Farewell Halong Bay

Overnight, there was a lot of thunder (and we assume lightning) and we awoke to pretty steady rain. I was wondering how the visit to the Surprise cave was going to work with so much rain, but it wasn’t an issue at all. The cave was a real surprise – it was massive. Once again we hit the cave entrance with what seemed like hundreds of other people. Boat after boat all seemed to show up at the same time. Waiting our turn to get underway, we climbed a hundred or so steps and had a gander at the first cavern. There wasn't much room to move with everyone trying to squeeze into a pretty small space. The second cavern was a bit bigger - then we moved on to the third cavern which was absolutely massive. The lighting effects throughout the caves have been really well done, and you can see that in the photo. Obviously, being a UNESCO world heritage site, there has been some good money spent on this place – and it definitely shows. Well worth the visit.

So, after two short days we had our farewell brunch and said goodbye to some new friends. Then onwards to the long trip back to Hanoi, made worse by the inclement weather. We checked in to our new digs and set off to see the night markets. Every Friday to Sunday a large part of the old quarter of Hanoi is closed to traffic. Scooters – which are normally exempt from everything – were actually stopped by the police and made to walk their bikes in the pedestrian areas. It was quite refreshing not to have to worry about crossing the road and dealing with the incessant traffic.

Lake Hoan Kiem at night

The night markets are full of the same old crap that you’d expect to see in a place like this. Lots of plasticky gimmicks, cheap t-shirts, tacky souvenirs and other junk. Endless rows of it. But the difference here to many other places that we’ve been to is that you just don’t get harassed. You might get a weak “madam – over here” call, then they leave you alone. You can even pick stuff up, put it down and walk slowly away without fear of being dragged back to part with that hard earned cash for something you didn’t really want anyway. We made a couple of very small purchases and headed towards the lake for a look-see. Near the lake, there was a band playing music that had everybody stopping to look. A lead musician was playing what looked to be like an electric mandolin – and had the crowd in raptures – he was very talented. We stayed for a bit, cooled off with a beer and headed back to get some shut eye.