A week into our SE Asia trip and here is a trip report so far – I am not sure how far I will get as I was never very good at getting reports done, but after all the help I have received from this forum this year, I feel I must at least make an attempt.

I feel I short changed Hong Kong – jet lag and moving 5 people around a strange city takes longer than you think – I will come back again with a girlfriend and do this amazing city more justice. New York was my place of indulgent escape but Hong Kong is definitely now very high on my personal agenda.

Day 1 - We arrived in Hong Kong in the early afternoon after a 14 hour flight from Johannesburg – and that was after a 2 hour flight from Cape Town with 3 hours waiting at the airport before we left Johannesburg!
Hong Kong airport is brilliant so clean and organized and easy to navigate – we decided to catch our breath before heading into town and so had some amazing pastries from a little shop on the left as you walk towards Burger king and the husband and 12 yr old had a Burger King? – Very naughty but who needs to argue after flying for 16 hours!
It seems that the special deal on the airport express where you get a better price for group tickets is finished and it also seems that although you can buy your airport express tickets on the Octopus card you pay HK$20 more for them if you do so cash is the way to go. We also compared the cost of hiring a taxi or similar as we are 5 people, but the airport express was the better deal. Change your Am Ex traveler’s cheques to HK$ at the Bank of China on the 2nd floor of the airport - no commission charged.
Anyway it was an easy ride into Kowloon station and then straight on to bus K3 to the Salisbury YMCA.
Check in was easy, and we were given rooms on the 10th floor. They were a harbour view room and a suite but the suite view was blocked by the convention centre somewhat so I went down to reception to ask if we could possibly move. They said we could move up to the 12th floor but only on the next night –we did and the view was amazing. After check in we took the Star Ferry – an easy 5 minute walk from the hotel to the ferry and followed the signs to the upper deck – tickets were HK$2.20 – at this point we had not bought the Octopus cards – in hind sight we should have bought them at the airport – more later. Anyway, the ferry was great – very clean and organized as is all of Hong Kong. We then walked out of the Hong Kong ferry terminal to the bus stops and caught the 15C to the Peak Tram station. We bought return tickets for the tram and also for the Sky Terrace – an extra HK$10. I am sure I saw that if I had paid for the Peak Tram ticket with an Octopus Card its about HK$20 cheaper – can this be? I forgot to check on my way down. Any way the views were amazing the sky was clear and I would never have believed there was a more beautiful skyline than Manhattan until I saw Hong Kong – wow! We had dinner at Café Deco and although we hadn’t booked the staff were very helpful and accommodated us if we were out by 8h30 which we were. I had the Thai chicken – excellent – the children had pizzas with an “Asian” twist – declared to be brilliant! And the mother and husband had a rice dish and a noodle sigh – very good. I would eat here again. We spent some time on the Sky Terrace - great views but very cold – then back to the Y for some sleep

Day 2 – breakfast on the 4th floor of the Y – brilliant buffet – highly recommend. We lost time trying to change more money – should have done at the airport – at he bank of China in Tsim Sha Tsui doesn’t change them – ended up drawing cash from a machine, then we had to go get Octopus cards – the grandmother got a cheaper card but there was not enough money loaded on as she ran out later on her card. Took the MTR to Tung Chung then caught the 23 bus to Po Lin – it’s a very long and winding road and although good to see the scenery, I am not sure that on a limited tome schedule it is worth it – yes Cicerone I know you said so but husband wanted to go. After we climbed up to the Buddha which was great and yes he does have a very kind face rk, we went back to Hong Kong island and found Maxims in Central – guess what – between 3 and 5pm they close for cleaning – grrr! Ended up at a Delifrance – not great – then rode the escalators and explored Hollywood road and Cat street and all the old lanes as best we could in the fading light with jet lag!

Tired and back at the Salisbury we ended up eating again on the h floor at the buffet – we were so impressed! Amazing sushi and loads of interesting well prepared food for HK$248 per head – really worth it – and of course that view and the light show – what can I say!

