Halong Bay, Hanoi

In the morning we departed from Hanoi to Halong Bay. We passed by Quang Ninh province where coal is mined thus making this area polluted. Healthcare and sanitation are not very well taken care of in Vietnam. It is normal to see people wearing masks in Vietnam to protect themselves against the pollutants in the air. Does these masks really help to filter the pollutants? Such scene reminded me of those SARS period where we were given "certified" mask to wear, which would filter harmful elements and are hard to breathe.

It took 3 hours to reach Halong Bay. Thank God for the good weather as the day before it rained. The weather was cool and refreshing while the scenery was spectacular.

Jay and I shared a table with a Vietnamese family when we had lunch on the boat. We had a good conversation with them. They have a cute little girl whom I enjoyed playing with.

It took us more than 4 hours to reach Hanoi from Halong Bay. The bus moved like a snail on the road and possibily caused a French couple to miss their night train. Felt so sorry for them.

We changed our hotel at Hanoi as we found difficult to sleep. The new hotel was slightly better but I found strange practice here in Vietnam. The hotel will close for business after certain hours like in our case, the doors were closed with the metal doors pulled down at about 1030pm.

We went to the recommended fish restaurant in Hanoi the next day. Though there is only one dish in the menu, many people patronized this popular eating place. We arrived at about 11+am and soon after the restaurant was full house.

After lunch, we visited the several art galleries at the city centre while on our way to the museums. The history and revolution museums were not very impressive. The presentation and layout were not user-friendly for visitors to grasp the history of Vietnam. Display items were all over the place.

We tried home-made ice-cream and rested by the lake for a while before we headed back to have dinner before our night train to Hue.