We were due to be picked up at 920am at one of the Kiss and Ride stops not far from our apartment. We had a bit of a panic as it was difficult to find the stop, and we thought we might miss the coach, but luckily, we found it in time. It was about an hour and a half drive to Auschwitz.

I won’t write down all the history of Auschwitz because it is well known, but I did learn some new things walking through the camps. Just being there and seeing the scale and size of the camps brings it home to you.

We walked towards the now infamous entrance to Auschwitz.

Just after you pass through this entrance is the camp kitchen. Many inmates tried to get jobs here as it was indoor work, and they also could sometimes steal extra food.

Auschwitz was originally a garrison with 22 brick buildings. Around 10,000 inmates were crammed into these buildings.

Auschwitz mainly contained Jewish inmates. During the time it was operational, 1940-1945, Jews from all countries were bought here, but other asocials were also imprisoned here. 1,100,000 Jews, 140-150,000 Poles, 23,000 Romas/Gypsies, 15,000 soviet prisoners of war, and 25,000 prisoners of other ethnic groups. Of these people, 1,000,000 died in Auschwitz, and approximately 90% of these were Jews.

We walked over to block 16, where the belongings of inmates were now stored. The most horrific area in here was the human hair. When Auschwitz was liberated, they found around 6 tonnes of human hair in massive sacks, and 2 tonnes of this is displayed. They know this was hair that was shaved from inmates’ heads as it has been slightly denatured by the gas they used.

There are also displays of glasses, artificial limbs, shoes and suitcases.

Originally, the blocks only had straw on the floor for inmates to sleep on, but after a while, they had straw mattresses. 2 or 3 inmates had to share one mattress as more people arrived at the camp.

There were some toilets and washing facilities but very limited in numbers. Many people were suffering from diseases such as dysentery, which then spread quickly throughout the camp.

Some inmates were selected for privileged positions within the camp, to help the SS guards keep control. They had slightly better living conditions than the other inmates who were crowded together.

We visited Block 10, which is where the experiments on the female inmates took place. The first female inmate in Auschwitz was registered in 1942.

Originally, photographs were taken of the inmates, and they were allocated a number. However, after a period of time, the inmates were tattooed with a number as this was faster and cheaper.

In the courtyard, between blocks 10 and 11 is the ‘Death Wall’. Between 1941-1943, the SS shot several thousand people here. Mainly.polish political prisoners, leaders, and members of the resistance died here. Women and children were also killed here. In the courtyard, the SS carried out punishments of flogging and ‘the post’ (hanging prisoners by their arms, which were twisted behind their backs). The Death Wall was dismantled in 1944, and prisoners were then mainly shot in Birkenau.

The windows of the blocks facing onto the courtyard were boarded over so inmates couldn’t see what happened, although they would’ve heard the shots.

We also walked through block 11. In this block, they had the punishment cells. Cell 20 was known as the dark cell, and it had very little oxygen in it, so if you were put in here, you often suffocated to death. Cell 18 was the starvation cell, and cell 22 was the standing bunker, where you literally only had room to stand. Most inmates were already weak as they were only given around 1,000 calories a day and were made to work too, often hard, physical labour.

On 14 September 1941, the first experimental mass killing with Zyklon B gas took place in the basement of block 11. 600 soviet producers of war and 250 sick polish inmates were killed then.  It took 3 days for everyone to die and then a further 3 days to move the bodies to the crematorium. That is why, after that, they built the crematorium right next to the gas chamber.

Blocks 19-21 and 28 were designated as infirmaries for sick inmates. Inmates themselves often called it the waiting room for the crematorium. There was a lack of basic medicines and medical care, which resulted in a large number of deaths. From mid 1941, SS doctors undertook selections, and those inmates who were the weakest or slow to recover would be sentenced to death by lethal injection or sent to the gas chamber. SS doctors also conducted medical experiments within the infirmaries, often leading to death or severe disabilities. On a more positive note, the infirmaries were often where campmates from the camp resistance were more active trying to aid and save others.

Public executions also took place at the camp. The SS used to undertake morning and evening roll calls, ‘Appell’. If anyone was missing, all inmates had to continue to stand to attention in all weather conditions. The longest roll call in Auschwitz lasted 20 hours as punishment because an inmate escaped. The largest public execution took place on 19 July 1943 whete 12 Poles, accused of helping 3 other inmates to escape, were hung.

To the far end of the camp was the gas chamber and crematorium.

Behind the wire fence and before the crematorium was the Commadants’ house, just on the other side of a high wall. Rudolf Hoss was convicted and executed for war crimes at the end of the war. He was bought back to Auschwitz and hung here.

We walked through the gas chamber, from the wash room where inmates were told to strip, through the section where they were gassed, and then out via the crematorium.

From 1940 to July 1943, the building served as a crematorium. At the end of September 1941, the first gas chamber was created in the room that had formerly been used as a morgue. The SS used this gas chamber until 1942, after which they used the gas Chambers at Birkenau. 1000s of people were murdered here, and it was an eerie and disturbing feeling walking through it.

After a short break, we jumped back on the coach and drove the short distance to Birkenau, or Auschwitz II. This second camp was built as an extermination camp and originally had 5 gas chambers. The inmates from the original camp were used to build this second camp.

This camp felt a lot more desolate and grim. It had several zones to it. The brick blocks were the first blocks to be built, and later on, they built the wooden blocks. Only a couple of wooden blocks are left standing, as the other blocks were dismantled after the war as they needed the building materials.

In 1944, 500,000 Hungarian jews were brought to Birkenau over a period of 3 months, and the majority of them were killed.

Close to the railway track were the gypsy and family camps. In these camps, there were children and women whose heads were not shaved. New arrivals to the camp saw children playing in the playgrounds and believed that  they were here to work at a labour camp.

People arrived at the camp crammed into cattle wagons, often with standing room only. Many of them died on the journey to the camp. One of the original cattle carts is at the camp.

Joseph Mengle worked at Auschwitz and often experimented on the children in the family camps.

As people got off the train, they underwent selections. Men were separated from women and children. Those who appeared able to work were marched in one direction whilst others were marched directly to one of the gas chambers.

In the summer of 1944, the SS started to evacuate Auschwitz as they knew the Red Army were getting closer. Those unable to walk and those who were frail were sent to the gas chambers.

Around 8,000 people were left in the camp with no food or water as the SS retreated. Around 7,000 people were liberated, approximately 5% of the total number of inmates.

