I booked another tour the day after I came back from the boat. If I were to do it again I would just add another day to the Halong Bay tour to bike in the countryside outside of Halong. This tour was great but the two hour ride there and 2 hour back made for a long day.
We visited the temples of the first Kings of Vietnam. Hoa Lu was the original first capital about 1000 AD. There were two temples for the first king and another not so elaborate one for the general that married the widowed queen. These are pictures from the temple of the King.
The flowers on these trees are beautiful.
We then went to a Vietnamese buffet which was very good. I met a couple from Australia and also a family from Israel. It was nice chatting with them discussing what we saw in Hanoi and life in different countries.
We then went on a boat tour. I rode in a boat with Tamir, a University student from Israel travelling with his parents. He was very pleasant to talk to.
After the buffet, we went on a bike ride through the village. It was fun on a really rickety old bike. We had time to bike anywhere we wanted until we needed to meet again.
After we left the village it was a long ride back but we stopped at a rest area that also had food, groceries, and souvenirs. Women were there doing embroidery. It was fascinating to see how deftly they worked.
It was a fun day but very long which meant a great night sleep after I found a great bowl of pho! I’m going to miss Vietnamese food. It is so far the best food I have had anywhere. I plan on going back.
Did u see my message about the card