Hitting the Wall in Hanoi

Four months into our travels, and everything has pretty much gone as planned.  We did make that unplanned detour to Myanmar for two weeks, but everything to this point has been fairly smooth.  Did have that one luggage mishap from Bali to Saigon where one of our backpacks got left behind in Kuala Lumpur, but we were reunited 24 hours later and all was good.

the street of our hotel- a typical Hanoi image

It was when we arrived in Hanoi that our best of plans fell apart.  We had planned to go early the following day to the Chinese Embassy to apply for our visa, explore the city for a day, then go on our 3 day/2-night Halong Bay cruise.  After cruise, pick up the approved visa and our passports and fly out to Hong Kong the next day.  We gave ourselves five working days in Hanoi as a buffer, knowing that the embassy states that it takes four working days.  After we checked into our hotel, we decided to walk over to the Chinese Embassy to make sure we knew where it was for our trip there the next morning.  Found the embassy no problem and saw a sign posted only to learn that it was some sort of Chinese holiday and that it would be closed for the next two days, then the weekend, opening only on the following Monday (no notification indicating such a holiday on the embassy website!). Our cruise was scheduled for Saturday through Monday, which meant only being able to submit our visa application on Tuesday.  We already had booked our flight to Hong Kong for early Thursday morning, which meant a 48-hour turnaround.  We could request expedited service, which would take two days!  We were also told by the guard at the embassy that they only accept visa applications from 8:30-11:00, so need to get in the queue early to make sure you got inside before they close doors at 11:00 am.  So how early, we inquired, do we need to arrive to stand in queue?  7:00 am?  Earlier?  6:00 am?  Oh no, he responded, 1:00 or 2:00 am!!!!!!!  Seriously?????  Asked a few people waiting to get in the embassy to pick up their approved visa and they confirmed what the security guard already stated.  This is like waiting all night in line to buy tickets for a concert before the days of internet, or camping out at an electronics store Thanksgiving Eve hoping to get a newly released PlayStation on Black Friday!!!!!

Thinking quickly, we called the cruise company and were able to change our cruise to the following day, Thursday, returning on Saturday.  Perfect.  Had a few hassles rearranging our Hanoi hotel reservations, but success!  We were picked up early next morning for the three and a half hour ride to the port on Halong Bay.  We were about 30 minutes away from the port when the van pulled over, and the driver announced that all cruises on the bay were canceled due to bad weather.  We turned around and spent another three hours returning to Hanoi.  Not only did we need to try and re-book the cruise, but we had checked out of our hotel and put our luggage in storage.  Called our hotel and they were already fully booked for that evening.  Imagine approximately 500 ships going out daily on Halong Bay with 20-50 persons per ship- that’s a lot of people scrambling to find a last minute hotel room when a cancellation is declared.  Add to this the fact that it is already high season for tourism in Hanoi and Halong Bay!

Took calling a few hotels, but finally found a place not far from the Hoan Kiem

Lake, a beautiful oasis in this extremely congested city.  Settled in, we walked over to the Ngoc Son Temple, situated in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake, and a lovely bridge with which to access it.  So, next morning we were picked up once again and headed back out to Halong Bay. Two hours into the ride the van again pulled over.  This cannot be a good sign!  Sure enough, all cruises canceled again due to continuing bad weather (the Halong Bay Coast Guard makes the decision every day between 10-11:00 am as to the cruise status).  Back to Hanoi!  We luckily kept our room just in case, willing to pay for an unoccupied room as insurance.  Yay for us!  

"Hanoi Hilton"

Not wanting to waste the afternoon, we headed to Hoa Lo Prison (aka the Hanoi Hilton) where American Pilot POWs were held during the Vietnam War.  Learned that it was first a prison built by the French during its occupation here and held Vietnamese Communist Revolution Fighters.  Then later, during the Vietnam War, this prison held the American POWs, including Senator John McCain.  The displays were mostly propaganda, detailing how great the prisoners were treated.  It also showed in no uncertain terms how un-welcomed the American involvement in the war was.  Again, it was an ugly war. 

Next morning, with a positive attitude (we kept our hotel room just in case), we boarded the van once again for Halong Bay- but now it was only for only a two-day/one-night cruise in order to get back to the Chinese Embassy first thing Monday morning.  They say third time is a charm.....and it was!  We were actually heading out on Halong Bay!

The boat was beautiful!  We chose the Indochina Junk Dragon Legend Cruise, considered one of the best (we are worth it!!).  The ship was a replica of a Chinese Junk boat (a Junk is a type of Chinese sailing ship, developed during the Song Dynasty).  Beautiful wood details everywhere.

dining.....

our cabin (bed unmade..sorry)

bath with a view!!

It was shorter than we had planned, but beautiful nonetheless and at least we had the opportunity to go after all those cancellations!

Now, back to the China Embassy.......

