The Halong Bay Cruise
Our first morning in Vietnam, we had an early breakfast at the Grill. Our room rate included club room privileges and the buffet breakfast spread was extensive. The Stellar of the Seas cruise Presidential Suite cabin that we booked included a private car transfer to the boat (US $4614, Presidential Suite Including roundtrip private Kia Sedona MPV). We booked a 5-day, 4-night cruise thinking that we would see more of Halong Bay. We should have only booked one or maybe two nights. The route of the boat was exactly the same every day and every evening. Its route was a tiny portion of Halong Bay. That was disappointing and so was the weather. Although cloudy (and sometimes rainy), it was not cold. When we got to Hanoi and the temperature was in the 60's, we considered ourselves really, really lucky on the cruise.
Peter was assigned as our butler on the cruise and he served all of our meals so that we didn't have to go to the buffet table. We had asked to have only Vietnamese food and to have as much shellfish as possible. The Cruise Manager, Tracy, the guest services managers, Abby and Peter, did everything that they could to make our cruise memorable. During our cruise, we had crab, lobster, clams, oysters, mantis shrimp, squid, and fish. It was generally very good. The kitchen did a great job providing the food that we had requested. There was plenty of fresh fruit, even mango. After dinner, on the first night, the crew made a big deal for us alone to celebrate our anniversary. They gave us Vietnamese wedding sweets instead of a western cake (they gave other celebraters). They also give us a bunch of roses. At breakfast, we could have pho soup or eggs.
Our Presidential Suite (room 333) was about 2 ½ times the
size of a standard cabin but was not as big as the photos made it look. There
was a deck outside that was the length of the room but it was not wraparound,
nor was it at the front of the boat. There were chaise lounges on each end of our deck and
2 chairs and tables in the middle.
The bathroom was at one end of the room. It was all open and the floor was all wooden slats that were uncomfortable to walk on without shoes. The toilet and shower had pulldown shades outside to enclose the space but getting to them outside the door was challenging. The toilet had Toto attributes but was an add-on so it was not automatically flushing. The toilet paper dispenser was on the wall behind the toilet so extremely difficult to reach. The tub was full of rose petals (and you were supposed to bathe with them). We did not. The shower had a rain showerhead and was fine. The sink was ridiculous—almost non-functional. It was a low, free-standing rectangular sink with no side counters and no splash-back. We had Peter/Tracy/Abby bring a table to put next to the sink. With that, and with the “tub-tray”, we had enough space for our pills and bathroom necessities. But it was awkward. And—as we said, ridiculous.
There was a big screen TV on the partition between the room
and the bathroom. The sofa and easy chair were in front of the TV and we
changed the orientation to face the windows and the view. We opened all of the
shades and kept them open night and day--our suite was very private. The view, when it was sunny, was
lovely. The room also got very hot. There was very little storage so we left
our suitcases open on the luggage racks (they brought us a second) which were
on the bathroom side of the suite. On the bedside of the room, was a desk where
we put one computer. We had the team bring a table with 2 chairs where we put
the other computer. There was almost no internet so we didn’t use the computers
much. The room was large enough for all of the furniture and the extra table
without feeling cramped. On the coffee table in front of the sofa, there were
flowers and there were roses in a bud vase on the desk. Also on the coffee table, was a bottle of white wine and a bottle of sparkling wine (which we brought to Lucas, the helpful concierge from the Lotte Hotel). There was a
basket of fruit too.
On Day 2 we went on the early morning sightseeing boat in the Ao Ech area of Cat Ba National Park, then on an excursion with Harry, a guide, to Trang Trung Cave and a laughable excuse for a museum. We should not have gone; the cave was neither beautiful nor interesting (and little Audre scraped her head on the ceiling at one point). On Day 3 we were supposed to go to Viet Hai Village and explore Lan Ha Bay. We didn't go because it was raining. On Day 4 it didn't rain and we went kayaking to visit the Dark and Bright Caves in Cat Ba National Park. That was definitely the highlight of the cruise. The water was not cold and the kayaking was indeed fun.
Halong Bay is not as dramatic as Phi Phi Islands or Phang Nga Bay in Thailand. It is not worth a long cruise. The staff of our boat was wonderful to us but, even so, we would not recommend a cruise. A day trip just to see the bay would be enough. On Day 5, we made the two and one-half hour drive back to the Lotte Hotel.
