the goddess of mercy, after Emperor Ly Thanh Tong dreamed about the goddess sat on a lotus flower and offered him a son. And surprise, soon a boy was borned to him. The pagoda was destroyed by French in 1954 but has since been rebuilt.

Vietnamese girls worshiped at One Pillar Pagoda

A Buddhist shrine behind the One Pillar Pagoda, which located very conveniently beside the Ho Chi Minh stilted house.

Ho Chi Minh's Stilted House

2005-05-11T13:30:00.000+08:00

In 1958, Ho Chi Minh moved into this simple stilted house near a carp pond, after refusing to stay in Presidential Palace. Ho Chi Minh stayed here until his death at 1969.

A corner of the Ho Chi Minh stilted house. The house was built near the Presidential Palace so that he would feel more with the people.

A peek into Ho Chi Minh stilted house. You won't be able to go in, everything is covered by glass.

The house that stores car used by Ho Chi Minh. There are several other exhibitions that, together with the stilted house, directly link from Ho Chi Minh mausoleum via Presidential Palace. There is clear signs along the way, if not just follows the crowd.

The carp pond beside Ho Chi Minh stilted house. Uncle Ho Chi Minh used to summon the fish for feeding by clapping his hands.

Vietnamese Long Dress Traditional Costume

2005-05-11T13:00:00.000+08:00

Fifth day in Vietnam, finally saw some Vietnamese girls wore Long Dress, the Vietnamese women traditional costume, which 'covers everything, but also reveals everything'!

Whole group of, which I believed was, Vietnamese university students.

Vietnamese Children

2005-05-11T12:30:00.000+08:00

Some Vietnamese school children with their teacher. A lot of organized trip from schools in Vietnam to pay Uncle Ho Chi Minh respect.

Presidential Palace

2005-05-11T12:00:00.000+08:00

Presidential Palace was residence of the Governor-General of French Indochina before been served as a state guest house since 1954. Ho Chi Minh believed the building should belong to the people and chose to live in an electrician's hut on the ground. The Presidential Palace is not opened for visitors, so we could only glanced from afar.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

2005-05-11T11:30:00.000+08:00

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, or in Vietnamese, Lang Ho Chi Minh, is where the remains of Ho Chi Minh (despite against his wish to be cremated) are kept. He is venerated as national hero and father of the Vietnam. There seemed to be 2 entrances to the Mausoleum. The entrance that we were, the queue was mainly formed by Vietnamese, and occasionally tourists came by walking. Adeline paid VND 4,000 each which until now I still don't know what it was for. Anyway, this was the first time in Vietnam that I saw Vietnamese girls in full traditional long dress costume.

Chu Tich (President) Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. The corpse of Ho Chi Minh was very well preserved, but the environment was utterly creepy. Can't stayed long inside the mausoleum though, as the queue kept moving around the embalmed corpse of Ho Chi Minh. The enter the mausoleum, respectable attire is needed. There is a stand before the gate entrance that rents (or might be borrows) some cover-up clothes.

Note: No camera, phone and drink allowed inside the mausoleum. It's best to keep this things at a stand after the gate entrance, as they will automatically transferred your belongings to another stand that located right after the exit of mausoleum. So you can take your belongings there and continue the tour to other sights instead of walking all the way back to the entrance again. Open daily from 7.30 am or 8.00 am till around 10.30 am to 11:30 am.

The white-uniformed soldiers at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Inside the mausoleum, they kept 'harassed' us to keep silent and maintain proper posture, and 'chased' us to move forward.

Ha Noi Citadel

2005-05-11T11:00:00.000+08:00

Hanoi Citadel is a restricted area, once called Thang Long Citadel, home to the imperial city. I hardly noticed the citadel until I saw this 31 m high Hanoi Flag Pillar, a former guard tower, built in 1812 under the Nguyen Dynasty.

Statue of Lenin

2005-05-11T10:30:00.000+08:00

Before reaching Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the statue of Lenin is in a triangular shaped square on the side of Dien Bien Phu, the main road to Ba Dinh district.

On the way to Ba Dinh District

2005-05-11T10:00:00.000+08:00

Ba Dinh district is the main tourist attraction in Hanoi where several principal sights located here. We decided to walk to here after a short rest in Hotel. It was a bad idea, as the weather was steamily hot. But it's not too far away from Hanoi Old Quarter (Hoan Kiem District).

The railway track on the back alley of houses

Traffic in Hanoi mostly built up by motorcycles and bikes, but in Ba Dinh district, more car could be seen. The boulevards here were nicely planted and covered by big trees, provided a much needed shade during summer.

Early Check In

2005-05-11T09:00:00.000+08:00

We checked in Wing Hotel at about 8 am, and unexpectedly they request additional USD $3 for early check-in, contrary to what they promised us. Anyway, we didn't have much choice, as I was very tired, uncomfortable and painful due to sunburnt. Worst was the weather in Hanoi today was very very very hot.

Nice Breakfast

2005-05-11T08:30:00.000+08:00

Hungry, we just looked for any food stall to have a breakfast. So we had this. Its name may be called Xoi, but I was not so sure about that. Adeline didn't quite like it, but I felt that it's okay. The meat tasted a bit like luncheon. The breakfast costs us about VND 7,000.

