Halong Bay - Hue - Hoi An

18/11/12 - 26/11/12

We took a bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay.  It was the usual 1hr journey made into 4hrs as the driver crawled along the highway at 15mph looking to fill the empty seats on the bus. We arrived on the outskirts of Halong City where we took a cab to Tuan Chan island.  After finding that we had a 3hr wait for the ferry due to them running a low season timetable, we took a speedboat (just the two of us) to Cat Ba Island. We arrived to a nice sandy beach where we waited for the bus to Cat Ba town to the south of the island.

 When we arrived in Cat Ba it wasn't all that nice, the seafront looking a bit like a Chinese version of Brighton. Add to this the constant hassling of foreigners by pretty much every local looking to push us motorbikes, restaurants and tours and we were a bit unsure of why we came.  However, we did have a great view from our balcony, overlooking the harbour.  After some average seafood for dinner and a good night’s sleep we went for a boat tour around Lan Ha bay and Halong Bay. Along the way we stopped to see a fish farm and to do some kayaking (through caves and in between islands) and then on the way back we stopped at monkey island for a quick climb to the top of the hill for a great view (and to say hello to the monkeys).

Although the scenery was stunning, it was a shame to see how overdevelopment had ruined this part of the world. We were put off swimming in the sea by the amount of rubbish we saw in the water. What should be a place of natural beauty was blighted by high rise hotels, annoying street sellers and litter.  After seeing the fish farms, we also began to wonder how much of the fish ends up in our supermarkets. It didn't look as sustainable as we'd imagined.

We decided we'd seen enough and the next morning we set off by bus-hydrofoil-bus-sleeping bus to Hue (the old imperial capital). It took 24 hrs from start to finish. We arrived at midday where we went straight for lunch at Nina's cafe on recommendation from the Google hotel (ironically the WiFi didn't work, but they were nice and friendly and provided free beer). Nina was very nice and friendly and the food was lovely (and cheap).  We took a walk for the afternoon to blow away the cobwebs.

The next day we hired a bicycle and wondered through the citadel where the Emperor used to reside. It was in the process of being restored after bombing during the wars, but it was impressive to see the architecture and the gardens. We felt the heat after we'd spent the previous few weeks in the cooler north. After getting back on the bikes we rode to see a Pagoda by the river and then to see an arena where tigers used to fight elephants as well as the tombs of a former emperor.  We went back to Nina's for dinner to try some more dishes as we loved it so much the first day.

We decided we couldn't take another bus journey, so we took the train on to Danang which was a nice journey along the coast, with plenty of legroom for a change.  After more hard negotiating with the bus drivers (we had to tell teacher on them at the ticket office) we eventually got a sensibly priced bus to Hoi An (20,000dong and not the 150,000 they quoted).

Hoi An was a nice old town and fishing port which was crammed with lovely old wooden buildings.  Most of these now cater for tourists with countless gift shops, tour agents and tailors lining the streets.  We spent a day wandering around and trying some local food like 'White Rose' and 'Lau Cau'.

In the evening a very nice lady (one of the few who wasn't pushy) invited us to see her house which was made of wood and was built by her great grandfather.  It was impressive to see the architecture and the engravings he had made in the wooden beams. Her husband had made some lanterns by hand so we bought a few as souvenirs. We spent a long time deciding on colours and they were very patient with us. The lady poured us tea in tiny cups which needed to be refilled after every sip and we had a nice chat with her.  She was very proud of the house and rightly so.

After quite a bit of sightseeing and travelling we cycled to An Bang beach for a bit a relaxation. An Bang beach was a locals beach and pretty quiet, and after a walk for 10 minutes along the shoreline, we had a spot just to ourselves (and a few fishermen).  Dave was scratching a lot due to being bitten by bed bugs the previous night. The salt water helped to soothe them.  We enjoyed the sea breeze and watching the fishermen in their 'soup bowls'. The following day we returned to a different spot which was just as quiet and there was a nice cafe nearby behind the dunes. We swam and jumped the waves to prepare us for the next leg of our journey.