First of all, I love Ha Noi. It is considerably colder than Ho Chi Minh City. and, unless you are a crazy Canadian like me, you need a jacket and long pants to cover up against the biting cold.
The day after we arrived, we had a special air conditioned seven seater limo to go to Ha Long Bay, which has the reputation of being one of the most beautiful scenic views in the world. A veritable eighth wonder if you will. Ha Long Bay is close to the Chinese border as well. The name means "The Place where the Dragon Descends to the Sea", and it definitely has an aura of magic to it.
The ride was very smooth and very relaxing. Upon arriving early at the dock in Ha Long Bay, we had to wait a good two hours to sign in and wait. Finally, we got onto a small speedboat and headed to the boat "The Stellar of the Seas" which is like a hotel on the water. The outside does not look as cool as the inside but looks cool nonetheless. It has around 4 floors.
Our rooms on the boat were the only two executive suites on the boat, one for me and Tiffany and one for my parents. There was also a presidential suite, but we did not get that one. These rooms were the best hotel rooms we have stayed in, and basically cost us around 1000 dollars for two rooms, which is actually not too bad of a price. We would have stayed perhaps indefinitely.
It was a honeymoon suite of epic proportions. The layout was the same for my parents room as well, just mirrored. There was a huge bed with a swan made out of towels and surrounded by rose petals. The bath was on a raised grated area which allowed the water to go through it and drain naturally. There was a tv with Netflix, which unfortunately never worked, just because the internet where we were was none existent. The washroom was the main attraction though, as it the toilet seat would automatically open up when you entered the washroom, and it was also a Bidet with many different settings. The staff also laid out a bottle of wine and some fruits for us. Our executive suites also included a foot and leg massage, of which we definitely took advantage. We were in paradise.
There were a couple of things on our itinerary, but we chose a cruise which was more relaxing and less activities. They served us lunch dinner and breakfast. The food was exquisite. A lot of seafood, but prepared in a way that I ate most of it. There was creamy clam soup, which I just assume is a type of clam chowder, tuna salad, scallops, grilled salmon fillet with mashed potatoes, and chicken cordon blue with vegetables as our main lunch when we arrived on the ship.To top it off, we had ice cream and a fruit drink for dessert. The first day was pretty relaxed, exploring the ship and living like royalty.
Now let's talk about the real reason we came here: the view. If you have watched King Kong, the recent movie, you might have seen Ha Long Bay, becayse some scenes were shot here. Unfortunately, we never saw King Kong here, but I could imagine that he would feel right at home. There were many islands jutting out from the water, reaching up for the sky. Each island was covered in trees, and was also home to monkeys. How they got there, I have no idea.
Before supper, mom and I signed up for a cooking class of sorts, which was very simple. All we were doing was making spring rolls for the buffet later that night. The concept was not too difficult. There were many things that go into the making of a spring roll, such as different types of meat, like chicken and pork, as well as egg and vegetables. We grab a thin sheet of rice paper, which is what the spring roll outer layer is made of, we put spoonfuls of each of the 12 or so ingredients, and then we artfully wrap it up. There was a group of us and we made around fifty or so spring rolls.
Later on, after the buffet, we had our foot massage. My feet have been sore for almost two months before this, so it was very nice. Then it was nighttime. It gets dark in the middle of the water at night. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds to see the stars.
Mom woke up at 5 in the morning to do some tai chi. I woke up at five as well, but my exercise consisted of turning over and going back to sleep. Once we did wake up, mom, dad and I signed up for a small boat excursion into Ha Long Bay itself. We took a small speedboat from our boat to a little dock area and from there transferred to a small Vietnamese boat, which could fit around 6 people and was rowed by one person. The local rowers were very strong. This was a very peaceful excursion on the calm waters of Ha Long Bay. Not a sound could be heard, except for the soft lapping of the water against the oars, the occasional bird sounds, and the sounds of the rowing locals calling the monkeys. In one section, we went through a long tunnel with a very low roof, and came out into a beautiful secluded lagoon. It was extremely tranquil, and we were able to see a monkey crawling up the side of an island like it was nothing. Upon arriving back to the cruise ship, it was time to head back to Ha Noi for the next part of our trip.
I will not talk about everything we did, just the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Pho 10 restaurant.
The net stop on our journey was the supposed resting place of Ho Chi Minh in Ha Noi. I have done the pilgrimage once before, but, as I mentioned before, never got around to writng the blog, so here we go again. We had to line up, but even though the line is long, it is continually moving, so it does not take that long at all. For the actual mausoleum, we are not allowed cameras inside, so I dont have any pictures of the inside of the mausoleum itself. But once we filed into the mausoleum two by two, watched by the ever watchful guards, we made our way to the viewing area to see Ho Chi Minh's body. It is a very solemn process. His body is incased in class and guarded by four guards in white uniforms.We walked around the body and out the other side without stopping so as to keep the line moving. That basically sums up the mausoleum. We also visited the stilt house and village area where Ho Chi Minh did all of his hard work. There is also a museum dedicated to all things Ho Chi Minh.