Good Morning Hanoi

2005-05-11T08:00:00.000+08:00

We arrived in Hanoi at about 4.30 am wee hour in the morning. We felt it was not nice to wake up the Wing Hotel's warden so early (they have curfew at night), so went to Hoan Kiem Lake to get a feel of Hanoi in the morning instead. The bonus for the early bird was sunrise over Hoan Kiem Lake.

Great view of the time-less Thap Rua (The Tortoise Tower) reflected in the Hoan Kiem Lake in the dim light of the rising sun.

Hanoi unique morning scene: A lot of Vietnamese, be it young, old, man or woman, ran, jog and walked around the Hoan Kiem Lake in early morning.

Hanoi collective morning gymnastics around Hoan Kiem Lake. The Vietnamese exercising, stretching, mediating and practicing martial arts and dancing aerobics to energetic techno music. They were so energetic while I must be looked pretty bad, exhausted and sleepy.

Train from Lao Cai to Hanoi

2005-05-10T22:00:00.000+08:00

We initially been bought tickets for train LC2, which departs from Lao Cai at 7 pm. We thought it's too early, so requested it to be changed to a later train. So we boarded SP2 train that departs at 8:50 pm. This SP2 train is more expensive express train service (Luc wanted USD $1 more, but I refused to pay, instead asked him to treat it as a refund for the below par standard of Halong Bay tour).

The SP (SP1/SP2) train is more expensive. It's widely displayed around travel agencies and tour agents in Hanoi as it has a more nicely looking locomotive. So I had quite an expectation for the quality of service and cabin. But it turned out to my disappointment. The bread was less tasty and the mineral water was smaller bottle (Yes, soft sleeper berth comes with a bread and a bottle of water free, everything else extra charge). Beside, the bed was not properly covered. On the positive side is there was personal lamp at each berth, and the wash room was much better than the train we took when coming to Lao Cai, which at times it was locked.

Painful Sunburnt

2005-05-10T21:00:00.000+08:00

I believed I got severe sunburnt when drove to Ta Phin Village. Early morning the weather was still very cold and misty, but by afternoon, it turned up to be sunny day, but I forgot to apply any sun screen lotion.

I didn't notice that the sunburnt was so severe until I came back to Sapa town. By then it's too late. It turned out to be a very difficult day to me as I didn't even able to take a bath, and that made me felt very uncomfortable. And my skin was getting more painful.

Beautiful Vietnamese Girl

2005-05-10T20:30:00.000+08:00

The bus reached Lao Cai at at about 7.30 pm. So we had about an hour to walk around (or more appropriate: waste) in Lao Cai. And the bus driver was smart too. Instead of train station, he stopped the minibus right in front of a cafe. We went to another coffee shop instead, and met with this nice Vietnamese lady Ha. Her husband Culi Cage owns Wide Eyed Tours, now mainly handling tourists from Australia. She shared with us lots of information about how tour agencies in Hanoi work, and helped me to order a rice wine too. The Vietnamese rice wine was pretty too strong for me.

Cute Hmong Girls and Small Tout

2005-05-10T20:00:00.000+08:00

When the bus wanted to depart to Lao Cai, all the Hmong children gathered around the bus to bid the tourists farewell. Very touching if it's genuine, but I doubted so, seemed more like a marketing gimmick. They kept asking us to come back to Sapa, and of course also reminded us to buy things from them next time.

This little girl kept complaint about us for not buying from her, at the time we reached, and at the time of we going to left Sapa now. She even said some foul words to me (but I couldn't understand it, lucky her!)

Bus to Lao Cai

2005-05-10T19:30:00.000+08:00

There were a lot of mini buses and vans running to Lao Cai until 4 pm. We also found a few mini buses that run to Lao Cai between 4 - 5 pm, but don't bet on it. The buses can be found at around the Church and Main Square. I saw a few mini buses who looked for passenger at around Royal Hotel / Mountain View Hotel too. After 4 pm, we didn't have much choice. Adeline found a hotel (most likely Queen Hotel) that has a bus to Lao Cai at around 5.30 pm. Other than that, the latest bus to Lai Cai was offered by Mountain View Hotel and Royal Hotel. We booked the tickets from Royal Hotel, as we didn't have pleasant experience with Mountain View Hotel. However, as expected, as sibling hotel, they shared the same bus, with the same price of VND 25,000.

Sapa Town

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Street view of Sapa at junction of Pho Cau May and Muong Hoa. Here, there is high concentration of hotels and cafes. Buildings here are mostly French style.

Dinner at Royal Hotel's Friendly Cafe

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We later had our dinner at Royal Hotel's Friendly Cafe. We met Gaynor here. She has traveled to a lot of place, including India, and will soon come to Malaysia. The fried rice costs me VND 15, 000. Sapa is really a very 'tourist' place rather than minorities place!

Experience with Mountain View Hotel

2005-05-10T18:00:00.000+08:00

A lot of tourists recommended Mountain View Hotel. So did 1 of the hotel guest that came to Sapa in the same minibus with us. It was her forth time to Sapa, and everytime she had stayed in Mountain View Hotel, and even the Hmong children there immediately recognized her. Beside, the hotel locates at the wonderful place that it's possible to view the beautiful scenery of Sapa valley.

