We have arrived in Vietnam and have split our first few days between two very different places. First came Hanoi, a sprawling city of action which seems chaotic at first, but later reveals some method to its madness. Later we visited Bai Tu Long Bay, a serene body of water with far less tourists than its neighbour, Ha Long Bay.
Our first morning in Hanoi left us feeling a bit more out of our comfort zone than usual. Our mediocre task of finding breakfast seemed monumental. It has been a while since either of us had such a huge language barrier between us and a morning coffee. DawnO couldn’t even rely on her Spanish to save us. Below you can see what Dawn eventually settled on for breakfast. What’s that particular dish called? She called it delicious.
The traffic was also quite difficult to get used to right off the hop. Coming from a defensive driving standpoint, when I found myself in a game of chicken with a scooter, while we were both on the sidewalk, I wasn’t quite sure how to maneuver my body. Crossing a busy street also seemed like an impossible task, as there seemed to be a sea of never ending scooters, bikes, cars, buses, and tuk tuks, blocking our way across. A common practice of scooter drivers was to have one hand on the accelerator, and the other on their cellphone.
Eventually we learned to just go with the flow and keep moving. The traffic would move to accommodate pedestrians, either on the street, or the sidewalk (aka. The parking lot).
That evening we headed to the Water Puppet Theatre, which sounds a bit odd… and it was… but it was also endearing. There were people on either side of the pool that would sing and play music, while puppets would come out and perform. I would definitely recommend going.
The next day we went to the mausoleum that houses the body of Ho Chi Minh. The line was incredibly long (we estimated at least 1km), but it was constantly moving so it wasn’t too terrible. Afterwards DawnO set out to check something off her to do list since arriving… try an egg coffee.
Originally we wanted to go to Ha Long Bay, but when we were booking a trip, we learned about Bai Tu Long Bay, which left from the same place, shared the same cool islands, but had way less boats and tourists. That was enough to get us on board. We booked a 2 day, 1 night tour and even had a fancier room with a private balcony. The tour included a cave excursion, a kayak trip, and this morning we got to view a local fishing village. It was the perfect contrast to the hectic time in Hanoi.
Yes, I know, I know… DawnO appears to be paddling a 2-man kayak without a partner. Where did he go? Did he fall in? At the time it was quite chilly so I, like many other sensible passengers, decided to stay behind where we would be dry. I did not pack myself a shawl. I did regret my decision immediately after she paddled away. She didn’t get wet at all.