Michael Powell's Blog, page 27
October 26, 2017
Ha Long Bay on the Cheap: Bài Thơ Mountain
If you’d like to see Ha Long Bay, but you don’t want to spend cash on a tour… or maybe you’re afraid of the water… it’s possible to get an incredible view, without ever stepping foot on a boat. Climb to the top of Núi Bài Thơ (Poetry Mountain), to see the unique formations of Ha Long from above.
The path up the mountain is hidden down a tiny alley on Hàng Nồi Street. But it’s not difficult to find, because as soon as you start to look lost, the locals will point you in the right direction. A...
October 25, 2017
Caves, Kayaks and Dream Beaches: Our Second Day in Ha Long Bay
After a luxurious night of sleep in our cabin on the Dragon Legend, we woke ready for a day of adventure. On Day Two of our cruise, we’d be visiting two dream beaches, exploring a limestone cave, and kayaking around the hills of Ha Long Bay.
The first excursion was scheduled for immediately after breakfast; we piled into a jetty with the rest of the folks on our cruise (some of whom were already becoming friends), and set off for the beach upon which we’d be having lunch. We saw it from a di...
A Floating Fishing Village in Ha Long Bay
After settling into our room aboard the Dragon Legend, we had lunch and then took a couple short excursions. The first would be a sightseeing trip on a small jetty between the limestone hills, while the second would take us to one of Ha Long’s oldest floating fishing villages.
The best thing about our tour with Indochina Junk, was that our route was relatively free of other tourists. And we really appreciated the solitude once we were out on a smaller boat, taking a jetty tour around the lim...
October 24, 2017
A Cruise on Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay was a destination which we had been excited about, but also dreading. For every jaw-dropping photo of the bay’s karst hills, there’s a horror story to match. Would we experience an otherworldly paradise, or a tourist boat traffic jam? More than usual, our choice of operator seemed to be extremely important.
In the end, we opted for a two-night, three-day tour with Indochina Junk, aboard the Dragon Legend. This was a semi-luxury cruise, and although it was more expensive than we’r...
October 23, 2017
Hunting for Wicker in Đông Sơn
Thirty kilometers to the southwest of Hanoi lies the village of Đông Sơn, known for its wicker products. We took a Grab car to visit a small factory that produces wicker goods, and hoping to see the villagers at work.
This wasn’t as successful an excursion as our trip to the Đa Sỹ forging village. The problems started right away, when our taxi pulled over about halfway to Đông Sơn. She ushered us out of the car and, without any explanation, motored away. We were mystified about what had just...
October 19, 2017
Phan Đình Phùng: Hanoi’s Most Beautiful Road
Running from the historic Hàng Đậu Water Tank to the Botanic Gardens, Phan Đình Phùng has a reputation as Hanoi’s most beautiful road. We took a leisurely walk from one end of the street to the other, and would have a hard time disagreeing.
Our walk began at the Hàng Đậu Water Tank, which built in 1894 by the French, shortly before the construction of the nearby Long Biên Bridge. Until this point, Hanoians had been taking their water from the river and the city’s numerous ponds, so this wate...
October 18, 2017
Hanoi’s Famous Egg Coffee
Good morning! Sleep well? I see that you’re hungry and could use a jolt of caffeine. How about an egg and a nice cup of coffee? No problem, here you go! But… why the troubled grimace? Didn’t you know that in Hanoi, we put the egg into our coffee?
When I first heard about Hanoi’s Egg Coffee, I was disgusted. The thought of mixing egg and coffee, just… no. But this is among the city’s more famous culinary creations, so we decided to give it a shot.
Egg Coffee was invented at Hanoi’s Cafe Giang...
Walking Across the Long Biên Bridge
Walking across the historic Long Biên Bridge is not for the faint of heart. As motorbikes blaze by and trains rumble past, pedestrians have to step along crumbling concrete slabs, with the Red River visible through the gaps, dozens of meters below.
The Long Biên Bridge was built in 1899 by a team of architects from Paris, in the same period as the nearby Đồng Xuân Market. At the time of its inauguration in 1903, it was one of the most spectacular bridges in the world.
Although it was built...
October 17, 2017
After One Month in Hanoi
Hanoi is a city in which first impressions can be totally inaccurate… especially if you’ve just come from South Vietnam. The relaxed and friendly demeanor of Saigon is nowhere to be found here, and the initial feeling we had wasn’t positive. But after a month, we started to understand the city on its own terms, and not just in comparison to Saigon.
Most Memorable
Mike: Visiting Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum was one of those surreal moments which make travelling such fun. The line is almost all Vie...
October 16, 2017
Văn Chương, West of the Train Station
The majority of visitors to Hanoi probably have no idea how large it actually is, because they never leave its core of Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter. Tourism goes from critical inside this sphere, to practically non-existent just outside it. By any reckoning, a neighborhood like Văn Chương should at least have some foreign visitors, even if it’s just those who have gotten lost. From a map, it’s still in the dead center of Hanoi! But nope. We didn’t see a single one, despite spending an e...