However, our experience there was mixed. In the morning when we arrived, the receptionist was so kind and friendly. As we're doing a day trip, so we're looking for a place to take a shower. So we requested if it's possible to do so at the hotel. She happily agreed that, provided we used any of their services.

However, when we returned in the evening, the girl wasn't available. Another receptionist simply refused to let us take a shower without paying USD $1 each, which I think was pretty expensive. Actually later I found out most other hotels also demanded USD $1 each just to take bath. But I still found the receptionist behavior to be simply rude, just showed us the style of 'if you don't like, just leave'.

We left soon afterward.

Sapa Markets

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The Sapa markets had just a little stands on the day we visited, as it's on a weekdays. It's run mostly by H'mong minority hill tribe who worn their traditional costume. There was practically no other tourists at the day. As usual, it's very much geared towards tourist, so bargain hard, and I found nothing special about the market. There is also another market right beside the church, which to me was equally unimpressive, and I believed it's not ran by minorities hill tribes.

Where is Ma Cha Village?

2005-05-10T17:00:00.000+08:00

I tried to find Ma Cha Village, which is supposedly along the road to Ta Phin village. But I unable to find it. It may seemed that what Let's Go Vietnam travel guide said is true, finding the way between the trailhead and Ma Cha village is difficult. To my surprise, I asked a few local people, and they seemed unsure of where is it too. It may be due to my wrong pronunciation anyway. So hiring a guide if you want to visit Ma Cha village is the better way. It's a small village housed mainly Hmong hill tribe.

Hang Ta Phin Cave

2005-05-10T16:30:00.000+08:00

At the far end corner of Ta Phin village is Hang Ta Phin or Ta Phin Cave. As usual, with the commercialism of tourism, expect Red Dao women waiting there to promote you and plea you to buy their merchandises. Beside, the Dao children also surrounded us to rent us the torch light. The problem was there were a few of them persuaded you to rent from them, so Adeline did have a hard time figure which one to rent. The torch normally cost VND 2,000.

Note: The Red Dao is easily identifiable by the large red headdresses worn by many of the women.

Hang Ta Phin is just a small and unimpressive cave, and it's completely dark inside. Bring a torch, else make sure the torch light is bright when renting one.

Ta Phin Village

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To enter Ta Phin Village, visitors need to pay VND 5,000. To me it was a no-brainer, just like you been asked to pay in order just to get into a city, much more like daylight robbery. Anyway I don't mind if the money been used to develop the village and their livelihood, which is very much still in native and primitive condition.

This abandoned old church was located off the road near the admission gate. We didn't pay much attention to it until a group of French tourists paid it a visit.

After the admission gate, there was still a long way to go before we actually reached Ta Phin village. Actually the village was spread over a long stretch of road. I only noticed that we already arrived at Ta Phin village when there were suddenly hordes of Dao minorities approached us to sell their merchandises. This Red Dao girl however, didn't join this crowd as she said she had to help her family in the farm. She was in Red Dao traditional costume.

Litigation system in the rice paddy field

Red Dao house in Ta Phing village

The man of Red Dao minority carried the harvest by simply walking on foot

Native Agriculture Cultivation

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Water buffalos were still very much in used in Sapa to cultivate the land. After all Vietnam is still considered an underdeveloped country, but the method I think is too primitive.

The Way to Ta Phin Village

2005-05-10T15:00:00.000+08:00

After a short rest at Sapa town, we continued to drive to Ta Phin Village. On the way, I asked this guy for the way to Ta Phin village, didn't notice that he was actually holding a snake.

To get to Ta Phin village we followed the road to Lao Cai, that leaded us to the awesome view of Sapa valley.

Much of the valley is been cultivated as verdant rice paddy field.

To get to Ta Phin village, follow the major road to Lao Cai. After about 5 km down the valley, we came to the first T-junction in sight. This is the turning to Ta Phin village. The junction was easily recognizable as they're few shops beside it, and it was the first side road after a long winding down road. After the turning, it was another long drive along a very narrow path.

Sapa Church

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The church is located at the center of Sapa town.

Hoang Lian Hotel and Modern Girls

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Hoang Lian Hotel is prominently located in Sapa town center, facing a grass field. Here at Sapa, other than some minorities, most people dressed modernly.

Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall)

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Thac Bac Silver Waterfall is about 100 m tall

It's possible to hike to the middle of the waterfall via a series of staircase. But to climb, it costs VND 3,000, payable at the stall just besides the entrance, with no admission ticket issued. There is a bridge connecting 2 both banks of the waterfall, so we just crossed over it and came down on the other side.

View of Silver Waterfall further down the road

From the bridge the view to the Sapa valley was unique and impressive

"Protection Fee" for the bike

2005-05-10T13:00:00.000+08:00

We then went to Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall). There were a lot of stalls lined up beside the entrance to waterfall, and they were not embarassed to ask us to park our motorcycle at their stall. The treat is, you have to buy something from them so that they will look after the bike for you. They all seemed know the rules, as most guide books mention about it. Even the guy who borrowed us the Honda bike suggested us to buy something for about VND 2,000, but we ended up paying much more than that.

We decided to buy a pork skewer from this stands. We initially just want tried 1 pork skewer for VND 5,000. But she just prepared as many as she could and pushed it to us. Ended up I ate 2 pork skewers and 1 rice covered in the bamboo for VND 14,000. Expensive!

