Hong Kong- facing the Dragon!

Papa T has visited Hong Kong numerous times on business but understandably has had little time to see many of it's famous sights so in early December we flew over for a long weekend to spend time sightseeing, do some Christmas shopping and to walk the famous Dragon's Back trail. 

On our first morning we took the Ngong Ping cable car to visit the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. 

Earlier that morning we had spent 2 hours in a "virtual queue" online trying (and sadly failing) to buy tickets for the Coldplay concert in Singapore next April. So it was mid morning by the time we arrived at the cable car station and there was another long queue, which did not help our already bad mood! We patiently waited and an hour later, we were in the cable car and enjoying the ride. On the 25 minute journey we had a great views of the countryside and then the Big Buddha

Once there we walked through Ngong Ping village, which was specifically created at the top of the plateau to cater to the influx of tourists now flocking to Big Buddha which had been erected in 1993.The village is a pretty, but rather too perfect example of a traditional village 

there were even cows wandering about the village

The Big Buddha sits on top of a hill with a long staircase approach, so you get to exercise as you climb towards spiritual awareness!

It is certainly an impressive statue and well worth the climb

and the views from the top were pretty good too

The Po Lin monastery is also very impressive both inside and out

      
    
The monastery walls have beautiful and intricate stone carvings of dragons and other temple effigies. 

A short walk from the monastery was a sign pointing to the "Wisdom Path". Always wanting to    increase my knowledge I had to follow this path

The path first took me passed some abandoned buildings which nature seems to be reclaiming

The path then took me to the Wisdom Path where a series 38 wooden steles are placed standing tall and arranged in a pattern that represents infinity. Each stele has a verse carved into it from the centuries old Heart Sutra-one of the world's best known prayers revered by Buddhists, Confucians and Taoists. 

Feeling oh so much wiser Papa T and I returned to our hotel on Hong Kong Island and later walked along the promenade of Aberdeen harbour. It's fascinating to see the modern buildings as the backdrop to a harbour that still has sampans and traditional fishing boats bobbing about

We planned to also do some Christmas shopping whilst in HK and the next day, which was overcast and drizzly, and set off on the local bus to the delightful seaside village of Stanley and it's market

This was my 3rd time in Stanley but Papa T's first so we walked along the coastal path to visit the tiny but enchanting Pak Tai Temple. The temple was erected over 200 years ago to the Taoist God of the North and protector of fishermen when Stanley was the largest fishing village in HK 

We had quite a successful shopping trip and also bought a couple of paintings by local artists which will be a good reminder of our visits to HK

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The following day was a beautifully clear and sunny day and the perfect temperature for our next goal- to walk the Dragon's Back trail, this would be Papa T's first post op 'proper' walk and a test of how his 'new legs' functioned.

Named by Times magazine as " the best urban hike in Asia' and described as an "approx 8.5 km long, moderately difficult trail with an average hiking time of 6 hours", we were a little anxious as to whether Papa T would be fit enough to complete the trail but we were ready to give it a go 

We had started the hike at 9.30am and less than an hour later we were at the highest point, Shek O Peak (284m) enjoying fabulous views of HK and it's many islands

By good fortune our trek coincided with the annual HK Round the Island Race and we were in a great spot to watch the many different sailing boats as they raced by

Papa T was walking well and it felt great to be out on the hills again, the walk felt very quite rural but of course we were never far from 'civilisation' and the metropolis of HK city

Within 3 hours we were on Big Wave Bay having completed the trail (we walked at a very relaxed pace so goodness knows how anyone can take 6 hours doing this trek!)

and a short while later on Shek O Beach where we had the most delicious seafood lunch at Cococabana; a Mediterranean restaurant overlooking the sea

we then lazed on the beach enjoying watching the local Surf Rescue teams annual competition

and to finish the day, in fact the whole weekend, off rather perfectly we were treated to a wonderful sunset on the taxi ride back to our hotel

HK has become one of my favourite destinations with it's mix of busy city life, traditional villages, islands and hills and plenty of good walking possibilities, hopefully we will be back again before too long

North Vietnam part 2- Halong Bay and Hanoi

We arrived back at Hanoi railway station at about 6.30 am and waited bleary eyed for our lift to a hotel where we were booked in to have a shower and breakfast before the 4-5 hour car journey to Halong Bay. Again we hadn't had much sleep on the train and IP was still not feeling 100% so after fending off local taxi drivers for 20 frustrating minutes, assuring them we had a pick up arranged, I phoned the tour company's office only to be told that the hotel was next door to the train station. And it was literally next door! If only they had told us that beforehand, but never mind we walked the few feet and went inside-it wasn't great and the shower facilities were pretty awful but at least they freshened BT and I up. 

Sadly IP and GB decided they had to miss the Halong Bay trip to allow IP time to fully recover so they headed off to book into a hotel. 

BT and I were picked up by the mini bus at 8am and tried and catch up on some sleep on the rather tedious drive to Halong Bay. The road was busy with cars, huge lorries, motor bikes, plus pot holes and occasionally the odd cow, dog or chicken wandered into the road so progress was erratic and generally slow but just after midday we arrived at the boat terminal

Ethnic Travel had two boats moored up and BT, Myself and 8 other travellers boarded 1 with our guide

It was encouraging to see the boat had a bar!

and very comfy cabins with ensuite facilities, electricity and A/C at night-luxury!

