Vietnam - Heading to Hy Long Bay, direct but rough

We packed up and left our short stay in Hanoi, I felt I could have done with a few more hours. I actually was quite keen to see the dead body of Ho Chi Minh, but we really didn't have time. It was time though for our onward journey Easy,  heading to the coast for the sea of 1,969 islands - Hy Long Bay.

The journey was just a few hours by coach, so we made ourselves comfortable for the onward drive. Not long after leaving Hanoi on the grey, bleak highroads the heavens opened and the driver forged through torrential rains but this wasn't as bad as the way Vietnamese drive. The roads are full of potholes, and while they are meant to drive on the rightm if the driver wants to get somewhere fast he will take centre location between the two lanes and at full speed (of around 50km) swerve around Tuk Tuks, mo-peds, cars and lorries and should an even bigger vehicle be coming in the opposite direction will swerve right at the last minute to avoid a collison. I couldn't figure out if they are excellent drivers or totally insane.

We were being thrown left and right and it wasn't worth looking forward outside the drivers window - so I buried my head in a book.

We arrived in Hy Long Bay around 7pm as the sun was setting, it was very much dusk. The skies were a purple grey and the islands smoothly jutted out from the water, as was described, like "a dragon's back spikes as it descends into the sea." On the beach it was quiet, and romantic, not somewhere for a lone single man to be gazing into the placid evening sky. The water rippled gently and tourists were making their way to dinner. I had to wait to the morning to discover the true adventure in those 1000's islands.

The evening we dined on local fish, another 12-dish experience, giving me chance to explore as many different varieties of fish as I could for the first time in my life. Following food, there is little to do in Hy Long Bay. Walk along the bay, it's quiet yet warm. Stop and gaze at horrendous Vietnamese karaoke, burn your ears and move on. Shop in the tourist markets and barter to get a good deal. Head back to the hotel for an early night.

Next day, we hopped on a boat and headed out to the bay. Another overcast day made it somewhere cool, a mild 21/22 degrees. We made our way to some caves between the maze of jutting islands. Admittedly if the weather was clearer I would have been in my element, the water was an exciting green and the rock formations did put me somewhat in awe - but the weather lost the sparkle it would otherwise have. Keen to take photos, the images that were coming out weren't so impressive either - so I resided to chill out and follow the tour.

We cave walked, deciphered stalactites and stalagmites and the limestone interiors that at one point had also been submerged in water and battered by the sea. Stopping at a manmade beach we got the chance to swim - my first time in Asian sea. I had really wanted to jump from the boat, but that wasn't to happen. Instead I had to tiptoe in from the sand, surrounded by washed up debris and rubbish, to wade into waist height, quickly bathe, just to say I had been in. But it was hardly clean, very unfortunately.

Dinner was served on the boat, the boat that had been painted white under orders of the Government. Apparently a government minister had visited Europe and liked the look of all the white boats, and ordered for them to be painted in Vietnam - as you can imagine the owners were unhappy with it - and as you can further imagine, these wonderful wooden boats looked nothing as glamorous as the super-tanked 007 Sunseeker variety in Europe.....

Vietnam – visiting the Village of Dong Ho, the great cycle of West Lake

The deeper you delve into Hanoi the more that comes to life. It’s not the shabby city I thought it was on arrival, the Old Town, the Old French Quarter, the West Lake and beyond this city is expanding by the day.
 

Land is the price in Vietnam, explaining why buildings a slender and going up by the month. Families are using the space to the max, adding new floors to expand their home. In some areas these brightly coloured rendered home fronts show a very cosmopolitan feel, while in other areas it looks disheveled. But it very much reminds me of Europe.

Building appears to be the life of Vietnamese. It is obvious they WANT people to build, for the people to prosper. As we escape the city towers of bricks line the roads, huge clay craters tell the tale of construction. Hanoi is stretching for kilometers. House after house, fresh, new and simply designed. The year of construction firmly, proudly labeled affronts the roof. This is real brick, not cheap wood design.

Day two we take a cycle out to the Village of Dong Ho, about an hour from the city centre. Here we are dumped in rural Vietnam, surrounded by acres of paddy fields and banana plantations. We come across the home and business of artist Nguyen Che who produces original hand drawn designs from Papyrus paper, which is still handmade today. Colours made from the stone, leaves and seeds of the soil.

The landscape has been built in response to the local habitat, the villages have been protected from the over-flooding Duong River – as we cycle the great dykes that feels like a fortress of the city. Yet the river runs drier each year in response to the dam in China.

Day three we cycle the West Lake, the leisurely 23km ride takes us around the city visiting paragodas and temples along the way. The lake is the meeting place, where lovers canoodle, and friends while away their time – motorbikes and cycles line the road, dogs roam the streets. The backdrop a very dusty grey city sat upon a muggy sky, the people in modern designer brands clutching cigarettes.