Tram Ton Pass

2005-05-10T12:30:00.000+08:00

Tram Ton Pass, the highest mountain pass in Vietnam is located 14 km from Sapa, 3 km farther toward Lai Chau from Thac Bac. Here was the view of the road towards Sapa from Tram Ton Pass.

Tram Ton Pass was nothing else other than just the road that cut across the mountain. But it was extremely cool when we tried to get here, and very misty and cloudy.

Bus to Lai Chau uses this road, and it's full of loads!

The view towards the Lau Chai side of valley after Tram Ton Pass. It supposed to be sunny, but on the day it's pretty misty.

On the way to Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall)

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View of the Sapa valley beside Mountain View Hotel

View along the way, much of the valley has been cultivated.

Thac Bac or Silver Waterfall is on the road to Tam Duong and Lai Chau. It supposed to be a main road, but looks like a country road. Luckily it's not a dirt road.

Impressive view of the Sapa valley

Bike Rental

2005-05-10T10:30:00.000+08:00

We tried to rent a bike at Mountain View Hotel. They insisted USD $10 for a bike per day. I felt that it's too expensive. Later a guy approached us on the street, willing to rent us his Honda motorcycle for USD $6 a day, or USD $7 inclusive of petrol. So we made a deal for the bike and petrol.

Later he told me that he needed money to eat today. So he hoped that I can paid him in Vietnam Dong for VND 110,000. He looked a bit pity, may be just a trick to get more in Dong, as exchange rate there were not so good.

Hmong Girls (or Child Exploitation)

2005-05-10T10:00:00.000+08:00

We been dropped in front of Mountain View Hotel, right into a group of Hmong girls, which I believed employed by Mountain View Hotel and Royal Hotel, which both of them belonged to a same family. These kids basically persuaded us to stay at either one of these hotels. After they learnt that we're not going to stay overnight, they started to promote their merchandise, and kept haggling right until we left. It's a pity that they didn't go to school, but work as a child labor instead, although this may seemed to be entrepreneurship, but I rather treat them as child exploitation. May be the children just simply need more money, but I had to admit it's a very good business strategy that can easily win over any tourists.

Bus from Lao Cai to Sapa

2005-05-10T08:00:00.000+08:00

The train LC1 departed from Hanoi at 10:10 pm, and scheduled to arrive at Lao Cai at 7:20 am. But it didn't arrived until 8:00 am. There was no sign that it's Lao Cai station, except for this label at the building. Announcement didn't help much as it's in Vietnamese, so your best bet will be the warden.

Outside of Ga Lao Cai train station, there were plenty of minubuses waiting to bring passengers to Sapa. However, we met a guy who went up the train carriage and asked us if we would like to take their bus to Sapa for VND 25,000. I agreed to take his bus after bargaining to VND 20,000. It ended up was the better bus with air-conditioning available, as it's the bus from Mountain View Hotel to pick up their guests.

The bus that brought us to Sapa. It was with air-conditioning, but it's useless, as natural air was even cooler when closer to Sapa.

With Tim and Yvonne. We stayed in the same cabin on the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai.

Soft Sleeper Berth

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Typical Vietnam Railways cabin consists of 4 soft sleeper berth, 2 upper and 2 lower. A bottle of mineral water and a cake or bun are provided. There are about 10 of such cabin in a train carriage. Besides soft sleeper, there are also hard sleeper, where there are 6 hard sleeper berth in a cabin - upper, middle and lower berth on each side. Basically it's a soft sleeper without mattress, you'll sleep on a wooden bed. I also had a glance on a carriage which I believed was hard seat. I initially planned to travel on hard seat class, as it's so cheap. But I felt lucky I was not, as it's a wooden chair with separator in the middle which is unable to recline, and 2 person sit on both side of it.

Safety on Train

2005-05-10T07:00:00.000+08:00

It's reasonable safe to travel with Soft Sleeper Class on Vietnam Railways. I read that the main consent was the belongings will get stole. But not in our case. In our carriage, there was a Vietnam Railways warden who slept on the carriage herself. Once the train departed from Ga Hanoi train station, she knocked each cabin, and demanded us to stored our luggage below the lower berth, and kept everything valuable under the pillow.

What she did next was to lock all the doors to the carriage! This effectively disallowed all strangers and possible thiefs to get into the carriage. Although at other carriages, they didn't seem to lock the doors. And from safety point of view, it might be a nightmare if anything happens.

Vietnam Railways Train to Lao Cai (Sapa)

2005-05-09T22:00:00.000+08:00

We walked to the Hanoi Train Station (Ga Hanoi) from the Wing Cafe and Hotel in Old Quarter. It took us about 30 minutes to get there. It's not too far, but we spent some time to ask for direction. The Hanoi Vietnamese was very kind that all of them whom we asked helped us in a way or another.

There is 2 entrance to Ga Hanoi train station. Some guide books said you need to go to 1 entrance for train to particular cities, and another entrance for other cities. It might be true. But you can easily cross the railway track if you go to the wrong entrance. Any how we still needed to cross the railway track to get to platform in the middle. Ya, you have to walk across the track itself.

Bag Keeping in Hanoi

2005-05-09T21:00:00.000+08:00

Most hotel in Hanoi will allowed you to keep your bags there, hoping that when you return, you will stay there. When we took our train tickets from Thanh Vinh Tourist Hotel, they also offered us to keep our bags there, plus free usage of bathroom. However, I would like to try out other hotel, and also the fact that I was a bit disappointed with the Halong Bay tour package that they gave us, we rejected their offer instead.

