I suppose this is a little late in coming, but here are some pictures from our Honeymoon in Vietnam last December and January. We had a good time. First we flew into Hanoi in the north via Bangkok and found it to be colder that we expected and had to buy Catherine a coat. We roamed around Hanoi for a couple days and were slightly put off by the blocky communist architecture and war monuments depicting soldiers firing AK47's.
Next we travelled east to Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island. We hired a large cruising junk with several other tourists and boated around these amazing limestone islands that rose straight out of the water, exposing shear cliff faces. There were thousands of these islands and we just sailed between them all. It was a two night/three day tour. The first night we stayed on the junk and on the second we celebrated Christmas in a luxury Hotel. During the second day of our Ha Long trip, our guides took us on a delightful bicycle tour of one of the islands, and later that day we went sea kayaking through a hole in a cliff and found ourselves in a quiet, enclosed salt water lake. It was really beautiful. Possibly the most worthwhile trip you could take in the north.
Of the other places we stayed, the north end of Mui Ne Beach was most note worthy. Quiet with a busier beach community to the south and beautiful clean beaches. We spent a lot of time drinking beer and lying in hammocks on the beach. And at the end of our trip, we flew out from Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), stayed a couple days in Bangkok which is always nice, and finally flew back home to Kathmandu.
Afterwards, Catherine and I took both trains and buses south down the coast, stopping in various scenic towns and resorts along the way. Hoi An in particular had escaped the bombing of the American War and was very picturesque, with beautiful temples, a wide river through town, excellent restaurants, and many colorful tailor shops. I ended up having a pair of pants and a jade-green silken robe made, and Catherine had them make her a pair of pants, an exquisite black and red traditional Vietnamese dress, a bright red jacket and a pair of cute brown leather shoes. Tailoring in Hoi An turned out to be addictive.
Of the other places we stayed, the north end of Mui Ne Beach was most note worthy. Quiet with a busier beach community to the south and beautiful clean beaches. We spent a lot of time drinking beer and lying in hammocks on the beach. And at the end of our trip, we flew out from Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), stayed a couple days in Bangkok which is always nice, and finally flew back home to Kathmandu.
3 comments:
Highly welcome for your good comments on Vietnam. Your trip seems so great for you, dont you. Hope to see you again in Hanoi, Vietnam sometimes
Hi Gerry, Ray from Kuala Lumpur...Hows things going on with you? Rinpoches are coming for the grand puja soon. Congratulation!
I can't deny that you have very good idea. By the way, from my experience of Bangkok trip. I think that looking for accommodation around Sukhumvit are is the good idea because Sukhunvit is in the heart of the shopping district, both in terms of large department stores and the various stalls lining both sides of the road. The various side-streets provide a proliferation of nightlife venues. For the renowned and well-known spots, you will need to walk onwards past the Asok crossroads to Sukhumvit Soi 21 or Soi Cowboy. This area also offers a wide selection of cuisine to choose from, both in terms of air-conditioned high-end restaurants and open air restaurants offering quite reasonable prices.
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