Our boat set off with lots of other boats, all heading in the same direction, weaving between the fabulous limestone islands and islets in Halong Bay. There are reported to be approximately 3000 monolithic islands, topped with dense jungle in this UNESCO world heritage site

The sun was out, the scenery was spectacular and it was very relaxing, lounging on the sun deck watching the islands go by. After a while I realised that we could see only 1 or 2 other boats, our skipper had taken us on a more secluded route which was fabulous

 Our skipper clearly felt relaxed; he was nonchalantly steering with his feet

 Our guide told us that in an attempt to keep the bay clean and attractive to tourists, locals are no longer allowed to live in the bay on floating villages but they can come in to fish each day

 After a delicious lunch and relaxing snooze, we moored in a bay and went kayaking which enabled us to get up really close to the cliffs and kayak through rock arches and into caves. 

We kayaked to a nearby 'fish farm', lengths of string were hanging from a metal frame down into the water. When I pulled up one of the strings there were oysters attached. Halong Bay is a major producer of cultured pearls, our guide took off a few oysters and when back on board shucked them for us to enjoy, unfortunately none of the shells contained any pearls.

 We motored on for a while longer until we came to a quiet bay which was where we were to spend the night, it was starting to get dark and another boat arrived but then carried on past leaving us to enjoy a very peaceful night being gently rocked to sleep 

 The following morning the weather was cloudy with quite a stiff breeze but we were still able to go kayaking. This time we went to a cave and after pulling the kayaks ashore went inside 

 Hang Trong Cave, is also called Drum Cave because when the wind blows between the narrow gap in the rock walls it sounds like someone is banging a drum-apparently 

 By mid afternoon it was time to head back to the terminal and then the trek back to Hanoi 

Reunited with GB and IP ( who was fully recovered thankfully)we had the evening together before BT had to go to the airport to return to the UK. Our hotel was in the Old Quarter, a lively, chaotic and fantastically fun part of Hanoi. At night some of the streets have a 'car ban', although this obviously does not seem to apply to motorbikes which squeeze between the throng of people

Street food stalls were everywhere, even in the smallest space

 In several locations there were musicians on small outdoor stages

 and a traditional tale told through music, mime and dance.Many of the locals in the audience were obviously familiar with this story and joining in with singing and the hand movements of the dancers

Next door to our hotel was the Bach Ma Temple, one of Hanoi's oldest and most revered temples. 

 Inside we were surprised to see a large statue of a white horse. I later found out this is the guardian spirit of Thang Long who had helped King Ly Thai To (Hanoi's founding father) 

The following morning I woke early and went for a walk to Hoan Kiem Lake, it was pouring with rain again

 but some hardy souls were outside doing their morning Tai Chi 

Below is Thap Rua (turtle tower) built in the 19th century to commemorate the legend of the golden turtle and the sword which King Ly Thai To had found in the lake and used to defeat the Chinese and reclaim Hanoi. Years later when the King retuned to the lake a golden tortoise rose from the water to reclaim the sword

On the bridge was a carved plaque of the tortoise with the sword on his back

 Nearby there were some school girls in elegant white ao dai sheltering from the rain

I came across the monument to King Ly Thai To

 and another pagoda

 It was fascinating to watch Hanoi waking up and the locals start their day. Several motorcyclists stopped to buy steaming hot buns

 Flower seller

 Fruit and veg for sale

 After breakfast the 3 of us set off to explore Hanoi

First stop; Hao Lo Prison. Nicknamed "Hanoi Hilton" by American prisoners of war in the 1960's, known for it's harsh conditions. 

 The exhibitions mainly concentrated on the period prior to this though- the 1950's when the French  imprisoned many Vietnamese political prisoners, both men and women

In the prison courtyard there is now a memorial to the many Vietnamese nationalists who lost their lives at the prison

 After a sobering visit to the prison we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Quan An Ngon restaurant

We then visited the Museum of Vietnamese Women which was very interesting. It had exhibitions about the roles and responsibilities of women in the family, including varying ways of life, clothing and cultures of the different tribes in Vietnam 

We had a go at trying to balance the street vendors baskets suspended from a bamboo pole, it was not easy and very uncomfortable on the shoulder

Following a couple of informative hours at the museum we felt in need of refreshment and a sit down. Nearby was the famous and elegant Metropole hotel and in spite of not being appropriately dressed for such a grand hotel we were warmly welcomed 

We enjoyed rather lovely cocktails at the bar

Revived and relaxed we walked back to the Old Quarter and past the Hoan Kien lake where the red lacquered Huc Bridge was beautifully lit up 

Back in the Old Quarter the streets were buzzing with food sellers preparing for the evening 

We found a roof top bar and enjoyed watching the goings on particularly when a band set up below

On our last morning it was dry and sunny and we went to find the Ceramic Wall. This was created in 2010 to celebrate Hanoi's one thousandth year. The wall is nearly 4km long and depicts scenes from Vietnam's history and lifestyles of minority groups. 

We had been told that good views of Hanoi could be found from the Long Bien bridge and crossing the busy main road, pausing briefly to buy some rambutans, we found a route through the back streets to the bridge. This area was very much poorer than we had seen previously and not surprisingly we seemed to be the only tourists there.

This historic cantilever bridge crosses the Red River

The views back towards Hanoi actually didn't seem that fabulous and I didn't bother taking photos but on the way back saw these fruits laid out in the sun to dry

We emerged back into the hustle and bustle of central Hanoi and after packing our bags said goodbye to Vietnam and returned to Singapore. 

During this trip we had seen and walked through stunning scenery, eaten delicious food, learnt about different ethnic tribes and some of Vietnam's history and had enjoyed meeting locals all of whom had been extremely friendly and kind. Another wonderful visit to Vietnam