Returned back to Hanoi Sunday late afternoon, took a nap, and woke at midnight to head to the embassy for the night-long vigil.  Arrived at 12:30 am to see that there were already about 50 young persons in line ahead of us!!!! When did they get there?? As we learned (thank you Google Translate) they arrived at four in the afternoon.  Thank goodness it wasn’t terribly cold or raining, but the sidewalk was particularly hard.  

At about four in the morning, someone up near the front of the line approached us stating that due to our age, we didn't have to stay in line and could come back in the morning for priority treatment, along with pregnant women and people with children.  Apparently, she was urged to approach us (because she spoke English) by many others in the line that saw us sitting there.  We weren’t sure if this was a scam or really true and didn’t want to take a chance as this was our only opportunity to get a Chinese visa... so we stayed put.  

In the meantime, we befriended this woman, Hung, and spent the rest of the night speaking with her.  Sure enough, around seven am, the military guard started organizing the line, waking people up, and checking paperwork.  We were indeed taken out of line and brought to the front!!  At 8:30 am promptly the doors opened and we waited to be called to the visa window. The clerk reviewed our paperwork and told us our photos were not according to regulations and we would need to retake them.  She jotted down an address on a slip of paper and told us to go quickly and return, no need to wait in line again.  Ok, ran out and apparently there are drivers at the ready to catch people walking out with a slip indicating this precise issue.  We were grabbed by a driver and he took us, not to a car but his motorcycle.  MOTORCYCLE!!!!  Yes, both of us were told to hop on (three of us on a cycle, no helmets, oh help!) and we flew to the photo shop driving on the wrong side of the street and right through a red traffic signal!  Photos completed and back to the  embassy.  Still alive, we went back in and were told no rush service available, three-day is fastest turn-around with additional fee.  We would be notified Wednesday afternoon when the embassy reopened at 3:00 pm if we were approved.  If approved, we would then need to go to the bank (about three miles away, which closes at four pm), pay, and bring back paid receipt to the embassy before they closed at 4:30 pm to pick up passport and visa.  Oh, did I mention that we were flying out early the next morning to Hong Kong?????  Executive decision- after handing in our application, we went to bank and paid the $100 fee, understanding that there was the chance that we would not be approved, in order to avoid the stress and any last minute running around.  If visa not approved, we were going to lose substantially much more in flight and hotel cancellations, so what was another $100?

Rowing along the Ngo Dong River

With everything out of our hands at this point, we took a day tour to Ninh Binh Province (about two hours south of Hanoi).  We were to cruise the Ngo Dong River and Tam Coc caves, and bike in the surrounding countryside.  It was truly beautiful visiting the ancient capital of Hoa Lu and the temple of emperors from the Dinh and Le Dynasty, biking through Tam Coc Village and surrounding rice fields, and then onto a rowboat where the locals paddled us down the Ngo Dong River using their feet to row the boat! 

Royal Carriage at Dinh Tien Hoang King Temple

The river runs along limestone karst mountains with rice fields lining the shores and through three caves.  




Very scenic!

Next morning we awoke, terribly anxious, ran a few errands for toiletries and probiotics, then went to the embassy to wait once again in line at 11:30 am for the 3:00 pm opening.  Got in, bit of chaos, but finally called to window.  The clerk took some time to locate our passports and we were holding our breath.  Found them and we were approved! Presented our paid receipt and we walked out one stressed but very happy couple.

Typical Motor Scooter "Ballet"

...never got to see a train come, but they exist

Hanoi was extremely congested.  The now all-too-familiar motor scooter ballet that took place on the narrow city streets, that even had the occasional train, was always interesting (the intersections were the best....could watch the traffic all day!).  We dined on French Cuisine, lots of Pho, and Banh Mi (the restaurant- or should I say hole-in-the-wall, where President Obama dined on Banh Mi with Anthony Bourdain was next door to our hotel!  Of course we ate there!).  Didn't have a bad meal in Hanoi, although I must admit we weren't always sure what we were eating.........

We had also learned a few days prior that our departing flight from Shanghai to Japan coincided with Golden Week- a national, one-week holiday in Japan where everyone went on vacation and travel was difficult due to crowds.  Hotels more than doubled their rates during this week and there was minimal availability.  We didn’t want to make any changes until we knew the status of our visas (a rejection meant lots of flight and hotel cancellations). Now that we were approved, we could postpone our visit to Japan until after the holiday.  So, coin toss....Taiwan or Korea?  Met a couple in a restaurant a few nights prior and they were just in Taiwan and loved it.  Also, flights were less expensive, and it seemed, well, more manageable given the time we had to research destinations.  Gave ourselves a few extra days in Shanghai (we were to be there during the May 1 holiday, so could be interesting...).  Booked our flight to Taipei and we are now off to explore Hong Kong for a few days before we head to China. 

We will miss Vietnam- the food was great and the Vietnamese people were the nicest, warmest people we encountered.  We will not however, miss the stress......

Taking stock of our current location....