When the SS knew they were being defeated, they destroyed the gas chambers in the killing zone of the camp. Today, you can see the remains of a crematorium and one of the gas chambers.

Zyklon B needs temperatures of around 25-30⁰C to be effective, so as the people in the gas chamber started to panic the temperature inside the chamber rose. It took around 10-20 minutes for people to die via suffocation. They were left in the gas chambers for 30 minutes, and the chambers were vented for a futher 30 minutes before the bodies were removed and taken to the crematorium. As each body produces around 2kg of ash, and around 2,000 people were burnt every day, this means around 4 tonnes of ash were produced. This used to sit in heaps outside the crematorium and was often blown around the camp. Every few days, the ash was put into containers and dumped in the river.

We went inside one of the brick blocks. The bunks were tightly packed together, and it was very dark. In the summer, as there was very little ventilation, it got extremely hot and suffocating. In the winter, it was freezing cold, and many people died during the night.

I’m glad I visited Auschwitz- Birkenau, but it is horrific to see and understand what went on here.

On the way home from the bus stop, we passed through a small square, Mary Rynek, which translates to small market square. Before the main square existed, this is where the market was held.

Before dinner, we popped into a pub that was literally next door to where we were staying for a quick beer.

We decided to try an Italian for dinner – San Franesco. We had oysters to start and pasta for mains.

When we were about to leave, the waitress bought us over 3 shots each – a baby guiness, a homemade orangecillo, and a plum vodka.

They were delicious, but after that, it was time to head home.

It was an extremely early start to the trip. I was on the bus to the airport at 320am!

Faye arrived at the airport shortly before me. We met up, purused the shops that were open, and had a coffee (and a panini for me) before boarding the flight.

We had booked an aisle and window seat, hoping we might get a ow of 3, but the flight was packed.

I took some pictures as we started to approach krakow.

We got a taxi from the airport to our apartment, it was around a 30-minute drive. Our apartment is very grand and right in the old part of the city.

Faye hadn’t had anything to eat, so having some lunch was our first priority. We found a little cafe called the Milk Bar and had some delicious Pierogi- a traditional polish dish of stuffed potato dumplings.

From here, it was just a short walk to the main square – Rynek Glowny. As we came up to the square, there was a huge church – St Mary’s Basillica – and just behind it, the smaller church of St Barbara.

This 14th century small gothic church used to be a cemetery chapel, and where the surrounding buildings are now standing, used to be a cemetery linked to St Mary’s Basillica. In the 18th century, it was the clinical hospital for the university, and the professor used dead bodies of poor people and executed prisoners to experiment on.

St Mary’s Basillica is huge. It was originally built in the 13th century but was destroyed and then rebuilt in the 14th century.

The two towers at the front of the Basillica are of different heights. The story goes that two brothers were engaged as architects (one on each tower), and, as one began overshadowing the other, jealousy set in. In a moment of dark inspiration, the jealous party murdered his brother but then promptly threw himself off the taller tower when he realised just what he had done.

Every hour, a man plays a bugle from the top of the tallest tower. This commemorates a polish guy who warned of a Mongol attack in the 13th century. The tune was cut short because the guy was shot in the neck by a Mongol archer, and it still stops abruptly to this day.

The inside of the church is beautiful, with a starry ceiling, amazing stained glass windows, and lots of golden decoration.

The Basillica sits on one corner of the main square . The main square is the largest in Europe, covering 40,000 square feet (around 12,000m²).

Not far from the basillica sits another small church. St Aldaberts Church is believed to be the oldest stone church in Poland. This church pre-dates the square, which explains its strange position. The floor of the church sits 2m below the surface of the main square. It has an amazing dome ceiling.

Our next stop was the cloth hall, which is in the middle of the main square. Traders have had stalls here for centuries as it dates back to the Renaissance. When Krakow received its city charter in the 13th century, the cloth hall was 2 rows of stone stalls forming a street in the middle of the square. The two gates were locked at either end at night to stop thieves. Today, the stalls mainly sell traditional polish crafts and souvenirs.

Right next to the Cloth Hall is the Town Hall Tower. There used to be a large town hall at this side of the square, which also housed a prison in its cellar, but now only the tower is left. The tower stands 70m tall and has a slight lean to it (around 50cm).

Just by the tower, there was some weird art installation of a severed head.

In the centre of the square is a large bronze statue of Adam Mickiewicz, who was a famous bard and poet. A lot of his work served as inspiration for uprisings against the influential powers at the time.

After all the walking around, it was time to rest and have a beer. We went to the sunny side of the square and sat outside, but in an enclosed area.

On the way home, I popped into the Hard Rock Cafe to get a t-shirt.

There are a lot of tourist horse and carts around the main square and the streets nearby.

We walked down to St Florians Gate. This gate was built in the 14th century from ‘wild stone’ as part of the city walls and fortifications against attacks. It stands around 34.5m tall and is the main gate of the 7 city gates. It’s also known as the Gate of Glory as it is the start of the Royal route to Wawel Castle. From 1901 – 1953 a tram used to pass through this gate.

Just down from the gate is the Barbican, a fortified outpost that used to be connected to the city gate.

We decided to walk around the ‘park’, which runs around the outer edge of the city. To be honest, it’s more of a strip of grass and trees than a park, although we may not have walked the best part of it. But there were some interesting statues and buildings to see.

We ended up back at the main square and decided to head to the Wodka Bar.

The Wodka bar is a tiny little place that sells a huge variety of different flavoured vodkas. We decided to taste 6 each. I had fig, plum, chocolate, ginger, honey and lemon. My favourite was the chocolate one.

We chatted to a few people in the bar as most of them were English.

After the vodkas, we headed to a restaurant, Czarna kacska, which translates as black duck. I had the beef goulash with potato cakes, and Faye had the duck, they were both delicious.

After dinner, we headed home as we were both really tired.

We had a leisurely start to the day with a great breakfast in the hotel. Their Eggs Benedict are delicious.

After breakfast, we walked to St Joseph’s Cathedral. This building is one of the first structures constructed by French colonists and still remains intact after 2 fierce wars. It is the oldest church in Hanoi.

It is said to be built on the site of an old Buddhist pagoda. Initially, the cathedral was temporarily built from wood. Between 1884 and 1888, the brick and concrete structure you see today was built. It looks like a small simulation of Notre Dame in Paris with multiple representative features of Gothic Revival architecture.

After the French colonists left North Vietnam in 1954, the cathedral was closed under the rule of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It only opened to the public again for Christmas in 1990.