Then we found Wing Hotel and Cafe, under Minh Toan Hotel and Tourism Co. We booked with them a night stay after returning from Sapa for USD $8, bargained down from USD $10. They allowed us to keep the bag and usage of bathroom for free too. The receptionist there was a very cheerful and friendly girl, even promised us we can always knock the door if the train back from Lao Cai reaches Hanoi too early. What she didn't tell us was there is extra charge for early check-in.

Sugar Cane Juice

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It's cheap here, and freshly made for just VND 2,000

Mien Luon

2005-05-09T20:00:00.000+08:00

We had a Mien Luon for dinner at a shop at Hang Dieu before boarding the train, which costs about VND 7,000. Mien Luon also called eel soup with translucent noodles or eel cassava vermicelli in English. Mien (vermicelli made of cassava) threads are very long and tough, made from a kind of tuber plant called the cassava. The eel is chopped into small chunks and fried beforehand before being put atop, and the soup itself is clear and very lightly flavoured.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theater

2005-05-09T18:00:00.000+08:00

Water Puppets, or Mua Roi Nuoc is an ancient art form that unique to northern Vietnam, which traces its origins to rice-farmer folk culture. Hanoi is the best place to watch Water Puppets performance which is origined from Hanoi. We watched it at Thang Long Water Puppet Theater at first-class seats which cost VND 40,000. There are second-class seats that costs VND 20,000. The differences being that first-class seats are in the front of the theater, and are given a CD that recorded musics played in water puppet performance. At the day we visited, there were show at 4 pm, 5.15 pm, 6.30 pm and 8 pm.

The traditional musicians, who also acted as story tellers and voice of characters during Water Puppet show.

The water puppets moved and danced in a shallow pool of murky water (to hide the mechanisms operating them) and were accompanied by the voices and instruments of a groupd of traditional Vietnamese musicians.

The theatre which water puppet performed. The show was entirely in Vietnamese, but it was very lively and understandable from its gesture.

The water puppets showed northern vietnam's agricultural practices and acted out Vietnam's history and mythology. Here was phoenix puppets.

Vietnamese water puppets performed dance.

The water puppeteers which stood behind the curtained backdrop during the show.

Some of the water puppeteers re-arranged the stage and cleaned the pool after the show.

The sales girl showed how a water puppet works

Monument in Vietnam

2005-05-09T16:00:00.000+08:00

Vietnam is a Communist state. So there are few monuments in Hanoi that represent struggling of the people. This Martyrs' Monument is dedicated to all the soldiers who gave their lives fighting for independence. It's located at the northeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake.

Ngoc Son Temple

2005-05-09T15:30:00.000+08:00

We reached Hanoi at about 3.30 pm. The train ticket to Sapa haven't delivered to the hotel yet, so we decided to catch the Water Puppet show if possible, which is right beside Hoan Kiem Lake. So while waiting for the Water Puppet Show to start, we had a walk to Ngoc So Temple at Hoan Kiem Lake.

Entrance to Ngoc Son Temple (Den Goc Son) was through Tam Quan (Three Passage) Gate.

The red wooden Huc (Sunbeam) bridge leads to the Ngoc Son Temple after Tam Quan Gate.

Vietnamese Hospitality

2005-05-09T15:00:00.000+08:00

Once in Hanoi, the first things that we did was to have a sinh to fruit shake again, as the weather was hot. Here we met a Vietnamese girl Dien who paid for our sinh to! What a wonderful ordinary Vietnamse.

Traffic in Hanoi Vietnam

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Traffic in Vietnam was really crazy. Basically they still follow a rule - drive on the right and stop while red traffic light. However, bike drivers were not obliged to wear helmet, and they just didn't have the habit to give way, to other pedestrians or other motorists. So what they did is (and they do have a great skill in) avoiding clash with other people or vehicles.

Which way to go?

Mid Way Stop

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The minibus stop at this place Rong Vang Ba Tien mid way back to the Hanoi. It was not an interesting shop that basically just selling overpriced souvenir.

Halong Bay Tour Package Selection Guides and Tips

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With so many tour operators and travel cafes / agencies operating tours to the vast Halong Bay, confusion tends to arise. It's especially so when the price for the tour packages can range from USD $16 to over USD $100. Here is my observation and guide on how to best enjoy and get the best value out of the Halong Bay trip.

Disclaimer: This article is solely based on my observation and experience on the time of my visit. It may be incorrect or becomes incorrect as time passed.

How's the tour behind the scene works?
To understand how a tour in Vietnam usually works, different between tour operator and travel agent must be understood. Tour operator basically operates the tour, while travel agent, or travel cafe usually just an agent or reseller for the tour operator. In Vietnam sense, Sinh Cafe (original) is a tour operator, and all other hotels, hostels, travel cafes, travel agents that usually also carry the name 'Sinh Cafe' are just the agent or reseller for Sinh Cafe.

Travel agents earn money via commission for each tour package sold. But sometimes you may be charged out ridiculous price if you give travel cafes such an opportunity. Beside, you have no control on the quality of the tour too, as the travel cafes can just promise anything, but cannot deliver as it's not them who operate the tour. Worse is they just have the intention to get your business with all sweet words.

