Ending North: Hanoi/Halong Bay

After surviving our serious adventure in the jungle of Central Vietnam, we set out for Hanoi. Our time in the city was short, but we found it to be both quaint (tree-lined streets) and crazy (traffic!).

Mike and I splurged and stayed the night at the Hotel Metropole, a classic hotel with a storied past. It's hosted presidents and prime ministers, actors and  activists (like Jane Fonda and Joan Baez), entertainers and executives (a Mr. M. Zuckerberg, for one). More interestingly, the hotel has a Vietnam War bunker that was lost and rediscovered only a few years ago (unfortunately, we didn't have time to tour it).

We left Hanoi early the next morning for Halong Bay. After a three-hour drive, we embarked for the cruise portion of the trip. In a word borrowed from a friend who's been, the cruise was very "Disney." They ushered a group of 18 of us on board, and adhered to a strict schedule of meals, tours, swimming, and kayaking. Having just come from the caves where we saw no other tourists and the agenda was more relaxed, the cruise seemed cheesy and overly orchestrated. Plus, I got stung by a jellyfish, which didn't help matters (the water was infested with them!). And no, Mike didn't have to pee on me; come to find out, drenching the wounds in vinegar and rubbing them with lime take the sting away. But the scenery was nice and I appreciated some downtime to read and relax.

You may remember that our flight from Hanoi to Shanghai got cancelled, so our journey home was slightly more complicated (read: annoying). After getting back into town after the cruise, we left for the airport. We flew from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and arrived at around midnight, slept a few hours in a hotel, then went back to the airport for our 7:30 a.m. flight back home.

Although I don't think I need to go back, I'm glad I went to Vietnam. I had wanted to go and I think we made the most of our trip there. For a few more photographs, check out my Flickr album.