Day 3 – Tried the breakfast on the ground floor of the Y – yuck – not good, then the teenage daughter, grandmother and I set off on the Diane Freis factory shop chase – what a blast – we were so lost it became hilarious. The one address I had off this site had me going to Hung Hom so off we set in a taxi with the address kindly written out for the driver by the bell man at the Y – the company have moved to who knows where! Next we got another taxi to Kwun Tong, the address found in the latest Fodors HK book – after a great trek through the station and the mall and up a road and adown an alley we did find the factory and the dress! BUT – way too expensive, so great journey – no dress – oh well – never mind. Back in Kowloon we took the ferry over to Hong Kong and the number 6 bus to Stanley – great ride, but quite foggy weather – the first 2 days in HK were so clear –we were really lucky. Stanley is nice – the market is not cheap at all, the right hand side is cheaper than the left – go figure- we ate lunch at Wild Fire. The food was ok, the foggy view and the relaxing on the balcony was great.
After the market we got the bus back to Central and then the MTR up to Kowloon station and looked for the “Waterfront” shopping centre – as per Fodors book - found the odd shop but the bulk of the centre has shut down. We walked through to the new mall above/ behind Kowloon station – very chic. We ended up at a supermarket called 360 – that was such fun – all the different deli counters to eat at and unusual fruits and veg to inspect – brilliant ice cream, and the bread and pastry counter were just too much for the grandmother – especially after she sampled the snake head soup!

Day 4 – we took the MTR up to Prince Edward and walked though the flower Market and up to the bird garden – the boy thought the bird garden was cruel – he could be right. By noon we were on the way on the K3 back to Kowloon station – via all of the hotels in the area it seemed, to check in at the airport express for our flight to Vietnam – what a performance! We were able to check in for Vietnam Air with Cathay Pacific, but because our tour company in Vietnam had our onward tickets from Vietnam to Cambodia, the check in guy had a real problem with this – even though we were able to show him all our tickets on to Thailand then Macau then back to Cape Town. He spent about 45 minutes filling forms that he said I had to sign stating we had no onward tickets – I did sign, but added that we had paid for tickets that were in Vietnam – he didn’t even check we were on the Vietnamese onward flights that I was able to provide flight numbers for. He also had a major problem with the fact that the visa documentation from the Vietnamese government had my son’s passport number one digit incorrect. Anyway I was convinced we were going to miss our flight as he wouldn’t process our bags, finally he did, and we got on board as they were about to close the gate – and gate 45 is very far away!
Moral of the story – even if your Vietnamese tour operator has your tickets get either copies or at least the e numbers and also check to the exact digit all government visas and get a new one printed if there is an error. Due to this delay we didn’t have time to get passport photos taken for the visas and we were all getting very stressed.

VIETNAM – the flight was short and uneventful as all good flights should be. Our guide from Exotissimo was waiting for us as we got in to the terminal – I was most impressed and he handled the lack of photos and wrong digits and everything with aplomb – no problems at all – all stress incurred was completely unnecessary - grrr.

The weather is warm and a little humid here, the drive into town was fascinating – you see photos of stacks of live pigs on the back of motorbikes and 3-4 people to a bike but seeing it in real life is quite something!

The Metropole Sofitel is beautiful. Check in was easy – the room in the new wing is stunning, the staff attentive and polite (no tipping policy here). I heard a brief drilling sound in the distance but nothing of note and certainly nothing to complain about.

We ate dinner at Au Lac, in an old French villa- you have never seen such tall and narrow doors - and we had the set menu to experience a cross section of Vietnamese food. The best were the spring rolls and fried rice; the honey chicken was good as was the aubergine, but the beef on lemon grass was not so great. We walked back to the hotel – crossing the road here is an experience - you must be brave and foolhardy and walk slowly and steadily in a straight line, then all the motorbikes drive around you.