I’m in the North and hear I see change on the horizon. Hanoi is about culture, people, community and family. There is much traditional here, and there is an obvious split between town and country. Market traders cycle or bike into town every morning to sell their goods, sometimes hours of commuting a day with their bikes stacked high with trade. How long can this last? How much more can this city sustain this dual lifestyle?

I leave Hanoi with questions in my mind as we climb aboard the mini-bus for Hy Long Bay

 MORE PHOTOS of HANOI

Vietnam - Day One. Arriving in Hanoi

Arrived at hotel: 7.30am - Check-in not until 11am.
3 hours to kill
First day, 2 hours of disrupted sleep and here I am in a strange city, in a foreign land. Now What?

I dug my heels in and went for it. No time to mess around, but dull grey skies made Hanoi look pathetic. After 15 minutes of walking and I became easily used to cross the road - just walk, don't stop, don't mind the other traffic, it will move around you - but where now?

A motorbike tour guide picked me up. With my rubbish bartering skills I agreed to $12 per hour for a tour of Hanoi. Seriously what was I thinking? I didn't know Asia at this point, let alone the value of money here. But it should be more like $12 per day. So on the back of his bike I hopped.

I ordered to be taken to the main tourist city sites and for coffee and lunch. And the tour began.

The friendly guide trapsed me across Hanoi in good time, stopping at places I didn't know the name or significance of followed by a strong Vietnam coffee then we perched at a side street food vendor. I hesitated at first, in case my stomach should churn later, but the BBQ minced pork balls in noodle soup was too good to resist.

The tour lasted 2.5 hours and I managed to barter him down to $20 - still stupidly expensive. But he bought the coffee and my lunch so I didn't feel so bad about that first experience.

11am: back to the hotel, shower and nap.

4.30pm the orientation of the old town of Hanoi - the markets, food stalls and realising that Hanoi is not about beauty, architecture or history, but it's people and culture. I had a theme, and I wondered what the rest of the country was going to show me.

7.30pm: dinner. The Vietnamese eat early, try going for food post-8pm and you might have problems finding somewhere that serves. As a group we had a multi-plate meal consisting of 12 dishes at a cost of $25, or 245VND.

It was an eventful dinner, the Vietnamese (especially in the North) seem to keep their Christmas trees out and decorated all year round. Apparently something to do with bringing good luck. Bit peculiar since their faith isn't Christianity. However on this first rather exhausting night, as we sat on the second floor of this small family owned restaurant the waiters hurriedly served us. In such a rush a naked flame fell to the floor and set the tree on fire. Welcome to Vietnam - I was about to be cooked alive. The staff fumbled around trying to douse the flames, unfortunately with materials that soon caught on fire. One of them grabbed a huge bucket and three it over the tree. That was it - the tree's life was over - or so I thought. 15 minutes later another staff member started to readorn the tree. In all this time, we just sat - still - wondering if we should flee for our lives.

Following dinner I made my way to the local gay bar - Golden Cock (GC), a relatively discreet venue with western pop music, pool tables and plenty of vodka and gin being knocked back by the Vietnamese. In the two hours I was there they would polish a bottle of spirit between 3 of them and stumbled out of the bar.

Vietnam, Hanoi - discovering the gay life

Being gay is as much a Western disease as it is a Southern and Eastern, and well pretty much actually a part of life across our great planet. Vietnam is not immune from being fantastically rainbow and while this communist county may not flaunt it - it's here!

First stop Hanoi - first thought Grindr! Where else to find local gays and like-minded travellers? Where else to get the inside knowledge? Apart from being full of horny Vietnamese, it provided a wealth of knowledge and this came in the shape of 3 gay hangouts.

GC Bar otherwise known as Golden Cock seemed the most obvious - located by the Great Lake in old town Hanoi, local lads referred to this as the 'meeting place'. So I arrange a meet with a fellow traveller to check it out.

Other than having to interpret the map and road signs it was relatively easy to find - much simpler than crossing Hanoi streets! Arriving at 9.30pm it was relatively quiet, but it offered a friendly and welcoming atmosphere - no overt gayness about it, mild with drinks and a pool table.

The decor was reminiscent of most European bars and the music, the classic Western pop where the volume was notched up throughout the evening. By 10.30pm the place was rammed and at unmanageable decibels, with the traveller and I struggleing to hold a conversation.

The local boys covered the pool table with a plastic sheet before bringing out their drinks. Bottles of spirit - gin seemed to be the popular choice, with cans of tonic stacked high and plates of lemon. These boys know how to drink.

No matter how vibrant the music or how loud the sound system there was not a single bouncing body in the joint - these in Hanoi don't dance. The talent was pretty good, well kempt and sociable they welcomed us with warm smiles. As they left, they thanked us for our company - even though few words were uttered between us.

GC Bar was empty by 11.30pm - the night was over! They don't last long, but all gin bottles and tonic cans were finished and the music a low dull.

Address: Bao Khanh street

Also other places are
Adams Spa (Sauna), Vu Thanh street - entry 80,000 Dong
Solace Bar (don't have address)