02/06/2013
At first we didn't like Hanoi, however, it did grow on us. It is impossible to describe the chaotic madness of the city but once you hook into its rhythm it has a kind of curious charm that is quite compelling. Wandering, or should I say dodge-walking, the streets of Hanoi for two days took us to some of the tourist sites including a memorable experience at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. With guards snapping at us to queue here, march forward there, keep silent, hats off, hands out of pockets, we formed a solemn procession that passed by Uncle Ho's preserved body . Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Most of the islands are unaffected by human presence because they cannot be inhabited. Although cloudy with intermittent rain, our 3-day, 2-night trip to the famous UNESCO world heritage site was really fun. We stayed on a fairly small triple deck boat with 13 cabins in amongst a sea packed with boats of varying sizes. One can imagine how magical this kind of trip was 20 years ago when your boat may have been one of just a handful. Kishore and I arose for a 6:45am Tai Chi class on the open top deck, then joined our fellow crew mates for breakfast followed by a long list of activities for the day. Our favourite was kayaking to see a group of monkeys engaged in, what looked to be, a territorial fight across almost completely vertical cliff edges. Their speed and agility was surpassed only by their evident strategy. We sat in our kayaks mesmerized until a zodiac full of tourists hooting and hollering swept into the quiet bay. Ha Long Bay, rain or shine, is an incredibly picturesque place. We met some really nice fellow travellers on our boat, ate fantastic meals and enjoyed the surrounding scenery. Sadly, we have planned only 2 days at Vietnam so this was our departure point from this awesome location. Kishore caught an early flight to Singapore to meet up with a Business team , I ventured on a night flight to Shanghai to start my work.