Day 5 - Breakfast in the Spice restaurant at the Metropole was brilliant. We then went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum – very somber and an interesting experience not necessarily to western taste or understanding. We also visited the one pillar pagoda and the grounds around it with the temples and the Temple of Literature, all very interesting and part of the tour by Exotissimo. An hour cyclo tour was great fun and well worth doing. Shopping in the old district was great – especially Craft Link opposite the temple of Literature for embroidered bags and silk wraps. We saw the water puppet show – Punch and Judy on a pond – very clever and quite magical and a good chance to rest. Exhaustion set in so we adults ate at the Metropole bar – excellent food and very inexpensive, the children did room service and checked out the dvds

Day 6 – today we explored the old town of Hanoi on our own – the traffic system? Works but its just so crazy, every now and then you can wander through an old lane that is so quiet and imagine what it must have been like just 10 years ago when there were no scooters and certainly no cars. We bought shoes on Hang Dau street and walked all the way to the old Eastern gate and along Hang Ma and down to St Joseph’s Cathedral. The area around the cathedral is great and if I were to do it again I would spend more time here. The shops and restaurants are great and when it got dark we headed back to the hotel. Another light meal at the bar – its very hard to go out for dinner with tired children after a very full day but we are very happy at the Hotel here. I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful hotels I have stayed at (and for you nay sayers, yes I have stayed in very nice hotels all over the world.

Enough for now, and I hope this report has given some insight to the next travelers. Tomorrow we go to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc caves and Van Lam village – watch this space

I also found the Craftlink opposite the Museum of Ethnology to be a great shop. Did just about all of my shopping there.

I am glad to hear you also think that the Hong Kong skyline is marvelous. So do I ... and I live right here in New York (Manhattan)!

I'm also a fan of CraftLink. We bought from both the branch at teh Museum of Ethnology and the one across the stret from the Temple of Literature.

I'm glad to hear that you are having such a good time.

Thanks for the info that there is a second craftlink - I wanted another silk wrap but they had sold out of the colour I wanted and on our way back from Halong Bay we will have wime to spend a few more hours in Hanoi. I thought I would explore around St Josephs, walk on the red bridge and now visit the 2nd craftlink

thanks so much for the great detail. look forward to hearing the rest!

Capetownfolk,

Are you still at the Metropole? We're in the "classic wing" and are having a great time. The weather here is strange, like London but humid!

I don't know how many more days you have left, but one of the joys of being in Hanoi is all of the delicious street food all around you. If you'd like to try it but want to know more, do a little poking around on Savour Asia--http://www.savourasia.com. There are very detailed descriptions (and photos) of all kinds of food, and directions on where to find the best stalls and vendors around the city. There are also Hanoi restaurant recommendations if the weather isn't good or if you need a break from all those motorbikes roaring by!

wow Hanuman I wish I had read your email before today - I could have met you in the bar! We are now in Hue and the weather is very odd indeed! So hot this moring and now it looks like rain. I love Hue its so peaceful after Hanoi - I shall update my trip report later - I do hope I am not boring people

Day 7 – Another great breakfast at the Metropole we left early to drive out to Tam Coc – to interrupt myself at this point – I would highly recommend that anyone traveling with children plan to do a little less than we are – we have grumpy children today as anything earlier than 10am is the crack of dawn when they are on holiday. Anyway I am holding them off with promises of 5 lazy days in Hoi An

The drive to Tam Coc from Hanoi took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The traffic is really awful – 9 dead people in one hour and I am not joking, the mad scooters and buses sound like fun when you read the Fodors forum but the reality of it is something else. We had an excellent driver and wore our seatbelts, but other tourist buses we passed drove so dangerously – one was part of an 8 dead person accident – it really puts a dark cloud on your trip and I will spare you the details, but please don’t take the traffic lightly and do wear seat belts and do pay the extra few dollars for a decent vehicle and driver.

