Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

I am currently on a small bus riding from Ha Long bay toward the mountains of Pu Luong, so thought I’d take the opportunity to fill you in on the past few days.

On the windy deck of our Junk Boat in Ha Long Bay.

We spent last night on a junk boat out in Ha Long Bay. Our group of 9 had the entire ship to ourselves. It was a lot of fun.

The weather was cool and rainy, so we were not able to kayak through the karst caves as planned, but we did visit a large, pristine limestone cave on one of the many islands that dot the bay. It was really spectacular.

Got to see all manner of other boats along the way. Many fishermen evidently live onboard their vessels.

They fed us well onboard. Lots of seafood, all fresh from the bay. We also got lessons in making summer rolls, as well as how to transform vegetables into flowers. Throughout that part of the lesson, I couldn't help but giggle remembering this scene from Seinfeld: “just insert a knife into the center of the radish and twist…” IYKYK

Prior to Ha Long, we had just one jam packed day in Hanoi. After a morning on scooters, the subject of my last post, we took cyclos - bike powered rickshaws - through the old quarter. Lots of interesting sights along the way

Then we met a local guide for a walking tour/street food dinner. This was amazing. We started with a large fried beef and shrimp dumpling, which was cut into pieces and served with rice paper, lettuce, herbs and hot pepper to make rolls, with a vinegar pepper dipping sauce. I don’t have a photo of the finished product, but this is it being cooked out front.

Then we had the most delicious Hanoi style Pho, which is served without broth.

While the food at this stop was amazing, what will stay with me longer is the fact that we were able to enjoy it inside the cooks home. It was incredible to see how they lived. The ground floor is the “restaurant”, with the kitchen and a few tables on the sidewalk and just inside. We walked up the backstairs into a living space for the building. Off this space, which had a very basic kitchen, a few tables, a washer/dryer, and a jumble of storage cabinets, were 4-5 separate rooms which is where 4-5 different families live, sharing the common area and one bathroom. The cost to buy one of these rooms, which was maybe 8x10, would be about $150,000. Drove home just how privileged we are.

We finished off with pork and mushroom Bahn Mi, egg beer, and then sticky rice with coconut ice cream. The sticky rice had a light green tint, imbued by boiling pineapple leaves and husks and using this water to cook the rice. Everything was amazing!

I do need to explain egg beer. It’s much like the egg coffee we had the prior evening, with a custard made from egg yolks, sugar, and tequila floated atop a mug of beer. Sounds weird, but weirdly excellent!

We are about to stop for lunch and will be arriving at Pu Luong later this afternoon. Will tell you all about it when I can!