South East Asia Trip 2026 (Nov 1 - Nov 13)
Boston > Hanoi
- Flight was good, had the chickpea curry and enjoyed it, Stacey had the Beef Bibimbap and that looked good. Interesting desert on her’s, soaked, dense, cake.
- Free WIFI on Korean Air, able to watch Red Zone on it over Canada
- USB ports were not charging my iPad
- 16 hours is a really long time to be on a plane!!!
- ATM went smoother than Japan, first didn't have enough cash that I wanted. It was fun pulling out 2,000,000 VND for the trip.
- Baggage took longer then we expected
- Airport pickup was easy, had to walk past people for Grab (Uber) all over, similar to the US
- Ride to hotel was a fun introduction to Hanoi traffic, driver was flashing light and honking at everyone in front of him
- Bridge was lit up and changed colors as you drove across the river
- Hotel room was tight with a GIANT window from the bed to the bathroom 🤣
Hanoi > Nihn Bihn
- Spooky potato light
- Breakfast at hotel, lots of options, steam buns and pho for me, Stacey did the omelette
- Broke some bills at the 7/11, did buy any but saw rice balls that others bought
- Ran to catch bus bus to start our day
- Tour guide was funny and personable
- Need to find “happy water” (moonshine)
- Drive out of Hanoi, smog and clouds covered the region
- Stopped at a shop/restaurant/rest station and got some iced coffees/tea… had ice in it but it was the “industrial tube ice” so I had some, Stacey didn't
- The lime ice tea wasn't as good as at the restaurant in Beverly
- Then we drove a bit more and got our bikes
- Rode around the area to the “old Capitol” of Vietnam - Hoa Lu Ancient Capital - Cố đô Hoa Lư
- Learned history with China and why the chose there, then later Hanoi
- Saw the Dragon Bed
- Saw water buffalo
- Saw two mopeds riding in the area and one had died so the other stuck their foot to the back and was pushing with his bike
- Went into a temple in the grounds and walked around a bit
- People were taking photos of us the trying to sell them after, fast printing if you like that
- Then we hopped back on the bikes and rode around the outside and more rural
- Really cool views
- Stopped by a bridge for more views
- Then to lunch for well earned beer
- Honey garlic chicken and crispy noodles was good
- Candied jellies and water/syrup?
- Sat next to two women from England, Jasmine (H)Ellie, chatted about travels
- Then drove to a paddle boat ride (4 pax boats) - Phòng vé Bến thuyền Tràng An
- This boat ride was awesome, great views, rebuild culture area with thatched roofs and a really nice bridge
- We went through caves (25-350m long) and around old shrines
- Boat launch was a cooler space as well, cute shops and art installations
- Then back on the bus to the hike
- More like stairs, 300+ steps (Hang Múa), this was exhausting, staring up with a few breaks to let the heart rate come back down
- The best views of the day, looking out over the lily pad ponds and of neighboring limestone mountains
- Goats dotted the other peaks and you could look down on the end of the boat ride
- Skipped the “dragon lookout” as the line was too long, but found another spot near the top through the gazebo that was amazing 😍
- Walked along the boardwalks and jetties around the lily pads and grabbed ice cream and sodas to cool down
- We were soaked from the hike, only 80 (felt like 87), but the humidity was 101% and the AQI was low
- As we walked back the clouds broke and some sun shine down
- Going back down was easier (skiing got me used to that view)
- Saw some herrings(?) as well flying around
- From there we and another couple split from the group (20 or people) and stayed at a small hotel in the area - Ninh Bình Rustic Hideaway
- Cute spot with a pool (no kitchen) but did manage to get us something
- Offered massages (skipped) and laundry (needed after that hike)
- Room was great, little front porch to the pool, free standing tub, big comfy bed (Stacey said it was hard, I liked it)
- Stacey took a bath and I went to the pool
- Had a beer and floated around watching the stars come out and bats dance across the sky
- Took a bath after and we were passing out before 7 PM
Nihn Bihn > Ha Long Bay
- Woke up a few times in the night, stayed awake from 4 AM
- Rosters next door were going crazy, one had a weird wheeze after calling
- Breakfast was fruit, pastry, steam buns, pancakes, and beef pho (Stacey omelette)
- Then we checked out and hopped on the bus to Ha Long Bay
- Arrived at Ha Long Bay and was taken to the Kairos boat from Halora cruises on a smaller boat
- While on the way another boat bumped us (crew seemed un affected) and we did a rush to put on life jackets as they forgot to hand them out and we were heading into a port for a quick check
- Boat was four floors
- F1 - Reception, Rooms, and loading/offloading
- F2 - Rooms and small pool (our room was 203)
- F3 - Restaurant, Small Back Deck
- F4 - Sun Deck, Bar, Spa
- Our room was next to the stairs up to the restaurant
- Checked in and was immediately served lunch
- Lunch buffet included: Orange Chicken, those “crunchy” noodles, soups, ham “sushi”, goat stew, and more.
- Taken to a small flotilla to kayak around the Light and Dark Caves, dark was closed but we got in a two person kayak and made our way to the Dark and Light Caves
- Getting in the kayak was crazy as people coming back just didn’t know how to get out properly and smashed into everyone/thing
- Very cool to paddle around and see different things, we saw a squirrel? and people were hoping to see monkeys, but we never saw any
- Made a bee line back and when getting out my left leg was 100% asleep and I couldn’t walk. Zero connection and I looked like a baby dear
- Back to the boat and we went to the pool, hung out with the other couple and a friend they made (Shay, ???, friend = Mark)
- Stacey left to shower and I was going to go to the Happy hour (3 for 2 deal)
- Stacey (and Mark told us later), that the shower overflowed immediately and she ended up just taking a “bath”
- Talked to the coordinator and she said that they could do a couples massage after dinner as they would have a masseuse brought in
- At cocktail hour they did a jump rope-like game where they opened and closed poles in rhythm with a song and people had to hop, get both feet down, and hop again out before they closed on them
- Then they did a cooking demo where they made spring rolls
- I left to go ~~shower~~ take a bath before the massage
- Dinner was a pre-fixe menu (7 courses), highlights:
- Salmon
- Chicken Roll
- Scallop Soup
- Dessert Cakes
- Stacey tried to order an espresso shot and a B52, and they brought over a liquor shot (khalua, baileys, cointreau), we ere so confused but I think that is a B52 here
- I had a pretty good french white and was feeling pretty buzzed from the happy hour plus dinner
- Masseuse took us right from dinner to the massage
- We did a 45-min head, shoulders, neck, and back session with hot stones
- Each masseuse got rough with us, hoping up and straddling us to gain leverage
- Stacey thought it was pretty funny and she did a number on me. I got more “slapping” than Stacey, but we each left feeling like jello
- Quick shower/rinse and it was off to bed
Ha Long Bay > Hanoi
- Up early again (4 AM this time)
- Walked around and took photos of the other boats and use leaving the crowded area to go kayak
- Grabbed 6:30 AM breakfast
- Beef Pho (Stacey finally had some)
- Pastries, coffee, banana, yogurt
- After we were supposed to go kayaking, but it was raining pretty good and we decided that it would be better to stay dry and watch the scenery go by from the boat
- Laid in bed until checkout/brunch
- Then back to the shore where we hopped on a bus back to Hanoi