Anyway enough of the somber stuff. On our way to Tam Coc we stopped at Hoa Lu – a historic site north of Ninh Binh – it was a nice stop on the way to the caves but not worth a separate trip. When we arrived at Tam Coc we visited a village house as part of our Exotissimo tour – we really didn’t like this part and the constant pushing of the embroidered table cloths – if you tour with a guide, I suggest you skip this bit. The ride up to the caves on the sampans was amazing – so beautiful – take a hat/ umbrella as there is no shade. We paddled through all three caves. On the way back from the last cave we had the “you buy embroidery” sales pitch, well we resisted, and then after a while she gave up and jumped ship! I must explain that we left the village with this lady rower and a 10 year old boy, in other words after we didn’t buy her embroidery she got onto another boat and left us with the 10 year old boy – the us being me and a grandmother. Next thing, the rain came down so hard and the 10 year old boy looked far from happy and Grandma and I picked up a paddle each and started to row. We were soaked to the skin and really did try to see the funny side of it all. After a while – say 20 mins of rowing another boat pulled up to us and threw us a rope. It was actually great fun but it could have been a problem and a bit scary for the feint hearted. We spoke to our guide when we got back and he said people were having problems with the boat people but c’est la vie. We had lunch at the local restaurant and then drove back to Hanoi in the rain. It was a great day and very funny, but the deaths on the road brought us all down and made us realise how very fortunate we are that we are able to step in and out of this world and back to the safety of our own.

We had a light supper at the bar restaurant of the Metropole – the pumpkin soup is great. Tomorrow Ha Long bay

I am hanging on every word in this great report.. I leave in 2 weeks and coincidentally just posted a question asking about the trip to Tam Coc...trying to decide whether or not to take it,,

Keep up the good work and have fun in Halong Bay!!

Scenery anywhere has to be pretty amazing to compare with that around your home city!

Capetownfolk,

Cest la vive! Hope you'll continue and have a great time in Vietnam.

Day 9
Breakfast was fine – no complaints and we arrived back at shore around 10am. We passed one of the largest floating villages in Vietnam. You hand your passport in when you get on board I guess so that you pay for any drinks you order before you jump ship ‘cos you need the passport back – we of course forgot and just got off so had to go back and get the passports.
The drive back to Hanoi was uneventful and we arrived around 1pm

We went to Koto for lunch near the Temple of Literature. Here are my thoughts on Koto – brilliant idea, an initiative to get youngsters off the streets and give them an opportunity in life and the service and attitude of these young people was great – they love to practice their English on you and they are very proud of their organisation. The food however was very disappointing. I think the best thing to do is support them and go for coffee and cake or sandwiches but have lunch elsewhere.

We had time to kill before our evening flight to Hue so we wandered around the area near St Josephs Cathedral – loved Tina Sparkle and all the little boutiques there, and found a shop selling Vietnamese dried nuts and seeds, so I bought some green tea pumpkin seeds for a chef friend – very pretty. In hindsight we should have spent these few hours at the Metropole as one of the things we didn’t do that we should have done was to have the afternoon high tea/ chocolate experience. The parties in Vietnam are amazing as is the ice cream! In Vietnam you under estimate how tiring driving is even when you are not the one doing the driving.

Check in at the airport was easy and another uneventful very full flight. We arrived in Hue at 20h30 and were met by our Exotissimo guide for the transfer to our hotel – La Residence. The streets were so quiet and clam – after Hanoi it was bliss!

La Residence was the residence of the former governor of Central Vietnam and is now a stunning boutique hotel – the décor was so very beautiful – again very Indochine – I kept photographing bits of it for ideas for home. I loved the dark wood floors with the metallic mosaic inlays. The gardens and lily ponds were beautiful as was the pool. The gardens run onto the perfume River. Our room looked over the river.

