Vietnam - Cat Ba to Haiphong to home ...

 CAT BA ISLAND

A very quick stop, just to do a boat tour of Lan Ha Bay, the quieter southern part of Halong Bay. The island is mostly national park, and hosts lots of activities like climbing, hiking and kayaking, so I shouldn't have been surprised when our small tour boat was full of backpackers - I think we were the oldest by several decades! So funny to hear them talk about hitchhiking and hostels, and remember my youthful travels in Europe.

We stopped a couple of times for swimming, but sadly there was floating rubbish on the gorgeous blue water, so I declined. We are so spoilt here! We DID go kayaking, which I'm not sure Chris will ever forgive me for. It WAS lovely though!

Fishing village, Cat Ba

On the boat ...

Lovely Lan Ha Bay

HAIPHONG

Just a short bus/boat/busride away is Haiphong, an industrial sea port at the Red River delta. It has been described as like Hanoi 30 years ago, and it is truly a retro-feeling city of 2 million, full of old French buildings and vibrant N. Vietnamese life. Not a tourist in sight, and almost no English spoken, we finally felt like travellers. Not much to do but walk the streets, eat the food, and marvel at the coffee culture (more cafes per sq km than Surry Hills, I swear!). There's only so much coffee you can drink, and food you can eat, sadly. Refreshingly we were able to shop in 'real' shops, and found some lovely restaurants, one of which even had an English menu (the best tofu ever, and tiny fried fish, with a pungent anchovy sauce). Ate the best noodle soup (banh da cua, seafood with red noodles). Had cocktails at happy hour at our rather flash hotel. It rained, and was cooler, and we wished we could stay longer ...

Haiphong streetscape

Shrine on street

Haiphong street art

Haiphong street art 2

Haiphong Station

View from our window

Cocktail hour at our hotel

Haiphong market street

Haiphong market street 2

'Pottery' shop

Haiphong street bonsai

Haiphong Ca Phe

Banh da cua

Overnight flight home, and day dawned over the dusty interior of our unmistakeable land ...

Coming home ...

Vietnam - Reunification Day and the Reunification Express

 DONG HOI

We took the Reunification Express from Danang to Ninh Binh, with a brief stopover at Dong Hoi. Not really on the international tourist trail, it is a buzzing fishing town and seaside resort popular with local tourists, and as it was 'Reunification Day' long weekend, it was heaving! We visited the slightly chaotic market and ate Banh khiao (shrimp pancake) nearby. Later, grilled prawns and oysters at a very no-frills seafood place by the river. Up early for the 7.15 train to Ninh Binh!

On the train ...

Dong Hoi boats

Dong hoi markets

Dong Hoi street

Reunification day!

Dong Hoi street 2

Dong Hoi street 3

Dong Hoi street 4

Early morning train ...

NINH BINH

We stayed at Tam Coc by the lake, just out of town, which for some reason I thought would be quiet rural backwater, but it is tourist central, very popular with local tourists and backpackers. The 'homestays' along the lake are nevertheless very pleasant, and it's easy to take a boat trip up the river, or hire a bicycle for the day and explore the extraordinary local landscapes. We found the BEST roast duck restaurant too!

Temple ceremony

Bicycle ride 1

Bicycle ride 2

By the river

At the pagoda

At the pagoda 2

Tourist advice

At the pagoda 3

Tourist boats, Tam Coc lake

At the lake ...

The best roast duck!

At the lake 2

Boating along the river

At the lake 3

At the lake 4

Vietnam - we flew down to Hue ...

 HUE

The old capital is a very lovely town on the banks of the Perfume River, with notable cultural relics that are gradually being restored, and are humming with Vietnamese visitors. The local food is big on yummy chewy dumplings and rolls and dipping sauces, and of course the famous Bun Bo Hue (beef soup) of which sadly we did not find a good example! Our riverfront guesthouse was in the heart of backpacker-land, but a short walk across the bridge was another world, a quiet local village. The river is lined by parkland, but on a sunset walk back from the Citadel it was strangely difficult to find a riverfront beer ... finally did though!

Quiet village over the bridge ...

Quiet village 2

At the Citadel

At the Citadel 2

At the Citadel 3

Perfume River sunset

Beer with sunset view

Breakfast with a view

Pagoda at Hue

Pagoda at Hue 2

Local tourists

Hue street

HOI AN

We took a bus to Hoi An, a few hours south of Hue, another revisit from 13 years ago. We were shocked by the increase in numbers of tourists, international and local - the Old Town and riverside are like a neon-lit Disneyland! But still a very beautiful small town if you avoid those parts, and wander the laneways.

It was too hot and humid to do much walking and exploring, so we signed up for both a Street Food tour and a Cooking class (to Chris's horror!). It was impossible to eat everything from 15 very various street food stops and we had to bring some home for breakfast! For cooking the next day, we visited the amazing local market, then cycled out of town to a neighbouring village, surrounded by market gardens, and cooked stuffed pancakes and spring rolls, and various banana leaf-wrapped delicacies, all of which we ate by the river. So good!

Cooking class!

Hoi An workers

Hoi An market

By the river ...

Hoi An laneway

Hoi An market 2

Tourist boats on the river

Grilled seafood at the market!

Guardian at the Japanese bridge

Hoi An street