There are a number of beautiful stained glass windows inside, as well as very high domed ceilings.

We lit some candles at one of the alters in memory of those who had passed.

The cathedral is 64.5m long, 20.5 m wide and the two bell towers are 31.5m high. It has a mixture of Vietnamese and gothic architecture, with many of the altars decorated with red and gold gilded wood.

In front of the cathedral is a statue of Mother Maria, made from copper.

Right next door to the cathedral is an ancient temple built in 1131 during the Ly Dynasty. The Temple is called Ly Quoc Su and was built to worship one of the Zen Masters. The addition of a Bhudda statue in 1932 meant that the temple became a pagoda.

In the pagoda, there are still many relics of historical and artistic value discovered during major restorations in 1674 and 1855.

From the temple/pagoda, we walked through the streets to the Imperial Citadel. The streets in Hanoi are definitely an experience. Even when there are traffic lights and a green man to let you cross, cars and mopeds keep driving. As a pedestrian, you just have to walk with confidence and not stop – the cars and mopeds go around you. There are around 6,500 deaths caused by traffic accidents a year in Vietnam. In the UK it is around 1,700 per year.

On the way to the Imperial Citadel we walked past Lenin Park. There is a 5.2m statue of Lenin, gifted to Vietnam by Russia in 1980. The legacy of Vladimir Lenin may have fallen in Russia, but his statue stands tall in communist Vietnam.

The statue symbolizes the influence of Leninism on Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese politics in general. Ho Chi Minh visited Russian for the first time in 1922. He studied communism and acquired experience in developing strategies to gain independence. A bond was formed between Russia and Vietnam, and after he formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh visited Russia many times.

A popular joke in Hanoi is that the statue was built with one hand in its pocket to symbolize that “the Russians are so cheap.”

We were hoping to go to the Military History Museum, but unfortunately, it was shut.

We passed the new National Assembly building. Construction started on October 12, 2009, and finished on October 20, 2014. Cobstruction was delayed as old ruins from the Citadel were found on the site. The building is used by the National Assembly of Vietnam for its sessions and other official functions. It is the largest and most complex office building in Vietnam, covering an area of 63,000m² and 39m high. The building can accommodate 80 separate meetings with more than 2,500 people at the same time.

In Vietnam, the basic shapes of circle and square symbolize heaven and earth. The building volume of the assembly chamber is based on the basic shape of the circle, which is surrounded by an additional square structure.

We then made our way to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. This is a complex of historical buildings that were built between 1010 and 1011. We entered through the old gate. This area has served as the royal, political and military centre of Vietnam for nearly 1,300 years

The first place we came to was the D67 bunker. This is the place where important meetings of the Vietnam’s Politburo and the Central Military Commission took place during the war against America. The house was built in 1967 and includes a roof made of 3 layers, with 2 of those layers being concrete and the middle one made of sand.

The stairs go down 9m to a basement meeting room. The walls are made from reinforced concrete and the door is made from 12cm of steel. There is also a system of rubber cushioning to prevent toxic water and gas.

We walked on to the Kinh Thien Palace, which was built in 1428 and used as a place to celebrate imperial ceremonies and major national affairs. Dragons are one of the four sacred animals in Vietnam. A dragon is also a representation of the higher power, the monarch. The steps of Kinh Thiên Palace are decorated with 15th-century stone dragons. 

We walked through the grounds, to be honest, not really knowing what we were looking at as there was very little information about what was what.

We then came across the Princess Pagoda. It is built of brick and has a basement and 3 floors above. At the top of some very steep steps is a Buddhist shrine.

The views from the top of the pagoda were pretty impressive.

You could see the Hanoi flag tower, one of the most iconic symbols in Hanoi. It is 33.4m tall and was built in 1812. It was used as a military post during the French colonial era. The red and yellow flag was flown on the tower for the first time in 1945 after the successful revolution. It was flown again in 1954 and recognised as a historical monument in 1990. The flag is 24m² and is changed every 2 -3 weeks.

We left the main part of the Citadel via the south gate, Doan Mon. Only members of the Royal family were allowed to pass through this main gate.

The gardens of the Citadel are quite peaceful. There is a promenade of bonsai style trees to walk down.

On the way back to outline hotel, we walked past train street Spain, so we decided to stop and have a drink. It was just as busy as yesterday.

There were a few more people selling their wares, and we ended up buying some fans.

After a while the train arrived. I took a video, but it’s difficult to share on this blog.

I bought some coffee on the way back to the hotel, which they ground down for me.

Back at the hotel, we were both booked in for a full body scrub and a Vietnamese body massage. They were both amazing. The Vietnamese body massage was a bit like hot stones, but they used hot herbal compresses instead.

For dinner, we decided to go back to the Coffee Club rooftop bar.

We ordered prawns and chips for dinner, they were delicious but there were a lot of them.

It was a nice relaxing evening under the full moon.

And then it was time to go home.

Today, we got up early and skipped breakfast so we could get to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum by 745am. We took a taxi over to the site as it was about a 30-minute walk. When we got there, it actually wasn’t too busy. We had to dress respectfully so we both put on our dresses to cover our shoulders.

After putting our water in to the locker- for some reason, we weren’t allowed to take it with us – we joined the queue to pay our respects to Ho Chi Minh. There were a complete mixture of ages of people in the queue, there were a lot of school children in their uniforms, a lot of families, and mainly Vietnamese. We didn’t realise at the time, but today was a public holiday for the whole of Vietnam. It felt more like a pilgrimage than a tourist attraction.

After around 30 minutes, we entered the Mausoleum. It was actually quite sobering and emotional seeing Ho Chi Minh’s body laid out. Obviously, you are not allowed to take photos, but there are some on the Internet.

It only takes a short while to walk around him, and then you are back outside in the open.

Ho Chi Minh was born in 1890 and died in 1969 before the end of the Vietnam War. He is revered and loved by many Vietnamese people, particularly in the North of Vietnam, as he was the person who gained independence for Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh was prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, basically north Vietnam, from 1945- 1955 and also as president from 1945 until he died. He was the Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Vietnam, the predecessor of the current Communist Party of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh travelled a lot during his years, visiting China and Russia and picking up communist ideology. In 1930, he founded the Communist Party of Vietnam and in 1941, he returned to Vietnam and founded the Việt Minh independence movement – fighting for independence of North Vietnam. Before independence, the farmers in Vietnam had to pay 70% of their revenue to the French and chinese dynasty. The communist party promised equality. Ho Chi Minh led the revolution against Japan in 1945, which resulted in independence for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, the French came back in to power the month after, so Ho Chi Minh was forced to retreat, and he began guerilla warfare against the French. The English also came to Vietnam after the end of the Second World War in 1945 for around 3 months, but they handed it back to the French.

