Day 2 - Vietnam Discovery from Hanoi to the Meekong Delta - 'Inside Vietnam' adventure with EXPLORE

Day 2 – Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

You can try sleeping with the air-con off as you think it’s a bit noisy .  You'll eventually concede at some point in the middle of the night and turn it, defeated by the humidity.

We're discovering the strength and diverse range of quality of the Vietnamese coffee.  As we will discover on this journey, no two hotels have the same way of delivering the morning caffeine hit.  The heat range also comes in anywhere between nuclear-hot to a tepid warmth.

Explore trips tend to have an interesting and varied mix of people, couples, solo travellers or a couple of friends travelling together and this journey is no different.  Our group is a mostly home nations affair of English, Scottish and Welsh making up our small band of travellers.  Three of whom are on their first adventure trip ever, which is so interesting to hear.  The sole representative breaking up the UK monopoly is the well-travelled  Sarah hailing from New Zealand touring her way around Asia.

It's one of the things I and many others find fascinating when meeting fellow travellers is discovering the journeys they are on, what motivates their travel  and  the rewarding experiences they get out of travelling.   Three of our group are on journeys into the many months around Asia and the rest of the world, including Miles, who has retired from the rat race and is now spending his hard-earned money enjoying the offerings of the world’s cultures and nations, basing himself currently in Cambodia. 

There's even someone with such a passion for travel they're trying to make a living from it (ok, that’s me!).  It's early days but I really hope I can succeed at it, it's currently not looking good but no-one said it would be easy.  I can't think of anything else in the world I would enjoy more than helping others to experience it.

We're off out and our first visit of the day is Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, it's a truly imposing brutalist structure interning the body of modern day founder of Vietnam.  Unfortunately, Joseph tells us that it’s closed on Mondays.   Our always cheery tour guide, Joseph, explains along the way some interesting Vietnamese history regarding their dear leader.  It’s all fascinating to learn about not just for history buffs like me.

Following this short visit we travelled the short hop back to the old town and Joseph grabbed us all a rickshaw each in sharp fashion, prices were quickly negotiated and paid.  Nine rickshaws formed a convoy in the blink of an eye.  Our train of three wheeled chariots began navigating its way through the winding streets and sea of scooters.  It’s a fascinating way to see Hanoi, it saves your legs and having to dodge scooters and hazards.  We were pedalled around a couple of kilometres, for what I think was more than half an hour, to another major attraction of Hanoi, the famous "Tang Long Water Puppet Theatre". 

It started to rain as we shuffled in with the crowd to our back row seats for an excellent view of the stage below.  The musicians are all adorned in colourful dress and bookend either side of the water stage.  The lights dimmed and the show began. Vietnamese history was sung and narrated through many differently themed scenes, fables were told through intricate and skilful water puppetry.  Our Vietnamese vocabulary is three words currently, so we used our imagination for the captivating stories unfolding on stage.

Another downpour outside as we shuffled out with the crowd.  We hailed two taxis and jump in.  We were back at the hotel and just like stage actors it’s another quick costume change.  We headed out to a busy restaurant recommended by our guide Joseph.  We were let loose out on our own for the first time.  The large restaurant was beautifully adorned with many a colourful lanterns and plenty of flora and fauna, enough to replicate a jungle easily!  It was really lively and bustling with locals and tourists alike. 

The menus we've seen so far have come with English descriptions, but it didn't prevent the mild bemusement as to what it is we're looking at this evening.  There was a great buzzing atmosphere in the restaurant as people chattered and enjoyed putting the world to rights.  I've avoided anything like shellfish or ghastly snails so far thankfully.  Beers and sodas were ordered as we enjoyed the start to this evenings meal.

Our plates arrived, the hot and fragrant meals were shuffled around between us as we matched pictures to what we ordered, hopefully!  We chattered and joked and I enjoyed my vegetable spring rolls, not the taste I was expecting for sure but ok all the same.  It was only when another plate of spring rolls arrives that some mild confusion set in.  My fellow traveller, Steve, who was sat next to me then kindly exclaimed that “erm, those spring rolls Ash, they're my shredded snail spring rolls”!  Oops!  This would explain the strange taste!  This does of course bring plenty of amusement to our little gathering!

Dinner finished and we navigated our way back with a bit of Google assistance.  A couple of sociable nightcaps of local beer are consumed to digest the day’s events.  Those of us beer consumers are adamant to keep our selections to Vietnamese beer for the whole adventure.  And it was then time to retire and rest, ready for tomorrow’s early journey to Ha Long Bay, a couple of hours drive east of Hanoi.