Our Hanoi Hotel
Lotte is a Korean chain and we were very impressed. Most of the guests are Korean and Lotte caters to them. Lotte also has a residential tower and we suspect that most residents are Korean businesspeople. At some points it was difficult to remember we were in Vietnam, not in Korea! Because our TV series "The Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "Our Beloved Summer" are in Korean, the language is quite familiar to us so we recognize when we hear it. Our Deluxe suite came with "club" benefits. These turned out to be breakfast, lunch, and dinner! This was the first time in all of our travels that we have encountered this amenity. Most of the food options in the buffets were Korean and very good. The other amenities of the hotel included an excellent gym, and a Jacuzzi which the staff made sure was 39.0° as we requested. The staff was very accommodating and excellent.
Our Deluxe Suites (both first one 6115 and second one 6101) were very large with a second bathroom (which we love). Walking in, there was a large piece of furniture with a coffee maker (like a Nespresso) and a mini-fridge; across from that was the guest bathroom. Then there was a long space with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking
the city and the view included the fetid West Lake and park (each day we were there, the view was obscured by smog/fog). From the 61st floor, Hanoi looked like a city of small buildings; the tallest being around 30 stories. We started to be able to identify the important buildings. One day it was clear enough to see the mountains to the northwest, towards Sapa.
At one end of the room, was a round table (with fresh fruit on it) and
comfortable chairs. Then came the living room area
with divans. On the wall was the TV screen. Then came the large desk filled
with all kinds of work supplies (that Audre absolutely loved). Across from the desk, was a walk-in closet with
drawers and an area for hanging clothes. Walking farther along the suite, there
was another clothes closet and the main bathroom. The main
bathroom only had one sink but enough storage area under the sink for 2 people.
There was a separate room with a bathtub and a good shower. Both toilets were
good Toto. The drapes in the room had a remote control that worked well. The
room was very quiet. Dimitri used the big desk; Audre used the vanity counter as her desk.
We used the benefit included in our room rate of having clothes ironed for free. When the weather turned cold and Audre wanted to wear long-sleeved shirts, she loved the way they looked ironed. Dimitri wanted to get his hiking pants shortened. Instead of going to seamstress the Lotte said that they had a seamstress on salary who would do it for free. Dimitri was very happy.
Our Hanoi Touristing
On our first Saturday evening, we had a wonderful cultural experience in the Old Quarter. We went to the water puppet show and were greatly entertained. (Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, 57B, Dinh Tien Hoang St., Hoan Kiem, Hanoi). It lasted about one hour and that was perfect (VND 200,000 x 2 = about US $17). Around the corner was a sugar cane juice vendor and Dimitri loved it, especially for VND 20,000/US 83 cents! Dimitri had the Grab app on his phone and was adept in getting us Grab wherever we wanted to go at very, very inexpensive rates. (Both of our cell phone providers have free global roaming (Google Pi and Sprint) and it worked in Vietnam.) After the performance we walked to the night market through an area that setting up for the Midnight Marathon (really). The portion of the night market we walked was just junky tourist stuff--no street food. So that wasn't interesting.
On Sunday we decided that we would go to the large lake that we could see from our room, called West Lake, rent bicycles and circumnavigate. The Grab driver found the bike shop that Dimitri had identified but it was closed. The lovely Trek bike shop next door did not rent bikes but had an English speaker who helped us. He called the bike rental shop owner and learned that they were not open on Sundays. We had been so sedentary that we decided to walk around the lake to a restaurant that Dimitri had previously identified (PéPé La Poule, Modern Chinese, 22 Quang Khanh Street, Tay Ho, Hanoi, Vietnam). We walked over 3 miles in the hot and humid weather on a poor excuse of a sidewalk next to a putrid body of water with dead fish floating in it. But over an hour later we did find the restaurant that Dimitri wanted to go to. At the restaurant, we sat on the roof where the lake actually looked nice. We ordered 3 dishes and Dimitri liked the gelatinous sauce that the tofu was made in. Also that day, we did find a salon/spa along the way around the lake where Dimitri had his toenails expertly cut for US $2.90 (a price Dimitri was willing to pay).