During the period 1941 to 1955, the French, Japanese, and the Chinese Winh dynasty controlled the country. The Japanese made a deal with the French and controlled North Vietnam. The japanese stopped rice planting across the area and focused on cotton instead. This meant that 2 million Vietnamese people died of hunger between 1942 to 1945. In 1945, Ho Chi Minh helped the Chinese General in the south of China. The general then supported Ho Chi Minh as the rightful leader of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh and his army defeated the French in 1955, and this was the end of the First Indochina War. It resulted in the division of Vietnam with the North being controlled by the communist Viet Minh and the South being anti- communist.

This division led to the Vietnam /American War in an attempt to stop the spread of communism. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975. Ho Chi Minh stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems and died in 1969. He had no wife or children. North Vietnam were ultimately successful against South Vietnam and its allies. Vietnam was officially unified in 1976. Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honour.

Between 1942 to 1945 America actually supported Ho Chi Minh in his fight against Japan and France.

During the Vietnam War, around 4 million people died, many of them civilians. Between 1964 and 1972, the Americans dropped many B52 bombs on Vietnam and Hanoi was often the target. It’s rumoured that the Americans did consider a nuclear bomb, but luckily, they decided against it. However, they did use chemical bombs, the main reason being to kill the leaves in the forest and expose the Viet Cong. But the chemicals were also absorbed by the soilders and others, and sometimes it killed them, but it has also been passed on to the younger generation, leading to many birth defects and issues.

In 1968, a truce for 3 days was agreed between North and South Vietnam, but the Viet Cong attacked in the south. Although they lost, their actions angered the Americans, who then retaliated by actively hunting the Viet Cong. They used to cut off the ears of the Viet Cong to show how many they had killed.

At the end of the war, anyone who worked for the American or Southern government were put in jail for three years and brain washed.

Vietnam is still a communist country,with the General Secretary of the Communist Party having ultimately power. But they seem more liberal and the Vietnamese people are very calm and welcoming.

After visiting the mausoleum, we then walked around the presidential grounds. This was where Ho Chi Minh lived and earned from 1954 to 1969. The first building you come across is the presidential palace. Like many government buildings, it is red and yellow in colour, red symbolising happiness and yellow symbolising good luck.

We walked around to the Politburo’s meeting room, where Ho Chi Minh used to chair meetings and receive guests.

The cars that were used whilst Ho Chi Minh was president were also on display.

We carried on walking to House No. 54 where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. You could see various rooms through the glass and they demonstrated that he lived in a very simple fashion.

The area surrounding the Palace and House was really beautiful and serene, with a huge fishing lake in the centre.

We walked down the Mango Path, this is where Ho Chi Minh used to walk and do his morning exercises. At the end of the path is the flower trellis, where Ho Chi Minh used to receive guests. There is a statue of him here.

The next stop was the historical house on stilts. This house symbolises simple living and is where Ho Chi Minh spent a significant amount of his time.

All through the presidential complex are the military honour guard, dressed in white uniforms. These soldiers also guard the body of Ho Chi Minh 24 hours a day on 2 hourly rotas.

The One Pillar Pagoda is part of the presidential complex and is a historical Buddhist temple. It was originally built in 1049, and after some additions, it was completed in 1105. It has been built to represent a lotus flower, a Buddhist symbol of purity.

The temple is built of wood on a single stone pillar, 1.25 meters in diameter, and 4 meters in height. It is erected in a lotus pond as lotuses blossom in a muddy pond.

We walked past the museum and decided not to go in. And we also posed by the water feature.

And then we were back at the front of the mausoleum.

As we walked back into the main city area, we passed the National Assembly building and also the Presidential Palace from the roadside.

Not too far from the mausoleum is West Lake. This is the biggest freshwater lake in Hanoi and has a shoreline of 11 miles (17km). A small part of the lake is separated by a road to form Trúc Bạch Lake. We were quite thirsty by now, so we decided to stop for a coffee – and we tried another Vietnamese egg coffee in a roadside cafe. We had to take shelter under a tree as it started to rain a little bit.

On October 26, 1967, during the Vietnam War, US Navy aviator John McCain was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile on a mission against a Hanoi power plant and parachuted wounded into Trúc Bạch Lake. He was dragged out of the water, confronted by angry North Vietnamese and turned over to the military as a prisoner of war. A monument commemorating the capture is on the western shore of the lake. Its inscription reads: On 26 October 1967 near Trúc Bạch Lake, citizens and military of the capital Hanoi captured US Navy Air Forces pilot Major John Sidney McCain, who was flying an A-4 aircraft that crashed near Yên Phụ power station. This was one of ten aircraft shot down that day.

There was slso a very cute Buddha on a tiny island in the lake.

The main attraction at West Lake is the Trấn Quốc Pagoda, meaning protection. This is the oldest Buddhist pagoda in the city as it was originally constructed in 544 until 548.

The pagoda is part of the larger Trấn Quốc Temple area, and the ashes of a former monk and Zen Master are buried in the tower. At the Trấn Quốc Pagoda, there are many lotus flower statues. These symbolize purity of the mind, body and speech. The lotus flower also symbolizes enlightenment and achievement. The building has 11 stories and is 15m high.

In the grounds of Trấn Quốc is a Bodhi tree, which was taken as cutting of the original tree in Bodh Gaya in India. This is the tree where Gautama Buddha is said to have sat and attained enlightenment. The gift was made in 1959.

At the main shrine, many people burn incense. Incense is burned to send wishes to the gods and to receive good luck in return. It is presented in odd numbers because odd numbers are considered lucky in Chinese and Vietnamese culture.

In the Trấn Quốc Temple they also worship goddesses, known as the “Mẫu” (Mothers). Their shrines are in the front of the courtyard. The green mother has domain over the mountains and forests. The white mother has domain over the water. Lastly, the red mother has domain over the sky. These are some of the oldest gods or goddesses who have been worshipped in Vietnam and were around before Buddhism.

The room at the back of the temple is particularly stunning.

In one area of the courtyard, they had a number of displays illustrating the laws of Karma – some of them were quite amusing.

After all that walking around, we were a little bit peckish, so we got a taxi to a place that Tracey had recommended to us from her street food tour. It was a little place called Hidden Gem – and it really was hidden, down a small alleyway behind other bars and restaurants. In fact, the restaurant we went to for our celebration meal was right in front of it. It was definitely worth a visit as it was a very quirky place.

