Ha Long Bay and Hoi An, Vietnam January 2 – 10, 2018

Ha Long Bay: January 2-4

Seeing the jutting limestone islands of Ha Long Bay had been a top bucket list item for almost 25 years – a desire perhaps attributed to the 1992 film, Indochine. Whether sparked by the Catherine Deneuve movie or by other means, the visual majesty did not disappoint.

Ha Long Bay Cruise: Day 1

9:30 AM -The cruise company’s shuttle van arrived at our Hanoi hotel at the designated time. We then picked up two other couples, one from Oakville, Ontario, the other from Manchester, England. We were now a full van ready for the two hour ride to Hai Phong to begin our journey. Along the way, we each described our travel journeys, the highlights and the pitfalls. Time flew by and suddenly we were at the cruise port. We said goodbye to the other couples, as they were boarding the sister cruise line, Orchid.

12:30 PM – We were all ushered on to a tender that would take us to our Azalea ship, moored 20 minutes away. On board, we were greeted by the director, Hugo,  and his staff and given a welcome drink. After receiving information on the ship’s services, its itinerary and safety requirements, we were given the keys to our cabins and a few minutes to unpack before the lunch buffet. Our room was a large rear corner cabin on the upper level. With windows covering two walls, we had amazing views of the bay, the many floating fishing villages and the famous limestone karsts. The only downside to a rear cabin was having the noisy tender below our balcony.

3:00 PM – Our first activity was kayaking to one of the island beaches. The sun was finally piercing through the fog, but the temperature was still barely above 20°C. Not one to shy from a good dip in the sea, Gilles dove into the chilled water along with a handful of brave souls. Not long after our arrival at the beach, the sister Orchid cruise passengers arrived and we were briefly reunited with our shuttle companions from Oakville and Manchester.

5:30 PM – Back on board the Azalea from our kayaking and swimming activities, we relaxed in our rooms before going to the upper deck bar for happy hour. We arrived early and grabbed one of the few tables available. We invited two of our brave swimming buddies to join us at our table, as seating choices seemed less and less desirable. We got to know a little bit about Ellen and Zack, from Melbourne, Australia, who were travelling through Vietnam on a three week vacation. With happy hour service closed, we continued our travel conversation down to dinner. After our delicious meal, we were ready to crash; so, we wished Zack good luck on the squid night fishing activity, and goodnight to both.

Ha Long Bay Cruise: Day 2

6:30 AM – We were up very early for breakfast – but not early enough to catch the tai chi class. As we rushed to catch the 7:30 tender for the morning activity, we noticed the absence other familiar guests, like Ellen and Zack. Only part way through, did we realize we were on the wrong transfer boat. All Ha Long Bay cruises have one-night guests and two-night guests. While we all begin the first day together, the group activities differ on the second day. We were sitting with the one-nighters! When we flagged this to Hugo, he discretely directed the transfer boat driver to return us to the ship. After dropping off all the other guests at their activity, we quietly rode back to the Azalea. Although a little embarrassed, we were happy to have arrived in time to make our 8:30 AM departure to Cát Bà Island. We were given bicycles on arrival and followed Justin, our guide, to the village of Viet Hai. As we visited a hospital, a local garden and school, he described the daily life of the small island village. We were also taken to a rice wine home-distillery. As a “treat”, Justin gave each the choice of having snake wine (five actual snakes in the glass jar) or hibiscus-flavoured rice wine. We tried both – for the experience. The snake wine did not have any distinct flavour, except pure alcohol; the hibiscus had a sweet flowery taste. Experience had, no need for seconds! Back on the day-boat, we were served a delicious lunch and relaxed out on the deck. While still moored, we took the kayaks out for freestyle paddling around the secluded bay. After an hour, the day-boat headed back to the Azalea, just as it began to drizzle. The highlight of the day was not the snake wine, but cycling in and out of the Cát Bà village along the scenic road to the ship.

3:00 PM – We were quite tired when we got back to the Azalea, so we crashed in our room, maybe even had a little nap. We were still in a lounging mode when happy hour came, so we brought our cocktails back to the room to admire the views from our balcony. After dinner, with no new planned activities, we returned to our cabin to enjoy a peaceful evening.

