Hanoi and back to Talitha at Rebak Marina.
June 2008

A month has gone since we returned from Vietnam and I still haven't got the blog up to date. We have had a busy month but the memories of Hanoi are still fresh. The Vietnamese capital is a fascinating, vibrant city, the dull image of a communist town does not relate to Hanoi. The Old Quarter where we stayed is full of little streets and lanes which hold surprises around every corner. There are the more touristy streets but step away from those and you meet the real Hanoi.

With the Silver Fern crew we took a break from Hanoi and went on a tour to Halong bay, staying overnight on a tourist boat out on the bay. Halong bay is a popular destination with all tourists. As we were being ushered through the crowds to our tour boat we spotted Sam and Alice who we had met in Phnom Phen and in the Mekong. There was only time to say hello and wave otherwise we would have lost our group in the crowd. There seemed to be hundreds of the "traditional" boats coming and going from the jetty, large boats squeezing into gaps not big enough for a dinghy let a lone a 8 metre wide by 20 metre long boat. Our boat backed out straight into another passing behind us. This must happen quite a bit, no shouting just a quiet inspection for damage, exchange of boat numbers and we were on our way. The attraction of Halong Bay are the limestone islands rising out of the Sea of Tonkin, 3000 of them apparently, on a two day trip we only saw a fraction. It was okay but we had been spoiled by impressive Phang Nga Bay in Thailand with similar islands and scenery. Halong Bay has many more islands and we visited a huge limestone cave but I still think Phang Nga has my vote.
We discovered just before dinner that the generator providing electricity on the boat was not working as we tied up to another boat to use their power so we could see to eat dinner, the rest of the night was by candle light or torch. Breakfast in the morning saw a few grumpy people, no fans overnight meant a hot restless night for most. The showers weren't working well either, hard to cool down under a dribble. Still we had seen Halong bay not quite the "emerald green waters " or "breathtaking vistas" written about in Lonely Planet, but a good trip all the same.

Bryce and Martha left the next day for a few days in Sapa, as we had less time left in Vietnam we decided to stay in Hanoi. After talking to them about their Sapa trip I think if you only have time for either Halong or Sapa, as we did, I would choose Sapa. There is always a next time, I suppose.

Sunday saw us queuing up with hundreds of Vietnamese dressed in their best clothes, to visit Ho Chi Minh. Long pants for men, skirts or pants blow the knee for woman, sleeves for both, no laughing or frivolity while queuing. Two little girls playing a game, bored with waiting were sternly told to stand still by a guard, we were still 200 metres away from the mausoleum at this stage. The line moved quite quickly, another warning not to talk, sunglasses off, then a walk around a very plastic looking Uncle Ho. For a man who wanted to be cremated, he looks quite content.
The rest of the morning we sent getting an insight into Ho Chi Minh, the man. We visited a house he lived in and then the huge museum charting his life and the communist movement in Vietnam. An interesting morning with Uncle Ho, well really we had spent 3 weeks with him, for a man who died in 1969 he still has a huge presence right throughout the country albeit a slightly different country from 1969.

I think my most lasting memories of Hanoi will be of the Bia Hoi. Late afternoon the little red and blue plastic tables and chairs appear on the pavements, a keg of beer is setup sometimes with ice sometimes not, chairs fill with men , a Bia Hoi (street pub) is in business for another night. Best beer was sold for 6000 dong, 50cNZ, a half pint glass. Our favourite Bia Hoi also sold delicious spring rolls as well as other food we couldn't recognize or wish to taste. Sitting with a glass of beer and some spring rolls watching the ever changing scene is a cheap and enjoyable nights entertainment in Hanoi.

Yesterday I read an article on Hanoi in a travel magazine, the government wants to make Hanoi into a more modern looking city, what a pity that would be, the whole charm of the place would be gone. Hopefully they will see sense and put the effort into renovating more of the old buildings instead of demolishing them to make way for new buildings.

Four weeks, Siemp Reap to Hanoi, we had seen so much, met so many interesting people, locals and travelers, a trip we can recommend to anyone. We didn't book too much in advance, did some tours and trips we didn't expect to and had a great time trying local dishes. Alan tried cooked silk worm in Hanoi and to the best of our knowledge we managed to avoid chow(dog) and chuot (rat).

Our break was over it was time to get back to Talitha and get her tidy and pretty for the prospective buyer who was arriving 3 days after our return. We had decided to put Talitha on the market while based in Malaysia, we would like a slightly bigger boat. Dudley Dix who is the designer of the Shearwater 39 has a brokerage page on his website for his designs, so we thought we would start there. Dudley immediately sent us two contacts, one of whom has bought Talitha. Gordon had arranged to fly in to view her when we got back from Vietnam. Gordon was here for 5 days we had a great time with him, so we feel Talitha is going to a friend. A good excuse to visit Dubai as that will be her home for the next year or two.

We didn't expect to sell so quickly so now we are looking for another yacht to continue our cruising. Not sure where we will find our new home, the internet is a great tool for boat shopping. That is why this blog has taken so long we have been too busy trawling the net for yachts and researching different designs.