We each had a typical Vietnamese sandwich, known as Banh Mi. These originate from when the French occupied Vietnam and built bakeries to make baguettes. However, the Vietnamese bread is softer on the inside, crispy on the outside, and is only 30-40cm long. Our sandwich had a filling of chicken, pickles, salad, noodles, and sauce. It sounds weird but tasted delicious.

Not far from the Hidden Gem was a traditional Vietnamese house- Ma May House. The house was built at the end of the 19th century and the families of shopkeepers used to live there. In 1945 a family bought it to sell chinese medicine. In 1954, it was requisitioned by the government and five families used it until 1999. The families had various occupations such as grocers, tailors, state employees and martial arts teacher. The house is 5-6m wide and 28m long. Land is expensive in Vietnam, so the width of houses is often small, and they build upwards instead. This house, though, is referred to as a tube house as it has a sucession of building and courtyards all joined together.

At the front of the house was a shop. At the front, there was no wall, so it was open to the street so they could sell their goods. Inside is an open yard to get sunlight and fresh air. Behind that was the back room, the store and the kitchen.

The stairs are at a 70 -75% degree angle, so they’re pretty steep. Upstairs is the altar room and bedroom. Vietnamese people choose the most solemn place to worship their ancestors. The altar is seen as the bridge between living people and the spiritual world and is a token of gratitude to the forefathers. Vietnamese people believe that the body dies but that the soul lives on forever in another world. They believe that souls can intervene in lives in magical ways.

From Ma May House, we walked to the old city gate. O Quan Chuong is the only serving gate from the citadel of Thang Long. Built in the 18th century, it was open during the day and closed and guarded at night to prevent theft and fire. According to historical records, there used to be 21 gates surrounding the city. On the left of the main door is a stone stele inscribing a ban by the Governor Hoang Dieu in 1881, which prohibited the guards from harassing the funeral of the local people.

It was then time to go back to the hotel for a bit of relaxation. On the way back, we passed a really good art shop, and we both ended up buying a picture from there.

We had both booked a facial and also a free manicure. And in-between times, we had a foot pamper with some packs that Gill had left for us.

Although it had started raining again, we decided to go and visit train street in the early evening. This is a small street that runs through Hanoi and is lined with small cafes and bars.

Train Street was built in 1902 by the French and it has become an iconic tourist attraction. Trains pass through the street several times a day. The street was closed to tourists back in 2019, and many businesses along the street have had their licences revoked. I don’t know what the legal situation is today, but it was definitely open and full of people. Originally, we sat on some small stools by the side of the track, but after a few minutes, there were some places available in the cafe opposite, so we moved there. A lot of people were also selling their wares along the street.

After about 25 minutes, we were given a 5 minute warning that the train was coming. A group of about 20 people who were milling around were quickly ushered to the upstairs of our cafe. And then the train came and it got very close. It did blow its horn a lot, but it didn’t go that slowly.

And in a few moments, it was all over. We hung around for a little bit and took some more photos as the rain had stopped.

I had left my umbrella under the seat and someone else had picked it up, so I was glad it wasn’t raining at that point.

We decided to go to the Hanoi Social Club for a drink as it was pretty close by.

Whilst we were there it started raining again so we decided to eat there as well. One of the girls on the table next to us used to work there, and she recommended the burger, so we ordered that, and it was very tasty. We tried some weird gin cocktail as well.

And I made a new friend who got several bits of my burger.

As it was still raining when we finished dinner, we decided to go back to our hotel as it was only a couple of minutes away.

Back at the hotel, it was time for a nightcap. The hotel bar was downstairs and was very dungeonesque. Especially as they had all the Halloween decorations out.

And then it was time for bed.

We weren’t leaving Halong until 11:30am, so after a bit of a disappointing breakfast, we headed to the beach.

We ordered some iced coffees and soaked up the atmosphere.

It was a Saturday, and a lot of the local girls were coming to the beach and taking photos of themselves – so we decided to do the same.

Then it was time to go back to the hotel, pack up some bits, and head back to Hanoi.

Once we got back to the Bespoke and Trendy Hotel, Mandy and I checked in to our room. Karen, Zoe, Gill and Tracey were leaving later in the day to get the overnight train to Hue. They took their suitcases to our room and we left them in peace to sort out all of their luggage.

Mandy and I wandered through the side streets of Hanoi. They were very colourful and interesting. All the shops in one street sold the same kind of item. So one street had lights and lanterns, another one had clothes and another one stationary.

We headed to the station and the famous Long Bien bridge.

The bridge is 2.4km long and was the first steel bridge in Vietnam. It is often referred to as the horizontal Eiffel of Hanoi. Construction started in 1899 and it was completed in 1903, ahead of schedule. 3,000 Vietnamese workers built the bridge, using up to 30,000 cubic meters of stones and metals.

The bridge was attacked several times during the Vietnam War, and large sections have had to be rebuilt. The bridge is open to mopeds, cyclists, trains and pedestrians, and it is a left-hand drive road.

We found a rooftop bar that had a really good view out over the bridge, and as luck would have it,a train departed whilst we were up there.

Looking down from the rooftop bar, you could also see a part of the long mosaic in Hanoi. The ceramic mosaic runs along the dike system of the Red River and is around 4km long. It started in 2007 and was completed in 2010 as part of the celebrations to commemorate the millennium anniversary of Hanoi.

The cocktails we had were really strong, so after just one of them, we headed back to the hotel.

We met the others at Tang’s Kitchen, a lovely little restaurant not far from the hotel. I had a delicious meal of beef in bamboo, which the waitress showed me how to make into lovely fresh wraps.

It was quite sad as it was our last meal all together.

After dinner, we said goodbye to the others, who were getting a taxi to the train station, and Mandy and I went for a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake. Karen, Zoe, Gill and Tracey were all spending another 2 weeks travelling around Vietnam, and after that, all of them apart from Tracey, were spending 2 weeks in Thailand – I was a little bit envious.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the roads around the lake are closed, so it becomes a pedestrianised area. This means that there are a few bands playing and shows going on in the streets. There is also a night market with lots of stalls along the roads.

We took some photos of the Turtle Tower on the lake as it was all lit up. The tower has been standing for almost 150 years. It used to be a resting place when the King went fishing and was based on an older structure called Ta Vong Temple.

