HALONG BAY
In Hanoi we booked a 2-day tour around Halong Bay with Handspan Tours (78-80 Ma May, Hoan Kiem, www.handspan.com). It was definitely expensive (US$130 each) compared with other prices (we saw the same type of tour for as low as US$23), but some friends strongly advised us against very cheap boats as they even saw rats in theirs and the food was bad.
We left Hanoi early in the morning by bus and it took some 2 hours to reach the bay. The boat was simply excellent: beautiful, very clean, great and varied food, mainly seafood and fish, friendly staff.The tour itself was also good, with some stops: one of the biggest caves, a beach with a view-point, night in the middle of the bay where we could swim, visit to a lake in a rowing boat… We headed back to harbour the following day after lunch.
Halong Bay is such an amazing and spectacular place that deserves a post for itself.
NINH BINH
From Halong Bay we wanted to go to Ninh Binh without having to go back to Hanoi, so once we got off the boat we asked around if that was possible. Soon we found a I-can-do-anything-for-you guy who, after agreeing the price, managed to get us on a minivan full of locals that took us directly to Ninh Binh. Looked like a regular service, but not sure. Despite going directly it took quite some time, around 4 hours, but the landscape was interesting and it did not feel long. In almost every trip there is a place where you don’t expect that much and you end up placing it at the top of what you liked, Ninh Binh was exactly that in Vietnam.
The bus dropped us directly at Xuan Hoa Hotel (www.xuanhoahotel.com) not really sure why, but we took a look and decided to stay there and it was great. The rooms had a good size, were immaculately clean, with A/C and the staff friendliness was spectacular. We paid around US$18 for a double room with bathroom, breakfast included.
We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant terrace and it was very tasty, specially the grilled goat meat. The price was average.
We agreed to rent a car with a driver through the hotel and we could not be happier with the driver’s attitude and friendliness. His english was limited but enough for the basics, and he never seemed to be tired to drive us around, taking us to a place we had not agreed with no extra charge.
We started the day going to Cuc Phuong National Park, the very first National Park in Vietnam. We did one of the designated hikes (Big Tree hike) through primary tropical forest and a couple of grottoes. Surprisingly it was not as hot as expected and we had a great time. There is a famous Primate Rescue Center but we decided to give it a pass as we did not have enough time.
Hiking in Cuc Phuong National Park
After the hike we had lunch at the hotel and then headed for the main attraction of the area: Tam Coc (dubbed “Halong Bay of the rice paddies”) and it was spectacular, with the rock needles popping out of green fields. We took a rowboat along a canal (it was strange to see the how they rowed with their feet) and passed leisurely through 3 long caves. The scenery was stunning and peaceful. A very nice surprise. (Beware: the boat owner will try every trick to make you buy something, from the stuff they have to drinks for them).
Tam Coc
Feet rowing in Tam Coc (Photo by Francisco Amigo)
Tam Coc (Photo by Aiko Yokozuka)
Instead of driving us back to the hotel the driver took us to a fantastic place: Hang Mua temple. It is in one of the rock needles and to reach the top you will have to climb steep steps, but the views of Tam Coc and the rice paddies from above are wonderful. Also there was nobody there, so we could really enjoy it.
Huang Mua Temple (Photo by Aiko Yokozuka)
Climbing Huang Mua Temple (Photo by Aiko Yokozuka)
Views from Huang Mua over Tam Coc (Photo by Francisco Amigo)
Views from Huang Mua over Tam Coc (Photo by Francisco Amigo)
We had dinner at the hotel and then waited for the night bus to Hue. The hotel staff took care of everything and let us know when the bus was coming.