According to Ha, whose husband Culi Cage owned Wide Eyed Tours, even tour operators sometimes also 'sell' their travelers to other operators, if they cannot have enough customers to start a profitable tour. In this case, again, you will have no control of the quality of the tour, and the itinerary might be different too.

Which is the 'Real' Sinh Cafe?
Frankly speaking, I also not sure. If you search for 'Sinh Cafe' in Google, the search results will have plenty of Sinh Cafes.

Of which Sinh Cafe Vietnam is believe to be 'genuine' Sinh Cafe.

I used to email Sinh Cafe - Open Tour or Sinh Cafe Travel - TransVietnam (depends on which website you go to), their response was pretty fast. I believe they're the same company with Sinh Cafe Travel & Tour or Vietnam Open Tour. They did give me a very detailed itinerary of their Halong Bay tour, with description of what will be done on first boat trip and the second boat trip on second day for USD $30, reasonable price if all itinerary is done. Too bad we didn't try it out as it's too late when we reached Hanoi.

Hanoi Tourism Service Company (Torseco Hanoi) is the parent company of Sinh Cafe. But the price on their website is not cheap either.

All contact details can be found on their website respectively.

What is Open Tour?
It's a bus service that run throughout Vietnam everyday, of which you can stop at anywhere as you like that the bus goes through, and stay as long as you want before continuing the trip. In Hanoi, Open Tour is used widely as Sinh Cafe to attract travelers.

I have limited budget, which tour should I take?
I met an Israelite Netidrori who said it's possible to get a tour to Halong Bay for 3 days 2 nights with 1 night on sleeping on boat for USD $16. I believe it's the cheapest price in town. He himself paid USD $28 just for the single room at another travel agency. What happened was he was assigned to sleep with another guy! Only after complaint that he managed to get to cabin to himself. So, that's your expectation if you choose lowest price.

The travel cafe is Eco Tours, located at No 9, Luong Ngoc Quyen Street, Hoan Kiem district. Phone no. is 84-4-9260815 or 9260715. Mobile no. is 09 12 227701. Email is ecologicaltours@fpt.vn.

Is small group matters?
A lot of guide books stressed on 'small group' of the tours in order to enjoy more of the tour. It may be case during peak tourism season. I found the small group and big group on bus journey to Halong Bay is totally useless. The fact is, in small group, you will ride smaller minibus. In big group, most likely you will ride bigger bus. On junk may be it's better to be in small group, the only different is is it really the case.

Any mid-budget tour to Halong Bay?
Try Sinh Cafes that listed above, or travel operators that listed in various guide books. I don't suggest to book via your hotels or travel cafes, as you may pay mid-range price to get the lowest quality tour.

ODC Travel did email me with their itinerary. 2 days 1 night overnight on boat at Lan Ha Bay costs USD $35.

Or you may try Wide Eyed Tours whose we met the owner's wife, who also so coincidentally has a friend that Adeline also known in Singapore. She said they use Hai Ao Junk in Halong Bay, and charge mid-range price. They are located at 40 Luong Ngoc Quyen.

I want the best!
Yes, the various guide books list numerous of them. The most famous must be Handspan Adventure Travel Vietnam. Or you may book directly with the junk operator in Halong Bay itself. This way you may save some commission that earns by travel agency, but you have to figure out the way to go to Halong City yourself.

Is it possible to go straight to Halong Bay and book the boat from there?
Yes, I had been approached by several people to take up their boat when at tourist wharf in Halong City. One people quoted me about VND 60,000. But I am not sure if it's a junk or a boat, how long is the duration or what's the itinerary. I guess if you want to overnight on boat, it's better to take a tour from Hanoi.

On the Way to Hanoi

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After leaving Halong City for just a while, the minibus crossed a bridge which exposed beautiful scene on the river, quite similar to that of Halong Bay. This inferior photo took thru the bus windows.

Vietnam is second largest rice exporter in the world. So there is a lot of paddy rice field in the countryside.

Lunch at Thang Long Restaurant

2005-05-09T12:30:00.000+08:00

We reached Bai Chay of Halong City at about 11 am, earlier than usual. Later we had lunch at Thang Long air-conditioning restaurant. It's a hot day today. There were souvenirs sold here too, and the price just a bit more expensive than Hanoi, if you're not good in bargaining.

Bien Mo Junk

2005-05-09T12:00:00.000+08:00

This was Bien Mo Junk that we overnite and spent the second day in Halong Bay. I would say it's of lower class.

Chat on the Junk

2005-05-09T11:30:00.000+08:00

Today boat trip of Halong Bay was my biggest consent, as most Sinh Cafe or Open Tour tour package just stated that 'the junk will bring you to tour other part of Halong Bay' without any specific destination. So it turned out to be my nightmare, the junk simply brought us back to Bai Chay (Halong City) along the longer route across Halong Bay, with no stoppage at anywhere. So we can just sat on the junk and have a nice chat, other than appreciate the wonder of nature beauty.

Fishing in Halong Bay

2005-05-09T11:00:00.000+08:00

We were not brought to fish as promised, but fishing has been livelihood for a lot of people in Halong Bay.

Just wonder how they fished, by using just a tiny line?

Another method of fishing with net.

