A Bit of Metta: Holiday in Hanoi/Halong Bay /Tam Coc

5D4N Holiday in Hanoi 16th July to 20th July
My daughter and I decided to go for a holiday for Raya and since it was already near Raya holidays there were not many choices. The price for tours was inflated since it was last minute booking. We (actually it was I) decided on the 5D 4N Hanoi/Halong Bay/Tam Coc tour organised by MT Vacation & Tours. Total cost for 2 persons comes up to 5198 excluding insurance.
We met at the agency at 10.30pm on the 15th of July to take the bus to KLIA2 for our Air Asia flight to Noi Bai International Airport. Meal on board was nasi lemak and a cup of mineral water. The meal was pre-booked by our tour guide, Christina Chong. Our group consisted of 20 people; a family of 7, a family of 5, and 2 couples. We arrived in Hanoi at about 10 pm local time. We met the local tour guide, Yen who took us to visit an old temple. The journey from Noi Bai International Airport to Hanoi was about 1 hour. There were many people at the temple because it was the first day of the month according to the lunar calendar. Many were there to offer prayers and to release birds /fish. In the grounds of the temple were a few longan trees. The trees were quite common in Hanoi and many were heavily laden with fruits. It was strange that no one pluck the fruits.We then took our first meal in Hanoi.......there were varieties but the one thing I discovered about Vietnamese food was it was rather bland. The Vietnamese love pho, an equivalent of our Kai Shi hor fan. It is one of the menu for our lunch and also for every buffet breakfast in the hotels we stayed in. After lunch we went to the Temple of Literature and then Ho Chi Minh's Vestige in the Presidential Palace area. Then it was time for dinner and then to Windy Hotel for a rest.

Nasi Lemak on board

First view of Hanoi from the cabin

View of Hanoi from the bus

An ancient temple in Hanoi

A very old Bodhi tree in the temple ground

A longan tree in the temple ground

Motorbike is the most common mode of transport

Our first Vietnamese meal...pho is in the menu

Temple of Literature

The Presidential Palace

The house where Ho Chi Minh used to live in

Cars used by Ho Chi Minh

17th July Tam Coc to Halong Bay
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then it was off to Tam Coc. We climbed on board a tiny boat (sampan) for a cruise to view a series of interlink caves and all the natural scenery. The cruise took more than one hour..........after sometime, one get bored with the slow rowing. During the cruise, many amateur photographers snapped pixs of us in the boat. Once on land the photographers pestered us to buy the pixs they took of us ........at RM2 per copy. We landed up with so many copies of the photos taken by them. After lunch we went on a long bus ride to Halong Bay. There we had our dinner and then went to watch the Famous Vietnam Water Puppet show. The singers offered a few of the audience a cup of rice wine. I was one of the lucky ones offered a drink. As my daughter have a phobia for puppet and dolls, she did not enjoy the show. We then went to the Royal Casino situated in the same building and on same floor as the place where the puppet show was held. Then it was to Halong Bay Hotel for the night. We stayed 2 nights at this hotel.

The restaurant where we had our dinner.

The prawns were quite big

The three pretty singers welcoming us to the puppet show

18th July Halong Bay

We had buffet breakfast at the hotel. After a short distance we are asked to get down from the bus. Reason was we were going to be treated to a cup of Vietnamese coffee with bread and egg. Haiyoo, should have told us earlier so that we eat less for breakfast. Then we proceed to Halong Bay for a boat cruise. We waited for sometime before we board the boat. Half way to the cruise we stopped at one of the jetty and walk along the path which lead to caves where one can see lots of We stopped at one of the jetty to board a speed boat for a closer view of the islands and natural formations. It was an exciting ride....more interesting than the cruise. We had sea food for dinner on the boat. Not bad.

Vietnamese bun.......hard on the outside but soft inside.

Coffee-Vietnam style

Crowds waiting at the jetty for their boat.

On the upper deck of the boat.

Path leading to the caves

One part of the cave

A view of Halong Bay

We took a ride in one of these speedboats


A wide array of seafood for dinner served in the boat.

19th July From Halong Bay back to Hanoi

After breakfast it was a 4 hour long journey back to Hanoi. We had buffet lunch consisting of 180 dishes. After lunch, we went to Ho Chih Minh Museum. Then we were taken to 36 ancient street for shopping. As we had not much interest in shopping for the products sold there, after a few streets we went into a cafe to have a drink while waiting for the rest of the group.