Part 11. And again on the road. Cat Ba-Hanoi.
December 12.2016, day seven, beautiful.
On this day, the beauty of everything in the world just went off scale.
And what else can be the day when you wake up and the first thing you see is the beautiful Halong Bay. And let it be gloomy this morning, and let the sky be covered with clouds, but all the same, Katba is beautiful and joyful.
We look to the right. Beautiful? )
We look to the left. Happy? )
Today we intend to leave the island and there are two ways here:
1. Get a combo ticket and go to Hanoi.
2. Move to Ha Long (city) and try to go out to sea again.
There is another option to leave the way you came - take a combo ticket and go to Haiphong, but we don't need to go there.
We really want to go out to sea again and get to Titov Island. I'll tell you a secret that the last name of my fellow travelers is the Titovs and I was very eager to be photographed with the Titovs on their island. It was just a dream I had. And here, on Cat Ba, it turned out that boats go to Titov Island only from Halong.
In general, a simple and cheap way to visit Halong Bay has long been developed - take an all-inclusive tour in Hanoi. They pick it up, drive it, and take it back. But since our route was looped, it was not interesting for us to fly to Hanoi and travel 3-4 hours from there by bus, even if it would turn out to be cheaper in fact. But the impossibility of getting to Titov's Island directly from Katba upset us. And we decided to move to the mainland, to the city of Halong.
At 9 am, by bus, we leave for the ferry. A bus ticket costs 25 thousand dong, this is the cheapest transport I traveled in Vietnam.
It’s true that there are still such people here, I can’t even imagine where they go. Maybe to the beach? )
The road to the pier is not just beautiful, it's amazing!
We buy tickets and wait for the ferry for just a few minutes. I've run out of memory in my phone and I'm trying to swap small memory cards between my phone and tablet. It takes up all my waiting time. We are loaded onto the ferry, there are no cars, only small motorcycles and there are not many of them.
Let's set sail and gasp - wow! Yes, it is more beautiful here than yesterday on the tour! )
Photo by Igor Titov
Photo by Igor Titov
We meet such a funny boat
There are few tourists on the ferry, but almost all of them are quite colorful)
Almost all the way, almost an hour, we are surrounded by beautiful mountains,
but that's bad luck. . . fog surrounds them)
We have to make a decision - take a tour or go to Hanoi. I don’t participate in debates, any decision will suit me, I really want to go there and there... at the same time)
In the end, the decision was made - we are going to Hanoi. Right at the pier we take a taxi, which brings us to the bus station. Tourists usually do not go here.
According to the schedule, we still have a lot of time. Ira remains to sit with things, Igor goes to photograph the Vietnamese everyday life, and I leave for a smoke. Suddenly I hear my Ira screaming:
-Tanya, Tanya!
I drop everything and run to her.
It turns out that our bus has arrived and the steward is dragging our suitcases to it) Ira was seriously scared, she thought we were being robbed)
Yes, there are stewards on Vietnamese buses. Tea and coffee are not served, but beautiful people walk around the cabin and turn the TV louder. It seems to me that they are there specifically to load and unload numerous parcels. Sometimes the action happens right on the go - the bus slows down, a motorcycle is attached to it, the stewart opens the door, hangs down and takes the package. Or gives)
We drive in comfort. There are not many people, I cover myself with a warm scarf and curl up on two seats.
How I love the road! Did I already say it?
To travel comfortably in Vietnam, you need to know three things:
1. Air conditioners always work at full capacity
2. The TV always plays at full volume.
3. The Vietnamese are generally in no hurry.
Therefore, headphones in the ears, a warmer stole and... Ah! One more thing!
4. Wherever you intend to lay your head on something reusable, put on a hood)
I have Maps Me on my tablet, this is a map and GPS, a cool program that works without the Internet. I keep track of how much we still have to go.
The road is beautiful - sometimes hills, sometimes fields.
Grandmother met. I wonder what she was selling there. And most importantly, to whom? The bus stops only to give or take a transfer.
We pass small towns. Also beautiful)
About two hours parking. You can drink coffee, go to the toilet, have a snack. The buses are all the same and it's good that I took a picture of ours, then I went between the buses, looking for it by number) Otherwise, you can stay in some parking lot)
The road was tireless and soon we arrived at the Hanoi bus station. We immediately got into a taxi and drove to our hotel. The hotel turned out to be very beautiful! Well, you probably guessed it, because almost everything was beautiful that day) So that you understand my enthusiasm, a room in this hotel, in the capital of Vietnam, in the very center of the old city, cost $ 24 for two.
We were greeted as the dearest guests. Before that, we changed five hotels and after that we were in one more (in two, but in the second in the second round, so it doesn’t count) and we were never welcomed anywhere. We were seated on the couch and offered drinks. I don't remember why I didn't drink, I was probably afraid to drink strong coffee fifth time in a day. But the whole atmosphere was very friendly, we were quickly issued and settled in the rooms. And there! )
It's time for dinner, let's go look for a tasty meal. Here it is!
This is a whole town of delicious yummy. And very clean, which is not very typical for old Hanoi. I recommend not to sit at the table waiting for food, but to walk under the awnings and see what is being prepared and how. You can go crazy from some smells
The food is very tasty and beautiful)
But we did not drink coffee here, but went looking for a North Vietnamese delicacy - coffee with an egg. This is delicious! I don’t know if I’ll ever try the tender eggnog with the taste of amazing Vietnamese coffee and custard again, but I will remember this as the most unusual culinary experience. The egg is not cooked and is therefore considered a dangerous food. This is how the cooking process is described - raw egg yolk is whipped with condensed milk (perverts, right? )), the thick foam that has turned out is put into a glass and black Vietnamese coffee is carefully poured on top. It all looks like this:
The street where we found this cafe was very exotic. And in general, if you are staying in the old center of Hanoi, you are in the most exotic place)
This is a real trash and in the next series I will show you everything. And the day is "beautiful", let's finish with coffee with an egg)
Whole cycle:
1. Preface to the story of how I went to Vietnam
2. Morning in the middle of the night or Hello Comrade Beijing!
3. Ho Chi Minh City is delicious.
4. Part 4. Ho Chi Minh City-Dalat.
5. Part 5. What would a day be like if it started in a madhouse?
6. Part 6. Da Nang. Marble mountains.
7. Part 7. The soulful city of Hoi An.
8. Part 8. Why did they destroy Michonne?
9. Part 9. By air, by sea, by land.
10. Part 10. Must see. Halong bay.
