Vietnam – South to North – Part 3 – Northern Vietnam

Hanoi

We decided to tour Vietnam from South to North because we were arriving in early February and it would have been very cold in the North part of the country at that time. In the South it was only going to get hotter and more humid the closer we got to March and that didn’t sound great. It was the right decision to go South to North but it still did not prepare us for the shock of going from 80 degrees and sunny in Hue to mid fifty degrees and gray with heavy air pollution in Hanoi.

Despite the cooler weather we really liked Hanoi. There was lots to see, the food was outstanding and the people didn’t seem to have any evident animosity towards Americans even though we were on the opposing side in the Vietnam War. I wrote about the Huc Bridge (pictured above) in my earlier blog post Ode to a Little Red Bridge so I won’t go into further detail except to say I was enamored with this bridge.

The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre was an unexpected cultural pleasure. The skill of the puppeteers to be able to control these puppets with rods under the water is incredible. With the puppets and the accompanying musicians they are able to convey a story without words that we could all understand.  

The markets throughout Vietnam have been incredible. We love to wander the stalls and see fruits, veggies, meat and fish – some rarely seen in the USA. And through experience we have learned that some of the best local food is found in or around the local markets.

This is the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the father of modern Vietnam who died in 1969.

We caught the end of the changing of the guard and watched the white clad soldiers goose-stepping back to the guard house. 

For nearly 1,300 years, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel was the political and cultural heart of Vietnam. It was the residence of emperors, the center of governance, and a site of crucial military strategies. It took a lot of damage during the Vietnam War and is slowly being restored to its former glory.

The traffic in Hanoi can be best characterized as chaotic. Between the normal traffic of cars, trucks, and buses you have pedal carts as pictured above and more mopeds, bicycles and motorcycles than you can imagine. All these vehicles are doing their best to avoid the pedestrians in a sort of helter skelter deadly dance. 

Train Street is a unique experience which I profiled in an earlier blog. You can read that post here: Train Street 

Ninh Binh

A couple of hours outside of Hanoi is a captivating area of rivers and limestone peaks set amongst bright green rice fields, beautiful wetlands, and many ancient temples. This is Ninh Binh – home to the Trang An Landscape Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its stunning natural beauty. 

While we enjoyed our time in Ninh Binh it basically rained non-stop for the two days that we were there. That cut down on some of the hiking that we wanted to do but we still took in some beautiful nature vistas and several beautiful temples.

Bich Dong Pagoda was a worthwhile visit that involved a bit of climb. It had a very tranquil atmosphere and stunning scenery which featured a cave temple built into the mountainside.

The Trang An boat tour was the highlight of our time in Ninh Binh. Two couples are rowed down rivers and through lakes surrounded by dramatic karst mountains. Along the way our boat passed through numerous caves and stopped at several ancient Buddhist temples.

The waterways were connected by caves, some of which were being used to store casks of wine.

Some of the reflections were quite dramatic.

Ha Long Bay

Our last stop before heading back to Hanoi for our flight to Taiwan was the incredible Ha Long Bay.  A boat ride on Ha Long Bay or the neighboring Lan Ha Bay  is one of the highlights of Northern Vietnam. The Bay is a a UNESCO World Heritage site and a popular tourist destination.

The area is only accessible by boat tours and you can do day trips or 2 night cruises. Ha Long Bay is often described as beautiful and otherworldly. Pictured above is one of the unique colorful floating cities on the Bay.

The area is known for its stunning karst landscape of over 1,600 limestone islands and islets rising from emerald waters.  

The weather was a bit gray and damp but we were still able to enjoy the incredible beauty and loved kayaking amongst the numerous limestone islands and caves.                                                                   

photo courtesy of vietnamtourism.gov.vn

This aerial view of Lan Ha Bay gives you an understanding of how there can be 1600 islands in a relatively small area all surrounded by emerald green water. 

Here are some of the landscapes we saw on our boat trip. 

The island pictured above had a single house with a golden sand beach and a nice view of a couple of Haystack Rock sized limestone islands. 

Without the sun the water isn’t quite as colorful – unfortunately you can’t control the weather when you travel.

This island looked like it was balancing on one foot, ready to fall over at any minute.

Thanks for tagging along on this 3 part series on amazing Vietnam.  There are so many cool things to see and we felt the trip was a good mix of city, beach, and nature that kept us fascinated for an entire month. We’re not sure if we will be back given our list of other places to visit and our advancing age so sadly it may be our one and only visit.