Last place to talk about is Pho 10. This is the quintessential pho restaurant to go to when in Ha Noi. Last year, when we came for tet, I wanted to go here but it was closed. Now that we came for Christmas, it was open. The lines are long, but they move fast, because it does not take that long to eat a bowl of Pho. There are many variations of Pho and different types of beef you can try, but I preferred not to be that adventurous and stick with the well done beef. You mix in chili sauce, lime, and this black bean type sauce for an excellent combination. For those who dont know, Pho is basically a noodle soup dish with a certain type of noodle and chunks of meat inside. It warms your stomach, and the portions are always big, so it fills you right up. Definitely a go to place to try a good dish of pho. The address is 10 Lý Quốc Sư, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội.
Okay, that about wraps it up. Now I have to prepare for a two week trip to Malaysia and Singapore.
There were a couple of things on our itinerary, but we chose a cruise which was more relaxing and less activities. They served us lunch dinner and breakfast. The food was exquisite. A lot of seafood, but prepared in a way that I ate most of it. There was creamy clam soup, which I just assume is a type of clam chowder, tuna salad, scallops, grilled salmon fillet with mashed potatoes, and chicken cordon blue with vegetables as our main lunch when we arrived on the ship.To top it off, we had ice cream and a fruit drink for dessert. The first day was pretty relaxed, exploring the ship and living like royalty.
Now let's talk about the real reason we came here: the view. If you have watched King Kong, the recent movie, you might have seen Ha Long Bay, becayse some scenes were shot here. Unfortunately, we never saw King Kong here, but I could imagine that he would feel right at home. There were many islands jutting out from the water, reaching up for the sky. Each island was covered in trees, and was also home to monkeys. How they got there, I have no idea.
Before supper, mom and I signed up for a cooking class of sorts, which was very simple. All we were doing was making spring rolls for the buffet later that night. The concept was not too difficult. There were many things that go into the making of a spring roll, such as different types of meat, like chicken and pork, as well as egg and vegetables. We grab a thin sheet of rice paper, which is what the spring roll outer layer is made of, we put spoonfuls of each of the 12 or so ingredients, and then we artfully wrap it up. There was a group of us and we made around fifty or so spring rolls.
Later on, after the buffet, we had our foot massage. My feet have been sore for almost two months before this, so it was very nice. Then it was nighttime. It gets dark in the middle of the water at night. Unfortunately, there were too many clouds to see the stars.
Mom woke up at 5 in the morning to do some tai chi. I woke up at five as well, but my exercise consisted of turning over and going back to sleep. Once we did wake up, mom, dad and I signed up for a small boat excursion into Ha Long Bay itself. We took a small speedboat from our boat to a little dock area and from there transferred to a small Vietnamese boat, which could fit around 6 people and was rowed by one person. The local rowers were very strong. This was a very peaceful excursion on the calm waters of Ha Long Bay. Not a sound could be heard, except for the soft lapping of the water against the oars, the occasional bird sounds, and the sounds of the rowing locals calling the monkeys. In one section, we went through a long tunnel with a very low roof, and came out into a beautiful secluded lagoon. It was extremely tranquil, and we were able to see a monkey crawling up the side of an island like it was nothing. Upon arriving back to the cruise ship, it was time to head back to Ha Noi for the next part of our trip.
I will not talk about everything we did, just the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Pho 10 restaurant.
The net stop on our journey was the supposed resting place of Ho Chi Minh in Ha Noi. I have done the pilgrimage once before, but, as I mentioned before, never got around to writng the blog, so here we go again. We had to line up, but even though the line is long, it is continually moving, so it does not take that long at all. For the actual mausoleum, we are not allowed cameras inside, so I dont have any pictures of the inside of the mausoleum itself. But once we filed into the mausoleum two by two, watched by the ever watchful guards, we made our way to the viewing area to see Ho Chi Minh's body. It is a very solemn process. His body is incased in class and guarded by four guards in white uniforms.We walked around the body and out the other side without stopping so as to keep the line moving. That basically sums up the mausoleum. We also visited the stilt house and village area where Ho Chi Minh did all of his hard work. There is also a museum dedicated to all things Ho Chi Minh.
Last place to talk about is Pho 10. This is the quintessential pho restaurant to go to when in Ha Noi. Last year, when we came for tet, I wanted to go here but it was closed. Now that we came for Christmas, it was open. The lines are long, but they move fast, because it does not take that long to eat a bowl of Pho. There are many variations of Pho and different types of beef you can try, but I preferred not to be that adventurous and stick with the well done beef. You mix in chili sauce, lime, and this black bean type sauce for an excellent combination. For those who dont know, Pho is basically a noodle soup dish with a certain type of noodle and chunks of meat inside. It warms your stomach, and the portions are always big, so it fills you right up. Definitely a go to place to try a good dish of pho. The address is 10 Lý Quốc Sư, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội.
Okay, that about wraps it up. Now I have to prepare for a two week trip to Malaysia and Singapore.
