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26 January Sunday 2025
Narda in italics and Terrell whatever.
Checked out of Danang two pm. In lobby on computer for couple of hours - blogging - train to Ninh Binh left 6 pm Saturday arrived 9 am Sunday - Vietnamese family two plus seven year old - Narda top bunk me bottom.
The child played computer games most of the night - not easy to sleep, window would not open so could not throw him out of the train. Dinner in restaurant car - on computer for an hour - slept 9.30 - 6 with a few wake ups
- at station for an hour waiting for our room to be cleaned - Grab to homestay - cold windy - walked to local market - to Lalita Boutique Hotel & Spa - for dinner Narda pumpkin soup and spring rolls me potato and leek soup and creamy spaghetti - through local outdoor market - watched Korean surgeon flick on Netflix (The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call ) strange as one would expect - ten pm to bed - lizard fell next to bed decided to leave went to Lalita Boutique hotel - walked there 11 PM + checked in -took sleeping pill.
That is my diary (do they still call it that ?) notes. What happened is that; we didn't like the place anyway...was that we went to bed and Narda yelped or whatever, there was a lizard running across her sleeping space. I put on the lights and there was a huge cockroach on the ceiling looking/laughing/researching me as a food source - Narda said we are leaving right now. We found the owner - paid for one night, packed and close to midnight went tromping down the street. Fortunately, the Lalita Boutique Hotel & Spa was only a ten-minute walk and was a four-star hotel. More expensive of course than our homestay but we had had a great meal there early in the evening.
The food at this new (new for us after the lizard incident) hotel (Lalita Boutique Hotel)is amazing. A full buffet breakfast each morning included. Also their pumpkin soup and Caesar salad is fantastic. A full meal.
The room for about $35 USD ($53 Australian play money) per night at this four/five star place was great. The whole hotel is. The restaurant is on the roof - fifth floor - giving a view of the rice fields. And of course, the tet fireworks at midnight - oops we slept through that.
We wandered a couple of times through the amazing rice fields. It was January so they were either planting or just playing around in the water as the video above shows..
We tried to fit in with the locals and even had a group shot with our new friends.
Being Tet week - Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán, is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar. Lucky us. We were there that week, things closing, like everything. So we wandered over to Tam Coc. Where we realized we should have gotten our hotel to begin with. Living in the rice fields was OK but nothing compared to Tam Coc, a twenty-minute walk away. Tam Cốc is the tourist hub of Ninh Binh. The whole place is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Tam Coc literally "three caves" but we didn't go into any caves. Everything was closed for Tet so we just went for a walk about. Folks are taken in small boats along the river from the village of Ván Lám, through rice fields and limestone karsts, through the caves, and back. Local women serve as guides and attempt to sell embroidered goods to their passengers. The guides are well known for rowing their boats using their feet. We saw them returning to what their base was but there were no new tours - because it was Tet.
Today we tromped off to Tam Coc proper where you can get a nice boat ride through the scenic route.
Being Tet, their new years, the folks were only getting rides until noon when everyone goes home to celebrate the new year.
Off they go. I could not bring myself to board one because of my knee. Too painful.
We did go for a very scenic walk around the area though.
As shown in the clip below - most of the boat drivers use their feet to cycle through the water. Not sure why. If you know why tell someone and have them tell us. Thanks!
Tam Coc is described as the Halong Bay on the land. Tam Coc and the surrounding area was retained by the Vietnamese during the war as the Viet Cong knew the waterways so well and used the long grass to their advantage.
Tam Coc was formed by the natural process of limestone erosion over millions of years, shaped by the flowing waters of the Ngo Dong River. The combination of water and rock created the three distinct caves that define the area. During the Tran Dynasty (1225–1400), Tam Coc played a significant role as it was part of the Truong Yen base, which was crucial during the resistance against the second Yuan-Mongol invasion in 1285.
Culturally, Tam Coc holds deep spiritual significance for the local population. It has been a site of religious and cultural activities, with festivals and ceremonies held at Thai Vi Temple to honor the Tran kings. Additionally, during times of war, Tam Coc was a strategic point due to its proximity to the plain and the ancient Thien Ly road, enhancing its importance in the region’s military and spiritual history.
Of course you could read yourself silly by the rest of all the info of this groovy spot over at https://gtrip.vn/travel-blogs/tam-co
Then there is little Arhan who turned one.
and of course, we are still trying to post the Bluey shoes to him...hopefully in Hanoi
This was quite the adventure. The first post office we asked in said "we can't post to Pakistan". Well that was bollocks so we found another one in Hanoi who were very helpful, and also supplied us with a nice box.
Nearly two months later it made it, unscathed to Lahore.
29 January Wednesday
left Lalita Boutique Hotel & Spa 10.30 buffet breakfast there - waited long time for Grab - $4.46 USD with tip - at Momali Hotel in Nha Binh - nap - walked to train station for lunch - blog - etc walked for a long ways to find food got noodles in a cup - things closed due to bloody Tet stuff.
30 January Thursday not too good of a breakfast - eggs on toast - nap at 11 am left noon for train train at 2 pm to Hanoi - Grab waited awhile - hotel good - Pho vegetarian street for dinner 30000 $1.25 -
On our way to Hanoi. We are near the back in a soft seat. The train suddenly stopped. Apparently a motorbike ran straight into the back carriage. He was killed instantly I think from what I am hearing.....everyone is talking about it. I looked out of the window. The body was still there....I was told....and the bike was wedged in a ditch which runs along the track. Train was stationary....also traffic in the road next to the track...for at least 45 minutes. A bit hard to forget.
