When I was in Hanoi, I took a 3 days and 2 nights tour package to Ho Long Bay. This is a interesting trip only if you do not mind having long waiting time for almost everything.
Guess more co-ordination is needed to be done.
After hours of waiting, we finally onboarded the ship. We had the first night stay in a hotel in Cat Ba island.
The next morning, we continued with the sailing on the ship.
Lunch was served on the ship. Boat people also approached us trying to sell their items
The ship continued to sail slowly and we had a good view of the bay
Huế is a city in the central of Vietnam. It was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors and Vietnam’s national capital from 1802 to 1945.
A major attraction of Hue is the Imperial City (皇城). This is a walled enclosure within the citadel (京城) of the city of Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty.
The Imperial City was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. This historical site is still undergoing restoration when I was there.
When you walk out of the visiting site, you will be encountered by locals trying to sell anything they have on hand.
The Thien Mu Pagoda (Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda) is one of the most fascinating ancient pagoda in the Hue city. It is situated on Ha Khe hill, north bank of the Perfume River, in Huong Long village. I walked for about 5 kilometers (about an hour) from the city to reach there. After been there for about 30 minutes, I walked back to the hotel; I could have taken the boat ride back instead.
The Hue Royal Antiquities Museum is a World Heritage but I found there is no nothing much to see.
The market is on the right hand side of the the bridge when I walked from the main road. Besides vegetables and meat, the market also sells food, drinks, household items, clothing, shoes, etc. I bought a pair of Adidas shoe and some roasted Vietnamese cashew nuts through a hard bargaining process.
The city area where I stayed.
I stayed in the Amona Hotel. The check-out time is at noon but I was allowed to stay till the late afternoon for the bus come and pick me up to Da Nang, I gave the hotel a 5 Star rating in Agoda.
I stayed in the Sapphire Hotel. It is just along the walking street.
The night market
Simply local food I eat during the trip. Cheap and good.
I walked around freely and visited a few interesting places.
The traditional examination
An Aerial view of the city
While I was walking towards the main road to take the bus to my next destination on my last day in Guilin, I heard a loud sound of explosion behind me. I saw smoke went up higher than the five storey building. I walked back to see what has happened and found that it was a celebration of the opening of a new shop. Too many fire crackers were used.