Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Written by guest blogger, Jacob Little 

Ever seen a dead body? Well, if you’re looking for the opportunity, get yourself to Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh, the first President of Vietnam, who died almost 50 years ago, has had his body on display here ever since. Despite being against his wishes, locals and tourists queue up to see him in what is an extremely bizarre experience, but one that seems almost religious to the Vietnamese people. Wearing their Sunday best, we all filed in two by two in absolute silence. It did feel a bit like we were in North Korea, as Hollie pointed out with exquisite timing just as we walked past a bayonet armed guard. His body is kept in a darkened room with only a light shining on his hands and face. He was incredibly well maintained given how long ago he died. So that was an experience...

We were staying in the old town, filled with more motorbikes than you’ve ever seen, which made it extremely busy and hectic. But the street food on offer made up for it. We had an amazing barbecue, where you pick your own raw meats from the fridge and then they get barbecued for you before being delivered to your own personal BBQ on your table. The salmon (aren’t we decadent!) and corn on the cob being highlights. I’ve also learned not to attempt to work out what it is you’ve been served out here, which was particularly true when we got a bowl of noodles with some funky looking stuff in, but whatever the meat/fish was it was pretty tasty and only cost £1. The good news is my stomach is now suitably hardened ahead of the dirty American chicken that will soon be lining the shelves of Brexit Britain (political banter there).

We also checked out Ho Hoan Kiem Lake, which is flanked by coffee houses and ice cream parlours. The locals come here to do tai chi in the mornings, then carve fruit and make tourist gifts throughout the day. It was a bit of relief from the manic old town and offered up a good green rice flavoured ice cream. 

When it rains it pours and the fun didn’t stop there! You shore can imagine our excitement when we then stumbled upon the water puppet show which was on in a theatre just next to the lake. It only cost us £2, a drop in the ocean for the quality of viewing entertainment. There was lots of high skilled puppetry on show, but the star really felt like a big fish in a small pond. I’m not really sure how to describe what it was like, so I’ll just say it left me feeling buoyant.

In the middle of our stay in Hanoi we decided to make a trip to Ha Long Bay, one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world (Google it if you’ve never heard of it, it’s even more impressive in real life). We booked on to a tour and during the rickety bus journey my expectations for the standard of the boat were pretty low. But when we got there our tour guide (Mr Lucky) assured us it was the best boat in the harbour and the best weather the bay had seen in months, what are the chances! As it turned out we completely lucked out as the boat was beautiful, our bedroom had huge windows and a jacuzzi. We were served up 5 courses for lunch and then had the chance to kayak which was my favourite experience on the trip so far. We were at a rare quiet spot, away from the tourists and the views were amazing. The tour also included a hike up to a viewing point and a trip to the largest cave in Ha Long Bay. As an added bonus we did some karaoke with the crew members and I’ve now got some Vietnamese numbers in my repertoire.

A special mention has to go to ‘bia Hanoi’, my favourite beer of the trip so far. Light and floral if you’re looking for 2 words. If you’re looking for more, I’m not your man. 

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Next stop, we're back in Thailand, Chiang Mai to be precise, stay tuned !

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