More of 'Other Part' of Majestic Halong Bay

2005-05-09T10:30:00.000+08:00

Headed back to Halong Cit to back to Hanoi, while the junk brought us to 'other part' of Halong Bay. There were lots of floating villages here.

Bien Mo Junk's dragon statue was different from the previous junk.

The Halong Bay limestone outcrops got every kind of shape you can think of. Here it looks like human face from the side?

The main disappointment during our trip of Halong Bay was lack of the junks' sail to complement the beauty of Halong Bay.

Some limestone and dolomite rock islets have opening at water level. Some can be kayaking thru. Some is the only way to go the enclosed secret lagoon behind it.

Pillar like rock formation, with the bottom level at sea level been corroded by sea water.

Interesting unique shape of structure in Halong Bay

Lonely small islet

Dramatic limestone outcrops

Magnificent Halong Bay where island itself is a limestone mountain that rises above the sea. And there is mountain after mountain.

Halong Bay with its calm water. Halong Bay really acts as a shield that stops all the violent wave, so it's hard to get sea sick in Halong Bay. Initially the route that the junk took was so close to open sea that the junk was swinging up and down, and soon I got sea sick. But once the junk was surrounded by Halong Bay unique limestone islands, it became stable again.

Our 'low cost' Bien Mo Junk

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Enjoyable roof of a junk, but not ours....

Bien Mo Junk that ferried us, untidy, used for hanging clothes, and even water tank was here!

More of Cat Ba Island

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Cat Ba Island where the junk pier located.

Other side of Cat Ba Island

Boat hawkers getting ready to search for 'prey'

Cat Ba Island

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Floating village off Cat Ba Island links to Cat Ba Island via a floating bridge

The floating bridge were steep off the side of island, also served as pier for small boat

Cat Ba Island is adjacent and geologically similar to the islands and peaks of Halong Bay but sperated by a broad channel. It is an impressive array of limestone mountains, overgrown with jungle.

We're promised 2 hours on Cat Ba Island from Ha yesterday, but it was reduced to mere 30 minutes due to everybody didn't want to wake up, including the crews and also misunderstanding that caused by some crews that said we were not allowed to the island. So we just wondered around the wharf area. The houses here were similar to those in Hanoi, which are generally narrow in width but long, to pay less tax during old time.

View of Halong Bay from Cat Ba Island

Back to Cat Ba Island, Again

2005-05-09T08:00:00.000+08:00

The boat sailed back to Cat Ba Island again, this time to pick up passengers who were transfered to hotel yesterday. Today it's not raining, so we had a better view of Halong Bay.

Cliff that appeared right out of water level

Lonely boat in Halong Bay early morning hour

Bien Mo Junk Cabin

2005-05-09T07:30:00.000+08:00

There were 8 cabins on Bien Mo Junk, 4 on each side of the junk. The cabin was very small, with just a fan (which unusable since they switched off power after midnight), and a small attached bathroom. Hot water was not working too.

Good Morning Halong Bay

2005-05-09T07:00:00.000+08:00

Peaceful Halong Bay at early morning

They switched off power generator after we slept, so there was still no electricity, hence no fan and no water, and no noise too.

Sleep ON Halong Bay

2005-05-08T23:00:00.000+08:00

After dropped off some passengers in Cat Ba Island, the Bien Mo Junk continued to sail to a relatively quiet and enclosed place in Halong Bay. The junk was anchored here, with the accompany of only another 2 junks.

It's evening, but we were unable to view any sunset, for obvious reason. It's just too cloudy.

The view of other junks at night, blanketed by darkness. After we went back to the our cabin. The crew of the junk shut down the electricity power generator of the junk, to save some fuel I guess. The 5 Malaysian guys made some arguments with them, then they switched on the electricity again. But just for a while, after midnight, they off electricity again. So it's really a 'low cost' junk. Luckily it's quite cool at night.

Dinner ON Halong Bay

2005-05-08T20:00:00.000+08:00

We were promised romantic candle light dinner, and again, it's not fulfilled, candle no where to be seen. Anyway, the environment was pretty romantic on dim light and dark surrounding, and the fact that we're in the heart of Halong Bay now, surrounding by 'dragon', according to legend.

Stayed on boat, there was pretty nothing much to do at night. There were only 8 of us on the junk, 7 Malaysian and 1 Israelite. 4 of us Adeline, Lee York Tien, Netidrori and me had a nice chat with some cocktails that I brought. Beside chatting, you may play Chinese chess with the crew (where they'll always lose), or watch the ultra-loud Vietnamese MTV.

Route to Cat Ba Island

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After kayaking, the Bien Mo Junk sailed to Cat Ba Island to unload passengers who opted to stay in the hotel on Cat Ba Island. On the way, more beautiful scenery shown.

Different type of limestone rock islets.

Halong Bay is big. There is mountain after mountain after mountain.

On Bien Mo Junk we met with a lovely Australian-Vietnamese couple Vienie and Yen who came to Vietnam for honeymoon.

Kayaking in Halong Bay, but no life jacket!

2005-05-08T19:00:00.000+08:00

After visit to Sung Sot Grotto, the junk sailed to nearby floating village. Here we were asked to transfer to another junk Bien Mo. To me Bien Mo was an inferior junk, although they showed a 3-star rating on the boat. But we met back the original guide that brought us from Hanoi, Ha.

