Day 24 - Ha Long Bay back to Hanoi

What the heck was that?

That was my first thought when I woke to a loud boom of thunder this morning. It was the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. Boom again, and then another one a few moments later. It was actually pretty amazing to wake up to, though I didn’t see any lightning. That might have had something to do with the curtains being closed, considering it was only three or four in the morning.

I managed to doze off again for a little while and woke properly at 6 a.m. when my alarm went off. I decided to rest a bit longer and headed up for breakfast around 6:45. Unfortunately, the options were very limited. I ended up just having a juice and hoped brunch would be better.

We headed out on a smaller boat and cruised around the bay for about 30 minutes taking plenty of photos, some more for shits and giggles, others for the scenery, then returned to the main boat to pack our bags before brunch. Brunch wasn’t much either, I think I had a few chips and that was about it. After that, we took a speedboat back to land. We arrived around 11 a.m., and while Gill, James, Mum, and Dad stayed in the air-conditioned area, Mike and I decided to go for a walk. I was hoping to find the giant King Kong statue, but after walking about 1.5km, we figured it must be much further away than I remembered from the drive in yesterday, so we just headed back and took more photos along the path

The drive back to Hanoi took about three hours, with one rest stop. This time no one tried to herd you into a specific area or push anything on you. You could just get out, stretch your legs, and do what you wanted. A much better experience.

Once we arrived at our hotel, we sorted out the washing. I’ve gone through almost everything I brought with me, so thankfully I’ll get my clean clothes back tomorrow. Mum and Dad stayed at the hotel while the rest of us went exploring, trying to find somewhere for dinner. The first spot we checked was just down the road, but the menu looked pretty ordinary. We decided to check out another place, but not before a quick detour past Ngoc Son Temple.

The temple was built in the early 19th century and sits on a small island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s connected by a red wooden bridge called Thê Húc, which roughly means “The Rising Sun” or “Morning Sunlight.” It symbolises renewal and new beginnings. The bridge has been repaired and rebuilt several times, with the last major reconstruction in 1953 after it collapsed under the weight of too many visitors.

We carried on toward the restaurant. What would have been a short walk back home in NZ took much longer here, not because we were lost, but because the traffic and all the parked scooters made walking an obstacle course. You’re constantly weaving between the footpath and the road, dodging bikes and cars, or more accurately, them dodging you.

It still amazes me how much traffic there is and how chaotic the driving looks, yet I haven’t seen a single accident the entire trip, not even a dented car. Eventually, we found the restaurant suggested to us, that looked reasonably good so we made a booking and started heading back to the hotel to get ready. On the way, someone stopped us asking if I wanted a massage. I kept walking, turned to tell Mike about it, and before I could say anything, he said exactly what I was thinking: “I think they offer more than just a massage there.” turns out she asked him too.

Back at the hotel, we had about 30 minutes to freshen up before heading out again. Dinner was great. The others had appetisers, but I skipped those and ordered their version of Pad Thai, which was very different from what I’ve had before. The noodles and beef were served in a crispy egg-based shell, so pretty much everything on the plate, including the bowl, was edible.

After dinner, Mike used his Grab app to order a ride, but the driver never showed. Turned out the app had his pickup location set to our hotel, not the restaurant. His GPS must have been acting up. I ended up downloading Grab myself and booking the ride. No big deal, just a bit of a nuisance. Dad didn’t mind, he was happy wandering around taking photos and watching the chaos of Hanoi’s night-life.