Halong Bay & Hanoi Holidays 1

Selling of fruits, local cakes and biscuits to shopkeepers and tourist.

Hanoi is a popular destination and I met lots of tourists from many different countries. Package tours normally offer 5 days 4 nights, but I would suggest adding 3 -5 days more so that we will be able to see more with the same flight fare. I took the tour package and extend 4 days on my own. I went to Mai Chau for 2 days and Perfume Pagoda a day tour and last day is a shopping day. I went to Hanoi in mid last year 2014.

My first imperssion of Hanoi is the buildings are tall and narrow

The streets are in the main tourist area of Old Quarters and Hoan Kiem are full of tourist pedestrians, motorcycles and vans. The noise level is high with honking from motorcycles.

Worry about lodgings? Don't worry, there a lot of hotels, hostels and backpackers inn and the prices varies from as low as 7 USD per day.
I strongly recommend taking the "Cyclo" (trishaw) around town as it is easy and we are able to take photographs all along the way.

Sight seeing in town are the usual areas around the Hong Kiem Lake, and Temple.
The Water Puppets Show deserves a mention here as it is different from the normal musicals and dancing shows offered by other countries. It is shown full house every day.

Water Puppet Show

While I was at the Temple of Literature (First University of Vietnam), alot of school children also visited there.

Temple of Literature was bulit 1000 years ago

Shopping in Hanoi as in many other countries, needs some bargaining. Lots of things can be found in the Central Market in Hanoi. It is big, very busy because it is also a wholesale market.

I see a lot of Vietnamese wearing face mask walking along the streets. Guess what? These are some of the cute face masks sold in the market!

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage lined with 1600 islands, islets and limestone pillars.

This is a famous islet with the story of 2 lovers forced to separate

From the shore, we have to do climb up stairs to go into the limestone caves.

The inside of the cave where we go towards the end hole where the light is streaming in

The food in Hanoi is mainly seafood of crabs, squids, prawns, grilled chicken and also the Vietnamese Rolls.

Colorful crab served on the boat to Halong Bay

*The Bahasa Malaysia version of this post can be read at : Bercuti di Hanoi 1

Other Vietnam Holidays blog post:
1. Part 2: Tam Coc & Bich Dong Pagoda at Ninh Binh
2. Part 3: Mai Chau, my idyllic holiday: Mai Chau