During the French occupation, the revolutionary flag of Vietnam was hung on the top of the tower, which always reminded the Vietnamese people to rise up and fight against invaders. Today, the structure stands as a sign of loyalty and patriotism.

We also passed the Monument of King Le Thai To. This is believed to be one of the oldest preserved monuments in Hanoi. In 1418, Le Thai To and his men rose up against Chinese Ming invaders. Nine years later, his resistance movement successfully drove the Ming armies out of Vietnam and restored Vietnamese independence. King Le Thai To is also the king who received the sword from the Lake.

Lots of the stalls were selling fruit, spices or insence. We came across a lot of Durian fruit.

We walked through the streets for a bit longer before it started to rain.

Although we both bought an umbrella (for £3 each), we decided to take shelter at a rooftop bar. We ordered a bottle of wine and watched the world go by.

We were up early again, and Zoe actually made it to the Thai Chi class. We all had a cup of coffee or tea before we headed off to see the cave.

We hopped on the smaller boat, which took us across to the cave. As we walked to the steps to take us up to the cave, the water was at low tide, and you could see all the molluscs clinging onto the side of the rock. The fishermen come here early in the morning to get their haul.

To get to the cave entrance, you have to climb up around 60 steps. From here, you get a lovely view over Bai Tu Long Bay,  which is the largest sea sanctuary in North Vietnam. There are many plant species near this cave, so it has another name, “Hang Co”, which means “grass cave”.

It is just a few more steps to the small opening leading into the cave. You have to duck your head as you go through.

There is no fairytale legend associated with this cave, although its name means ‘mountain with a view of fairyland’. This cave has simply been formed by the erosion and deposition of limestones for millions of years. The impacts of water erode the calcium crystals in limestone, and then the crystals combine together on the ceiling and ground of the cave to create stalagmites and stalactites. It is a really beautiful cave, with lots of sparkling rocks.

Our guide showed us how you could play the drums on some of the stalactites, so we had a go at that, too.

We walked through the cave and popped out on the other side.

As we walked back to the entrance, several other groups started to come in, and it got a little bit crowded. We went down to the beach on Cong Do island and paddled in the water for a bit.

And then it was back to the cruise ship to pack up and have brunch.

Around 1200 to 1500 guests visit Halong Bay every day, and 100 – 200 people go to the cave every day.

We settled ourselves on deck whilst we made our final journey back to the international port in Halong Bay.

We anchored, and you could see the Bai Chay bridge, which is the longest central-lined cable-stayed bridge in Vietnam at a total length of 1,106m. Looking the other way you could see the’sun wheel’ which stands 215m above sea level.

As we disembarked onto our smaller boat for the last time, the cruise ship raised its sails.

It was a really amazing 2 day cruise through the bays, and very relaxing, too.

Once back on dry land, we got a taxi to our hotel in Halong. The streets all looked very quiet as we drove through them, and we later learnt that we were very much visiting out of season.

Our hotel had a pool so after we acquired some towels, we went upstairs to the pool to relax.

It was a really hot day, and there wasn’t much shade up on the roof, so we decided to go for a stroll instead.

For some unknown reason, the main street our hotel was on, and the one we walked down, had a range of statues of composers.

We walked past Nhac Nouc – Sun Carnival, a massive open-air venue.

After a bit more walking, we decided it was time for a drink and some food. Unfortunately, we ordered cheesy chips and they tasted pretty awful – it was chips with some sort of powder sprinkled on top!

Although the streets were empty, they were quite pretty, with some lovely shops.

Gill and I found some angel wings, so had to take the obligatory photo.

We continued walking down to Sun World, a massive recreational and amusement park.

We did think about getting the cable car over to the other side, but it was quite expensive, so we decided against it.

As we walked back to the hotel, the sun was beginning to set.

It was very strange being in a tourist area with very few people around. We asked the receptionist in our hotel for recommendations for dinner. She pointed us in the direction of a seafood restaurant. It was around a 20-minute walk from the hotel, but it was a great recommendation.

It seemed like all the people who were in Halong had congregated here as it was really busy. Our waiter and waitress were really patient with us as we tried to work out what to order.

Karen and Mandy picked their lobster, which ended up looking amazing on their plate!

I ordered a jellyfish salad as I had never seen jellyfish on the menu before. It was definitely different – it didn’t really have any flavour, and the texture was a bit like cartilage – it was quite crunchy. I had about 8-10 pieces, but I probably wouldn’t order it again. Everyone else tried it, too.

We also had some delicious grilled prawns and some morning glory salad, as well as fried rice.

After we had finished I went to look at the lobsters etc that you could choose to eat. The waitress handed me a squid, which o then dropped, trying to put it back in the tank. Trying to prise it off the floor took some doing.

This is one of the best meals wd had, and it was extremely cheap even though we had beer and wine as well. I think I paid about £15.

We got a little golf buggy type taxi back to the hotel and then headed to bed.

We had what they called a light breakfast, but it was pretty filling with omelette and pastries as well as a selection of fruit.

We woke up quite early, but not early enough to participate in the Tai Chi class.

We were then transferred from the main cruise ship to a slightly smaller dayboat.

On this dayboat, we cruised to Cong Dam and relaxed on the sundeck.

After a while, we reached the kayak station. We had 1 kayak between 2 of us, and we were shown how to get to a small area of beach.

Whilst we were kayaking along, we saw a fisherman come past us who was rowing with his feet. We learnt that the fishermen are taught how to do this at a young age so that they can use their hands to fish.

The beach area was quite small, but there was enough space for all of us, and it was an area where we could go swimming. I saw some small jumping fish in the eater whilst I was swimming.

Just before we were going to get back in the kayaks, our guide told us that there was a small temple opposite the beach. Unfortunately, we didn’t get time to go and visit it.

We did come across a local boat on our way back, but luckily managed to avoid colliding into it!

Back on the dayboat, we had a delicious lunch.

And then it was more relaxing on the top deck whilst taking in the amazing scenery.

The formation of Halong Bay dates to over 500 million years ago. It consists of 1,969 ancient marine limestone rocks. These rocks used to stand at over 1,000 meters tall, but millions of years of erosion have reduced them to their present size.

When we got back to the cruise ship, we received another warm welcome and refreshing drink.

Mandy and I had a massage booked for 3pm, so we headed off to get changed and go to the cabin where they were found the massage. It was a very relaxing body massage.

After a shower to we refresh, we went back to the sundeck to watch another amazing sunset.

Mandy kindly bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate her birthday, a present from her boss.

