Back to Hanoi

Last stop - Back to Hanoi

Just a few quick pics of our second Hanoi hotel post our Bai Tu Long Bay trip - the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi.

At $500 per night, this was my posh pick for this Hanoi trip. We had an agreement prior to this trip that going forward, we will accommodate a mixture of posh stays with budget stays over the duration of one trip.

On our balcony, overlooking the Old Quarter surrounds

Overall, the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi does deliver luxury, grandeur and efficiency in service but it was lacking the personal touch offered by the Green Mango.

Bai Tu Long Bay

Apologies for the half a year catch up on this..

2nd stop - Bai Tu Long Bay

Vessel of choice is the Lagoon Explorer, there were 4 guests in total, that is one less than the number of staff onboard - Captain, Engineer, Waiter, Tour Guide and Chef. We picked the Lagoon Explorer over the bigger luxury boats as its size allowed it to traverse around Bai Tu Long Bay, which in turn allowed us to ditch the other tourist boats crowding in Halong Bay.

The Lagoon Explorer

View from our cabin

3 guests on board plus Waiter

The girls with Waiter, Engineer, Tour Guide, Captain and Chef

Highlights of the boat trip:

drinking Vietnamese whiskey with the boat staff

outdrinking and out-"chăm phần chăm"-ing Captain

("chăm phần chăm"! - translates to "Bottoms Up"!)

kayaking, kayaking, and kayaking

visiting a cave during our kayaking trip

spotted during kayaking - it's a baboon, can you see it?

jumping off the roof of the Explorer (ok this should actually be a low-light for me, I was scared shitless!)

dinner in a cave, accompanied by stalactites and stalagmites, AND resident bats

"chăm phần chăm"-ing in the cave whilst dancing to techno music with the staff and belting out national songs

giving Chef a hand with the cooking..

dinner with candlelights everywhere

carvings by Chef

visiting the school at a floating village

having a go at rowing a boat (I did not get very far at all)

first i had a go.. .... rowing around in circles!!

then Bok had a go.. .... rowing around in bigger circles!! check out Ms Nyugen laughing in the background

finally back to Ms Nyugen, sun was setting by then!

floating market

our neighbours at night - boat people

fab views

Hanoi - Street food

Started with the ever-famous Pho Bo along Hang Quat, a couple of hundred metres from Green Mango.. got us off to a start and also a first practice session with the small plastic stools..




Tips for seeking out street food to sample on Hanoi's streets -
1. Wide and alert eyes
2. Sensitive nose
3. Unabashed curiousity

Top tip - follow the crowds.. this led us to this Banh Khuc stall - very very tasty indeed!

Bokkie - still not liking those tiny stools!!

Next up - sticking to the winning combination of fab smells and great crowds, we headed for some Bo Nuong (Grilled beef).. Yum!

See above two pics for name, addy and contact number of stall!

It was a tough fight but my personal fav Bun Mang Vit (Bamboo shoots and duck noodle soup).. along Ma May too..

Recommendations from Mr Hai:
1. My Van Than (Vietnamese wonton noodle soup) - on Hang Bo, at end where Hang Bo intersects Hang Can

2. Bun Cha (pork patties with vermicelli) - on Hang Manh, at end where Hang Manh intersects Hang Non

3. Kem (Vietnamese ice-cream) - on Trang Tien, at end where Trang Tien intersects Ngo Quyen