Hanoi
We did not do our research and arrived in these places right in the middle of Tet, which is is Chinese New Year. 3 days of most shops being closed, harder to get taxis etc etc.
We checked into a lovely little apartment in a great location in Hanoi. Everything you need is in walking distance.
Yesterday we spent the day on random bus rides and found ourselves on the shores of West Lake close to where Bren used to live.
Bren is full of advice about what we need to eat, and how to eat pho which I was pretty unsuccessful at, though we did give it our best shot.
We took a random bus
Train street
Hanoi Train Street is a narrow train bypass in Hanoi which sees a twice-daily train close to buildings on either side of the tracks (the railroad tracks take up nearly the entirety of the "train street"). The track was built by the French in 1902 and is still an active rail line as of 2025 when we walked along the tracks, wondering if there would be a warning if a train came. Spoiler alert we got bored waiting for the bloody train and went home and took a nap, but people we spoke with said it still comes twice a day and shops close up along the track as tourists risk their lives taking selfies on the track as the train approaches. Sounds like fun.
The train passes at 3 pm and 7 pm daily, on the rail line between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Residents living alongside the tracks clear their belongings from the narrow space when trains approach. During other times, local residents often use the space for daily activities like drinking tea and playing board games. (wow! the internet says almost what I said. We are so in sync.) the internet
As people often do in these countries a woman attached herself to us. After a few blocks she offered her services as a tourist guide which we reclined. Narda gave her two-hundred thousand dongs ($8.15 USD). After awhile Narda asked her how she lost her leg. "When the Americans bombed Hanoi in 1972". So that is what happened to these people, much of Hanoi was leveled. No US president said that after leveling Hanoi perhaps it could become an amusement park like the current alleged leader says he would like to do with Gaza. Fortunately, Vietnam kicked ass and it is now a great place to visit.
We took a bus to this location and tried to pay having no small change. The bus driver could not change our note. A couple for friendly local ladies offered to pay for us….we said no no no, but one just went to the conductor and paid for us. The other lady got off with us. She had only one leg, but managed very well with her crutches. We have some interesting conversations with her about the early seventies when her leg was shot off in the war.
31 January Friday
walked around area for hour looking for ATM - smoothie and bun next to train street - nap - one legged person who got us on to the bus to the lake - random buses including to main lake - street dinner Pho - watched Netflix on TV - first place in Vietnam where TV worked.
We got tired of old shit and decided to find their local shopping centre which turned out to be large and boring. Lotte Centre @ 65 stories ( a long ways from when America was bombing Hanoi)
We had lunch on the banks of West Lake. We visited here years ago when Brendan lived in one of those buildings. West Lake is the biggest freshwater lake of Hanoi.
Here is stuff you probably didn't know, or may have forgotten...
West Lake was created from a curved part of Red River and appeared in several Vietnamese legends. One legend suggests that West Lake was shaped after the battle between Lạc Long Quân and a hồ tinh (nine-tailed fox), and that's why the lake was once called "Fox Corpse Swamp" (Đầm Xác Cáo). Another folk story claimed that original name of the lake was "Golden Buffalo Lake" (Hồ Trâu Vàng, or Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary: Hồ Kim Ngưu) because it was formed from struggle of a buffalo after the disappearance of her calf. In the 11th century, the lake was named "Foggy Lake" (Hán Việt: Hồ Dâm Đàm) due to its misty condition. Ultimately its name was changed to "West Lake" in 1573 to avoid the given name of Emperor Lê Thế Tông, which was Duy Đàm.
some random Hanoi photos
Found one of the two lines of the Hanoi Metro - this is the elevated one, 2A, completed in 2021. It opened to service on 6 November 2021.
The 13.1 km (8.1 mi) line, consisting of 12 stations (all elevated), and connecting the districts Dong Da, Thanh Xuan and Ha Dong.
Hanoi being a rather arty place did well with their wall tiles around town...here are a few I snapped as we went about on random buses.
The Mosaic Wall extends along the Yen Phu main highway for about 3.85 kilometers. It appears to be a patchwork quilt of ceramic tiles, portraying small scenes from history as well as some that appear to be more contemporary. Wander along Ly Thai To road from Hoan Kiem Lake, which is only a short walk away, to get up close and personal with this Guinness Book of World Records (for largest ceramic mosaic) sight. The internet
We ate outside in these quiet little side streets...
We crossed dangerous streets...
and went off each evening to find some grub being constantly alert so as not to get run over...see below.
Nice hair massage and wash. Now for a nap
This wash/massage was the best yet!!!
The area we are in is really close to the old sector, where there are lots of restaurants and shops and tourists.
Well, that is pretty much it for Vietnam. We are off to India and will tell lots more soon. We probably will not do Vietnam again. It was a bit difficult for us. Very little English so we had difficulty communicating and google translate is still not so good. Even with all this AI stuff, they still stuff up. We have been to Vietnam four other times, there is so much more of the world to explore before we start aging which could possibly slow us down. We are not able to rough it so much as we did a couple of decades ago. But we are happy with what we saw and did.