It was late when we arrived and we were hungry and although the kitchen had closed they managed to make rustle up some very good sandwiches and spring rolls for us. We sat in the bar and listened to the house singer – so plasnat and relaxing


Day 10
Day at Hue and one of our best so far – lots to tell.
Breakfast was included in the hotel rate and it was really nice. The temperature by mid day got to about 32 degrees so breakfast over looking the Perfume River was really pleasant. They have these huge grapefruits here called pomelos – they are not sour like grapefruit and white and black spotted dragon fruit – these combined with some dim sum and chocolate croissant and coffee make a great breakfast. The husband went the more traditional eggs and bacon route and was also very impressed

Our guide met us and took us to the River where we took a boat to the Thien Mu Pagoda. On the boat we got the “you buy my embroidery” again – you do get a bit tired of the hard sell all the time – its not enough that you are paying for the boat ride - oh well.
We drove to the Ancient Citadel – that was stunning and very well worth visiting.
Then we drove to 2 tombs – Khai Dinh and Minh Mang. There are 7 tombs in the area, but these two are supposed to be the best – especially Minh Mang – I could have spent hours and hours there by the most beautiful lake. There were so few tourists there – just us and another couple – it was incredible and one day I would love to visit again – a picnic by the lake would be a great idea and I am sure you would be allowed to do this. The peace and tranquility of these once forbidden places is truly a wonder to behold. How much longer some of them will last I don’t know as the most recent one – Kai Dinh is less than 100 years old and yet it is already so black and crumbly
Some of the areas of the Citadel that were bombed have been restored and more are being restored as an on going project.

It was such a hot day – we bought conical hats to keep the sun off and spent the late afternoon by the pool at the hotel – also enjoyed the free wireless internet! We skipped the Dong Ba market as we all needed some chill time.

There are lots of good restaurants in Hue and one of the best is supposed to be Le Parfum at the La Residence hotel so we ate there – tired after a long day. The food was excellent lots of choices of both western and Vietnamese dishes and a good wine list.
All in all a great end to a wonderful day.

Oh this is wonderful reading. But you forgot to post Day 8 and the Halong Bay trip!! I read the Tam Coc part again and had to laugh when I read that your rower jumped ship after her embroidery was spurned! It sounds like the best idea is to get a VERY early start for that side trip from Hanoi, correct?? Maybe even 6:30am??

I am also headed for Hue and La Residence, so continue to hang on every word! Please keep it up!!

Oh, what is Tina Sparkle??

Oops sorry - here's day 8 - see I did do it. Just got back from an amazing dinner at Brothers Restaurant in Hoi An - we sat literally on the waters edge on a wooden deck - youwill have to wait for the story in sequence!

Tina Sparkle is quite an upmarket little designer shop selling beaded bags and the like. Hanoi is full of beaded bags and after a while they all look the same, but this shop is different albeit more expensive. The one thing I am finding is that you tend to get "sold" stuff and can't really browse and I tend to say no thanks and leave and so I will be the one going home and saying "I wish I'd bought....." so I need to get my act together soon before we leave.

Another thing in Hanoi there are loads of embroidered cotton lingerie/ shoe/ swimsuit bags that make great gifts for about US$2 for the nice ones. Well I thought I'd buy in Hoi An and guess what - not a single flipping one in sight down here! Grrr!

There are loads of fake Kipling bags - so cheap here - $10 Hanoi, or $5 Hoi An, but they are fakes and so don't have all the little inside pockets my real one has. Also fake Lacoste and Polo mens T shirts with collars here for $4 - check the feel of the cloth though and the size etc if you want to buy.

Interestingly you use dollars here nost of the time - everyone seems to take the Vietnamese Dong and divide it by 16 000, so 32 000 VND is $2. People give you change in either dong or $ unles its small change then its Dong. When we arrived we changed $100 into Dong and that was fine for water and txos and snacks etc, won't bother to change more for the last few days. With a credit card, people seem to prefer Visa and there is sonetimes a 2-3% charge, but not always.

Remind me to tell you about the strings of pearls for $6 - freshwater but lovely.

Anyway i am jumping ahead of myself. I really hope I am not boring any of you, and i hope that in some way i am giving a little back for all that I received in planning this epic trip.