After another delicious dinner, we went to the reception area and onto the small boat to do a bit of squid fishing. We soon learnt that it wasn’t really squid season, and it had been over a week since anyone caught a squid.

It was another lovely moonlit night.

We got up early for breakfast, and then we were picked up from our hotel in a pre-arranged luxury minibus to take us to Halong Bay.

On route, the bus stopped to fill up and as a toilet break for us. As we came out of the toilet, we were accosted by a woman who then showed us the many pearls and explained the different kinds of pearls and the process of cultivating them.

The Tahiti pearls are grown in a black lip oyster and are known as ‘Queen of pearls.’ They can contain overtones and undertones of pink,yellow, silver and blue, the more precious ones being of the darker variety.

Akoya pearls are saltwater cultured pearls from the akoya oyster. They are quite small in size and are white, silver, pink and creamy in colour.

The Southsea pearls are the most expensive variety and are white, silver, yellowy and gold in colour. They take the longest time to produce, so can be quite large in size.

After a couple of hours of driving, we arrived at the International Port of Halong Bay. We were greeted by one of the Signature Cruise staff who took us to the check-in desk where we could leave our luggage.

We had a bit of time to kill before we could board our boat, so we walked around the shops and had a coffee.

Shortly before 1pm, we were taken to the pier to board a small boat to transfer us to our cruise ship.

Our cruise ship was a wooden ship that can host around 24 people.

Once on board, we were offered a refreshing watermelon drink and shown the restaurant before being given the keys to our cabins. The cabins and bathroom were really nice, and we had a small balcony outside.

Whilst lunch was being prepared, we explored the outside area and the sundeck.

After a delicious buffet lunch, we changed into our bikinis and went to relax and soak up the sun.

The scenery was beautiful as the ship made its way to Bai Tu Long Bay. Bai Tu Long Bay translates to baby dragon, and Ha Long means mother dragon. It is said that the dragons came to Halong to support the Vietnamese against invaders. They breathed fire on the lake, which created the rocks and mountains.

After an hour or so of cruising, we arrived at Vung Vieng Floating fishing village. The village was founded early in the 19th century, and it used to have 80 families back in 2014, but now there are only 15. There was a lack of education for the children, so they had no prospects, and the government moved the families back onto dry land.

We took a bamboo boat and were rowed around part of the bay to see some more of the village, we had to wear the traditional hats to protect us from the sun! The village was mainly used as anchorage for the boats, particularly during stormy weather.

It was quite awe-inspiring being amongst the gigantic rocks.

After the bamboo boat trip, we were once more shown around a pearl shop, and a couple of people bought some souvenirs.

As we made our way back to the cruise ship via the transfer boat, we saw what looked like an eagle flying by. We saw a few more over the next couple of days.

Back on board, we had more time to relax, so we got ready for dinner and watched the beautiful sunset.

It was happy hour from around 530pm, so we made sure we took advantage of that. It was then time for a very tasty dinner.

Then, we continued to have a few drinks on the upper deck.

It was a lovely relaxing time under the full moon.

We were all feeling a little worse for wear after drinking quite a bit the night before, but most of us made it down to breakfast. This morning, we were moving from the Hanoi Boutique Hotel to the Bespoke and Trendy Hotel. But before we packed and left, we decided to visit the Bach Ma Temple as it was just around the corner from where we were staying.

Bach Ma Temple translates to ‘White Horse’. It is said to be the oldest temple in the city, though much of the current structure dates from the 18th century and a shrine to Confucius was added in 1839. It was originally built by Emperor Ly Thai To in the 11th century to honour a white horse that guided him to this site, where he chose to construct the city walls.

After a few minutes inside, one of the temple guardians spotted us, and we were asked to leave as we were not wearing suitable attire – our shoulders and knees should have been covered.

We went back to the hotel, packed our bags, and jumped into a taxi to the next hotel – we were not going to risk walking through the chaos of Hanoi with our suitcases!

At the new hotel, we tried on the hats in reception whilst they got our rooms ready.

We left Mandy at the hotel to catch up on some sleep, and the rest of us took a taxi to the Temple of Literature.

Before we went into the temple itself, we stopped for a coffee. I decided to try the Vietnamese egg coffee – it was delicious. It’s made with egg yolk, very strong coffee, condensed milk and vanilla extract.

The Temple of Literature is dedicated to Confucius. It was built in 1070, and it hosted the Imperial Academy, Vietnam’s first national university, from 1076 to 1779. It covers an area of 54,000m².

The gate into the first courtyard is called the Great Middle Gate and has the virtue gate on the left and the talent gate on the right. These depicted the expectation of the King towards students attaining high education here.

We entered into the second courtyard, which features the Khue Van Cac (Star of Literature / pavilion of constellation) pavilion. The building is said to represent humility, clarity and refinement. It was built in 1805 with its square plinth, symbolising the earth, the tower with its images of the sun, represents the sky and the open breezeway through the pavilion represents the wind. The pool in front of the pavilion symbolises Yin, with the pavilion representing Yang. The absence of a door in the pavilion indicates that the path to enlightenment is a continuous one as you walk from the second to the third courtyard.

The third courtyard is known as the Well of Heavenly Clarity. The meaning behind the square well is that it represents the earth while the circle at the top of the pavilion represents the sky, all together creating harmony between the sky and earth. This well also functions as a mirror absorbing the best essence of the universe. 

In this courtyard is also the house of stelae. Here, stone turtles carry large stelae on their backs, which depict the names and birthplaces of 1307 graduates of 82 triennial royal exams. Originally, there were 116 stelae, but only 82 remain.

The reason for the turtle is that this is the only real animal out of the 4 holy ones, which include Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, and Phoenix. Not only is the turtle familiar with the mental life of Vietnamese people, but it also represents longevity and wisdom.

The fourth courtyard is the gate to great success and features the stunning House of Ceremonies and the sanctuary to Confucius. On either side of the alter is a pair of cranes and turtles that represent a desire for harmony and eternity.

The fifth courtyard is the grounds of the imperial academy and is made up of 2 floors. On the bottom floor is a statue of Chu Văn An, a great teacher and the first rector of the Imperial Academy, who devoted all his life to Vietnamese education.

On the upper floor are where the people can worship the three kings who contributed most to the foundation of the temple and the academy.

There was also a bit of an art installation going on on the ground floor.

At a lot of the alters, we saw the Bhudda Fingers Fruit. This is a citrus type of fruit, originally from Japan. It It looks like several yellow fingers sticking out from a central base, resembling Buddha’s hands in meditation. It signifies longevity, happiness and good fortune.

