We left the Philippines through Manila on a late night flight to Hanoi. We arrived and had to do some paperwork and payments to get myself a visa. Aina was already good to go on 15 day no frills visa for Spain.
We got a cab to our hotel in the old town and would plan out our coming days for Vietnam there in Hanoi.
We would only stay in the old town area of Hanoi for a day, but liked the old architecture ( Aina will update with photos ). We decided our first destination in Vietnam would be to Ha Long Bay, an area known for it's steep limestone island outcrops.
We would stay in Ha Long Bay and also visit Cat Ba Island over three days and two nights. This would spoil us a bit with good food and gorgeous scenery.
The folklore of Ha Long Bay tells a story of how long ago Vietnam's enemy, China, was attempting a naval invasion. Dragons were sent to protect the Vietnamese people by the Jade Emperor and protected the people. After the hard fought battle they descended into the bay with only their mouths visible, the limestone outcrops, and rest until needed again to protect the Vietnamese people. The name of the bay comes from the story and Halong literally means descending dragon in Vietnamese.
Our guide also explained how China has always been considered an enemy. Today the French and Americans are looked upon favorably, but he didn't speak much about the American war, which from our visits to other areas is still, understandably, a painful topic.
The folklore of Ha Long Bay tells a story of how long ago Vietnam's enemy, China, was attempting a naval invasion. Dragons were sent to protect the Vietnamese people by the Jade Emperor and protected the people. After the hard fought battle they descended into the bay with only their mouths visible, the limestone outcrops, and rest until needed again to protect the Vietnamese people. The name of the bay comes from the story and Halong literally means descending dragon in Vietnamese.
Our guide also explained how China has always been considered an enemy. Today the French and Americans are looked upon favorably, but he didn't speak much about the American war, which from our visits to other areas is still, understandably, a painful topic.
We also managed to do some biking and trekking through a small town called Viet Hai on Cat Ba Island.
We would head back to Hanoi for an evening after our trip to Ha Long Bay. I especially liked the pho bo, a beef broth rice noodles soup that is served with some onion, basil, bean sprouts, and lime with some spicy red peppers on the side.
Fresh roll :)
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