They didn't mentioned anything about kayaking until we request for it, and was allocated 20 minutes only. Worse, when I was about about board the kayak, I just noticed that there was no life jacket on the boat. And, I don't know how to swim. I didn't want to risk my life, so finally I decided not to go for kayaking. What a waste.

Beside, I guessed we supposed to do the kayaking at Luon Cave, or some place like that, that has a cave opening at water level that we could kayak thru. Instead, we were only kayak at around floating village, where water was a little dirty. May be it's because both junks also didn't have attached kayak, contrary of other junks.

Anyway, Adeline was having fun kayaking, with a girl from Australia which we met on our first Junk.

Hang Sung Sot Grotto (Cave of Surprises)

2005-05-08T17:30:00.000+08:00

Although our itinerary supposed to be Thien Cung (Celestial Place) and Dau Go Grotto (Cave of the Wooden Stakes), we were brought to Hang Sung Sot Grotto (Cave of the Surprises) instead. It's one of the 3 most popular caves in Halong Bay, and requires separate ticket from the first 2 caves. It's discovered by French on 1901, and is on the same Bo Hon island with Trinh Nu Grotto (Virgin Cave), but our guide never brought us there.

View of Halong Bay from Hang Sung Sot was spectacular. Sung Sot cave lives 25 m above sea level, but to get to it, we needed to climb a series of steep stairs which covered by shady trees and foliage.

The lighting system with elegant styles adds more charm to the beauty of the grotto. Here it was right after the entrace to the cave.

There are several water pools in the Sung Sot grotto. This pool is close to the entrance, so when light reflected from the moving water, the formations inside the first chamber seemingly came alive. The first chamber is square or similar to wide theatre hall and is oftern referred to as the waiting room. Many stalactites hang from the high ceiling, with numerous possible forms and shapes.

The narrow passage that leads to the second chamber of Hang Sung Sot grotto.

The second chamber also know as serene castle, is big and immense. The cave's ceiling is approximately 30m high.

Penis look-alike rock formation

The was a 500-meters paved passage inside the Sung Sot cave to guide the visitors on this immense cave, with a lot of stalagmites and unique ceiling along the way.

To the innermost deep end of the Sung Sot Grotto. Our guide did the only guidance and explanation of the entire Halong Bay trip in Hang Sung Sot, although we didn't hear much as too much took photography.

We were dropped at another wharf and exited via another cave opening. This bridge leaded us to return to our junk.

Shrine in Halong Bay Grotto

2005-05-08T17:00:00.000+08:00

A shrine was built inside a grotto of Halong Bay islet

Halong Bay Floating Fishing Village

2005-05-08T16:30:00.000+08:00

As we got closer to Hang Sung Sot cave, we saw floating village in Halong Bay. Locals live in floating house and mainly go fishing from the morning and then sell their catches to bigger boats which in turn sell them on the mainland, or go to nearly islands to cultivate land.

Floating houses, with TV aerial. Just wondering how to get the electricity.

There were a lot of floating houses around Hang Sung Sot cave.

Halong Bay Limestone Rock Islets

2005-05-08T16:00:00.000+08:00

We're getting deep into Halong Bay. Bush topped limestone islands have so many kind of formation, jutting out from the sea.

More than 900 out of the 1969 islands in Halong Bay has name, but the guide didn't explain anything, to my very disappointment.

Too many of splendid islets

Dao Ti Top Island & Beach

2005-05-08T15:30:00.000+08:00

Dao Ti Top island was the first island of Halong Bay we came closed. It got its name from Ghermann Titov, a former Soviet Union hero. It displays a beach shaped like a crescent moon, and sand that has been washed to a snowy white by the tide. It's possible to climb to the top, but our junk never stopped.

Vinh Ha Long (Halong Bay)

2005-05-08T15:00:00.000+08:00

Vinh Ha Long, in Vietnamese, means Bay of Descending Dragon. It's a area of approximately 1,500 square kilometers with a 120 km coastline, in the Gulf of Tonkin, comprising 1,969 islands of different sizes. It's located at Quang Ninh province of Vietnam.

There are many legends that depict how Halong Bay derived its name. One legend says that the giant limestone rock islands are dragons, protecting Vietnam from invaders. Another legend said the majestic Halong Bay was created when a dragon was fabled to have simply fallen into sea, her body and tail carved out holes and huge bays during her descent.

Too bad, none of the junk opened up the sail during our 2 days there. We heading towards Sung Sot cave along east side of Cat Ba island.

Most junks in Halong Bay have some kind of dragon at the front of the junk.

The panorama view of faded mountaintops at the distant horizon formed a beautiful landscape. The calmness of Halong Bay water is all depends on these islands that shelter Halong Bay from turbulence.

Pretty Down Mood

2005-05-08T14:00:00.001+08:00

2 things spoilt my mood today. Adeline still had some problem with me. This time she didn't like to take photos. That's fine. Next, Jacqueline sms me and asked for more money for our business venture. I am not a millionaire, so I believe SGD $36,000 is enough, and I really don't want to invest more and lose. I think more likely will ask her to sell the business. Hopefully I can get back all my money. Beside, the dark rainy day didn't help much too. Anyway, I needed to force myself to enjoy the trip, after all, it supposed to be an enjoyable trip.