Ha Long Bay Cruise: Day 3

7:30 AM – We were on the tender again – having “practiced” it the day before – departing for our final activity: a rowboat ride to a cave. This would have felt more special had we not done the three caves river tour in Tam Cốc (previous post). The morning drizzle did not help, either. However, after 90 minutes, the activity was over and we were back on the tender heading for the Azalea. Back on board, we packed our bags and left them out in front of our cabin door.

10:30 AM – While we ate brunch, the Azalea sailed back toward Hai Phong. Admiring the large limestone outcrops for the last time, we were soon back on land and waiting for our shuttle van. Ellen and Zack accompanied us back to the city, and provided us with good tips and recommendations from past Southeast Asia trips. At our hotel drop off, we said goodbye and safe return to our Melbourne swimming-cycling-kayaking-drinking buddies.

Hội An: January 5 – 10

We arrived at the Lantana Riverside Hotel in late afternoon after a 90-minute drive from the Da Nang Airport, the nearest airport to Hội An. We had chosen Lantana because of its seclusion, its river views and for its acclaimed friendly staff. Our host, Joy, greeted us at reception, asked our names, and described the hotel’s services and facilities, while our luggage was brought to our rooms. The next morning we were greeted, by name, by the unfamiliar-to-us breakfast staff. Yes, it felt a little creepy at first; but, after a while, we got used to these greetings: ” Hello Davis. Hello Gin”.

We spent a few days walking around the historical trading port, visiting the night market and its bright and colourful paper lanterns. Dave was able to have some shoes custom made! Fun (and somewhat stressful) to pick out the leathers, style and stitching.  This small town was a nice break from busy Hanoi; and, at 800 Km south of Vietnam’s capital city, and much warmer, too. Warm enough in fact to spend one day at Lantana’s private beach, a short taxi drive away. Searching for good eating spots, we returned to the Will Fly for Food website, and followed JB and Renée’s recommendation to try the Cao lầu at Morning Glory. Delicious! White Rose dumplings were also recommended; but, before we knew it, our stay in Hoi An was over.

Before moving on, however, we had to try a Vietnamese cooking class. Following JB and Renée’s advice again, we opted for the Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School. On the morning of the class, we were picked up at our hotel and driven to the Hoi An market, where we gathered with another 30-ish travellers. We were shocked at such a large group; nothing like the “maximum 10 persons” announced on their website. Soon after, however, we were divided into smaller groups – ours being the smallest at seven guests – and each one assigned a guide. As we walked through the market, gathering our needed ingredients, our guide described each item and its purpose in Vietnamese cuisine – I didn’t know there were so many varieties of mints and basils! After the market, we all boarded a small boat and cruised 40 minutes along the Thu Bồn River to Thuan Tinh Island, and then a rowboat to the cooking school. One by one, we prepared and ate our four dishes: fresh spring roll (gỏi cuốn), crispy crepe (bánh xèo), decorative beef stir fry (bún bò nam bộ) and traditional Vietnamese beef soup (phở bò). Our guide and chef demonstrated each step of the recipe to completion; then, we were sent to our cooking stations to reproduce the dish… well, as closely as possible. At the end the class, bellies full and satisfied with our accomplishments, we were shuttled back to downtown Hoi An in the school’s van. From early morning market shopping to mid-afternoon cooking instructions, the Thuan Tinh Island Cooking School was a fun experience. My only suggestion to the school would be to fill the 40-minute boat ride with a scripted description of the estuary, the daily life of locals and fishers, etc. Instead, everybody, including our guide, was surfing on smartphones.

Hội An was another great stop in our journey, but it was time to say goodbye – and exchange a few hugs and snapshots – to Joy and Lucky and the gang at the Lantana. Having tasted sun and tranquility, we craved more. Add sand and surf to that, and we were off to our next destination: Phú Quốc Island’s Green Bay Resort. With resort life filling our next week, we would temporarily abandon blog post writing, and leave our readers to contemplate these images.