In the courtyard was also a large bell that was over 1,000 years old. The bell used to be located above the main gate and was used to signify that an important person was coming through. The bell was made out of bronze and could only be touched by monks

Shortly after leaving the Temple of Literature, we came across the Ba Nanh Pagoda. This is a Buddhist temple. Legend says that this pagoda was built to worship an unknown old woman who often sold tea and soybeans to students of Quoc Tu Giam school next door.

By this time we were all flagging a little bit. We found a nice German restaurant (Goethe) but it wasn’t serving any food when we got there. So we ended up going to KFC. Although the chicken was nice, it was a little spicy and the fries were cold and chewy!

After lunch we carried on our sightseeing tour. Hanoi is a complete mixture of old and new.

The main traffic is mopeds /scooters, and there don’t seem to be any rules on the road. Also, you can carry almost anything on a moped, including a tree.

Our next stop was Chùa Quán Sứ Temple, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Hanoi. It is one of the few ancient pagodas in Hanoi that maintains purity and sanctity in practice and religion.

The temple was built under the reign of King Tran Du Tong in the 14th century. Envoys from southern countries who came to Thang Long to pay tribute were all devout Buddhists. The court, therefore, built a pagoda named Quan Su and a building to receive envoys. This is where they could perform ceremonies during their stay here. That order was still preserved until the Le Trung Hung dynasty.

Quite close to the temple was Hanoi prison. This was originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. During this later period, it was known to American POWs as the “Hanoi Hilton”. This site was used by the North Vietnamese Army to house, torture, and interrogate captured servicemen, mostly American pilots shot down during bombing raids. Severe torture methods were employed, such as rope bindings, irons, beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement. It is now a museum, but we didn’t go in.

We walked past the Supreme Court to a lovely colourful street with lots of bookshops.

On our tour we saw another dog with colourful ears!

We walked down to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum. Unfortunately it was about to close for the evening so we decided not to take a look around.

As we carried in walking to the opera house, we walked past a school where it was obviously home time – it was so busy. We decided to stop off for a quick cup of coffee or tea, and Mandy came to join us, too.

The Opera House was built by the French colonial administration between 1901 and 1911. It was modelled on the Palais Garnier, the older of Paris’ two opera houses, but with a smaller scale and using materials that are more environmentally friendly.

From the opera house, we walked to the smaller lake in Hanoi – Hoan Kiem Lake. On the way, we passed the statue of Ly Thai To. He was the founding emperor of the Ly dynasty and reigned in Vietnam from 1009 to 1028. When Ly Thai To came to Hanoi, he allegedly saw a soaring dragon above the city, and so he called the area Thang Long (ascending dragon). Thang Long remained the main capital of Vietnam until 1802, when the last Vietnamese dynasty, the Nguyen (1802–1945), transferred the capital south to Hue.

Hoan Kiem Lake was beautiful at night, all lit up and quite a busy area. Legend claims that, in the mid-15th century, heaven sent Emperor Le Loi a magical sword, which he used to drive the Chinese from Vietnam. After the war a giant golden turtle grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of this lake to restore the sword to its divine owners, inspiring the name Ho Hoan Kiem (Lake of the Restored Sword).

As you walk towards the bridge, you see Pen Tower. This tower is 12m in diameter and 4m high. It has 5 stories and reaches up to the sky, creating harmony between nature and people. Students often visit this site to pray for good luck in their exams.

The Huc Bridge (Sunbeam bridge) is a lovely red coloured arch bridge with 15 spans and 32 pillars. During the day, the bridge reflects the cluster of sunlight, which is believed to bring hope, luck and happiness to the city.

At the other end of the bridge, you come to Ngoc Son Temple (Jade Mountain Temple). The Temple was built in the 19th century in commemoration of Tran Hung Dao, the greatest military commander of the Tran Dynasty. It also pays homage to Van Xuong De Quan, the God of prosperity. You have to pass through several gates to get there, one of them being the Long Mon Ho Bang gate. The walls of the gate are designed with roofs like in many pagodas. The right wall is embossed with the shape of a dragon, with two Chinese letters on top meaning “Dragon Gate” (Long Mon). On the left wall, you can see a white tiger carved with Chinese letters, meaning Tiger Board (Ho Bang). The Dragon Gate and Tiger Board symbolises successful examinations and inspires young people to keep learning.

At the end of the bridge, you come to Dac Nguyet Lau Gate, also known as the “Moon Gazing Pavilion”.

To the south of the temple is a pavilion known as Tran Ba Pavilion. It was built as a sturdy structure to protect against breaking waves and evil influences.

The Temple itself represents the diversity in Vietnam. There is a section devoted to worshipping Tran Hung Dao and Van Xuong De Quan as well as a statue of Amitabha, a holy Buddha.

There was lots of activity going on in the streets around the lake, too.

By now, we were a little bit hungry again, so we made our way to the Coffee Club, one of the rooftop bars in Hanoi.

After some wine and food it was back to the hotel and time for bed.

After a very early start, and after collecting and paying for our laundry, it was a 280km bus journey to Hanoi.

We stopped in a small town for lunch, where we actually had pizza and chips. The vegetarian pizza was a little different to normal.

The drive was very scenic through forested mountains and remote villages.

After around 7-8 hours of driving, we arrived in Hanoi. Some of the group went on a guided tour around the city with Nhan, but as we were staying a few more days in Hanoi, we decided to take the time to refresh and get ready for the celebration meal. At the hotel, we met up with Tracey. Tracey is a friend of Karen’s who was joining them for the next 3 weeks travelling around Vietnam.

Just round the corner from where we were staying was a rooftop bar, so we started the evening off there with a couple of cocktails.

We then met the rest of the group back at the hotel and headed off to the restaurant – Highway 4. The food was delicious, and Chris and Nhan both made lovely speeches.

It was our last evening together as a group, and it was sad to say goodbye to everyone else.

The group members were:

• Tim and Jackie (couple)
• Stu and Alex (father and daughter)
• Jason and Lee (uncle and nephew)
• Maxine
• Larry
• Karen, Mandy, Zoe and Gill
• Chris (DA leader)
• Nhan (local guide)

As everyone else made their way back to the hotel, we decided to go for another drink.

We headed down a few streets and found a bar called the jail pub. There was also a resident cat there.

On the way back to the hotel, we stumbled across Beer Street, so we decided to stop and have a beer.

And then it really was time for bed!