Day 8 - We left early today for the 3 hour drive to Ha Long Bay. We left our luggage at the Metropole and took our over night bags with us in our mini van. Driving towards Ha Long city you pass through coal mining towns – everything is grey and black, the streets, the plants, the sky and then you see a fresh green leaf newly grown amongst the black like a reminder of how things could be. We do so much in our own little worlds to recycle and create less of a carbon footprint – hmm. The weather was quite cold when we arrived – should have packed better. We stopped half way up for a trip to the “happy house” – can anyone guess what that is?

Check in was easy – you wait in a little café and your bags are carried on board the Emeraude – what a beautiful boat. We booked a suite for the grandmother and two children – there are only two suites on board and I wish we had booked both – don’t forget to bring a step ladder to reach the toilet! The husband and I had a regular cabin – very nice no problems – they are replicas of the 1920s cabins – very Indochine. We had a buffet lunch when we arrived on board – not bad. We sailed around the bay – the scenery exceeds any expectation you can ever have – well worth going and the Emeraude was so much more intimate than the huge day trip tourist boats we passed. We went to the Hang Sung Sot or Cave of Awe or Amazing/ Surprise cave depending on who you talk to. It was really good and well worth visiting – the pink willy caused great amusement with my 12 year old! You can basically wander where you like which was really good as the Cango Caves in the Western Cape are all guide led now. The view from the cave entrance – up many steps – was spectacular over the bay with all the old boats and junks? The Emeraude tender took us back to the boat an hour later. The buffet dinner was very good – we had lots of huge prawns so if anyone else posts that the buffet was not great that would probably be because we ate all the prawns!

After dinner we watched Indochine on the big screen on deck – what a great idea – very atmospheric, you almost feel as though you are in the movie when the scenery on the screen is what you see outside the screen – a bit surreal. There are blankets you can wrap up in – also adds to the atmosphere. We were all quite cold in Halong bay – we definitely should have packed some sweaters or the like

Ekscrunchy - 6h30 would be too early to leave for Tam Coc as it is still dark and the roads would soon get busy with rush hour traffic. We would have left about 9am so perhaps an 8h15 - 8h30 start will be fine. Just be very careful about who you use to get there. With a small mini bus you canask the driver to take his time as we did - some of those big tour buses and very scary and there really is no rush - the caves will wait

Don't forget hat, sunscreen and umbrella for Tam Coc, and do get some rowing practice in before you get there!

Capetown: Ha Ha..rowing practice! I guess those embroideries at Tam Coc are not so nice, as no one here has even mentioned buying them..despite all the hassle!!

Your report continues to delight! And I am taking the Emeraude next month!! I guess I will bring a wool sweater and also a little jacket...

I cannot thank you enough for all of these tips..please remember to tell about the pearls!! I love the shopping and food information. along with everything else you are writing! And thanks for the tip about the prawns on the ship..I hope they have replenished the buffet table by now!!!

Great report - I'm really enjoying it!

I'm also enjoying following along.

I recently bought some prawns here at home, because the sight of them brought back memories of our day on the boat. Eat all you can while you can, because they absolutely do not taste the same here.

Femi you are so right about the prawns - however there is a little Greek restaurant in Tarpon Springs in Florida - I have the name somewhere at home - where the prawns are some of the best I have ever had in my life - one day I will go back

Kathie - glad you are around - I need some jewelry advice. We will have 5 days in Chiang Mai and then we arrive in Bangkok very early inthe morning after the night train down. We are free that morning and then pretty busy for the rest of that day and then the next - there after we have a week in Hua Hin.

I know you have contributed a lot to this forumn re jewelry in Thailand, but with one morning and no desire to haggle my life away, where could we go to buy a birthday present for the daughter and something for me - which place is your favourite/ easiest to dela with? Do I just phone them from our hotel when we arrive?

I will do more trip report soon - a Happy Christmas to you all - its Christmas Eve here in Hoi An