On Monday we went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum but it was closed on Mondays and Fridays (why didn't one of us check?). Instead, we went to the Temple of Literature (Temple of Literature 58 P. Quốc Tử Giám, Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hà Nội 100000, 024 3747 2566, http://vanmieu.gov.vn/vi/, US $2.50 for 2 people ) that was nice but nothing great.
On Tuesday we went back to the Ho Chi Minh Museum at noon and found that it was closed from noon to 2 pm daily (why didn't one of us check?). At that point we decided to forget that museum entirely. From there, we walked past the Presidential House (nice but we were not permitted to photograph it) and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where we were able to take a photo with a very photogenic guard. We tried to get to the Stilt House where Ho Chi Minh lived and to the One Pillar Pagoda but couldn't find them easily and didn't want to take a Grab or a taxi. Next we walked to the Botanical Garden and it was okay (VND 4000 for 2; US 8 cents). We walked to the jewelry store street with Audre's pearl earrings that needed repair. We saw a shop that looked like a workshop and bingo. For VND 400,000/ US $16.67, Audre had her pearl earring fixed.
On Wednesday we walked from our hotel and got our hair cut (US $8 for Audre, US $4 for Dimitri) in an area that looked liked Little Tokyo. The district that the Lotte Hotel is located in is called the Diplomatic Quarter.
On Thursday, we went to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (Đ. Nguyễn Văn Huyên, Quan Hoa, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội +84 24 3756 2193). It cost VND 40,000/ US $3.33 for 2 and it was excellent. There are 54 tribes of Vietnam of which the Viet or Kinh are by far the largest at 85%. This museum was well organized and had signs in English. The displays were interesting as were the descriptions. On Thursday it was starting to get chilly and by Friday the 60° temperature outside was downright cold.
One of our best restaurants on our second trip to Hanoi was Cha Ca Thang Long, 6B Durong Thanh, P. Cua Dong, Q. Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam, 024 3828 6007, https://chacathanglong.vn/ VND 524,880/ US $21. The
Chả Cá fish was tender, tasty and sweet (VND 280,000), having been marinated in turmeric. The copious amounts of
dill and green onion accompaniments were also just right. We were sitting next
to a Vietnamese couple and we just did what they did. We had the fish
intestines added (even though the server advised us against that) and they were so rubbery as to be inedible. We also ordered
the fried fish roll (VND 36,000) and liked that too.
On Friday we went to the Hanoi Post Office to mail a very cute card that we had bought for Kathy Doyle. We found it and for about US$1 mailed it. We were told it would take a month to get to her. Then we toured the Old Quarter, starting at Hoan Kiem Lake (which was not fetid). We took snaps of a beautiful bride, wedding guests and also models during their photo shoot. Then we started following the Lonely Planet walking tour of the Old Quarter. We went past the narrow railroad street but didn't risk walking on it. The narrow and tall houses made us smile (tall and narrow wasn't taxed like wide buildings were.) The Old Quarter is not charming; it is dirty, crowded and noisy. The walking tour was past gravestones, jewelry shops, the Heritage House that we walked in and out of and not much that we found interesting. We decided that we had completed our touristing in Hanoi and there really wasn't much to see in any event.
We had the famous sticky rice for lunch at xoi yen and Audre thought it was inedible. Each day after our excursions, we'd return to the Lotte Hotel and have food on the club floor, then rest, relax and repose in the Jacuzzi. We never had people speak with us. People did swim in the pool when we soaked.
On our second Sunday, we had a successful outing to find Bánh
Cuốn 101 Bà Triệu (155 Triệu Việt Vương, Hai Bà Trưng District, Hanoi). The New York Times recipe sounded so good Audre wanted to try it in Vietnam. Our Stellar of the Seas cruise said it was too difficult to make so we tried it in Hanoi. It was good and worth trying.
Bánh Cuốn
After having our Bánh Cuốn lunch we walked to the Công viên Thống Nhất park and strolled by the lake (VND 4,000 x 2 /US 33 cents). We found a young coconut juice vendor. We sat and enjoyed, thinking that this park was so much better than our West Lake excursion the previous Sunday.
In 1995, when we began our global meandering, we went from Jakarta to Singapore to Vietnam where we spent a month. Click here to read about our first one-month stay in Vietnam and click here to see our 1995 photos. In 2022 there were more cars and motor scooters and fewer bicycles on the road. The traffic in Hanoi was awful but it moved. After our 2022 visit, we think we have spent more than enough time in Vietnam.
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