12th November - Finish cruise in Halong Bay and drive to Hanoi airport, fly to Da Nang and drive to Hoi An   Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     

 
 
 
 

Morning cruise then a drive to Hanoi airport,
a flight to Da Nang and a drive to Hoi An
Sunday 12th November 2017
 

After a comfortable night on board the boat, which was still anchored in Halong Bay, we needed to be up early for our morning excursion to the nearby Tien Ong Cave. We were given a light breakfast beforehand, with the promise of a big brunch to follow later.
 
After breakfast, we looked out for the small vessel that was to take us to the cave. Could it be this one?
 
Fortunately, it was something a little bigger
 
Our boat, taken from the small ferry, as we set off.
 
 
Cave entrance
 
 
 
 
 
 
The cave visit was very interesting, after which we returned to our boat on the small ferry.
 
 
 
 
We began cruising back to the port, during which time we enjoyed an excellent brunch.
 
 
 
 
 
By mid-morning, we were back at the port, where Quan and our driver were waiting for us.
 
We set off almost immediately in the car for the long drive back to Hanoi airport.
 
There was a lot to see along the way!
 
 
 
 
Typical Hanoi family houses - tall thin and deep. A generation on each floor.
 
We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flight to Da Nang.
 
Quan assisted us with the check in process, after which we said goodbye to him for the last time.
 
 

We were impressed by the flight on Vietnam Airlines. The pilot gave us lots of information about the flight en-route. The other members of the crew were very friendly. We only got a bottle of water in economy class, but we knew that in advance so we weren't disappointed.

It was dark by the time we arrived in Da Nang. We were met by our guide, Tien and shown to the car, parked a short distance away. As we drove from the airport to Hoi An, Tien told us that she and the driver would be with us for the next few days and would also be with us in Hue, which was her home town. Our first impression of Da Nang was that it felt distinctly different from Hanoi. The roads were a lot quieter for starters and it felt a lot more prosperous. All along the road were huge hotel complexes and convention centres. What we couldn't see, because it was dark, was that we were driving quite close to the coast. We arrived at our hotel in Hoi An after about forty minutes.
 
 
Wecome drinks at the Hoi An La Siesta Hotel
 
Our comfy room
 
After settling in, we claimed our free dinner from the hotel. It was offered to us because the pool was out of action for the day, the aftermath of a recent typhoon which had caused severe flooding of the hotel. We found out that the hotel had only just reopened after the floods and that there had been a huge effort by the staff and the army to get the hotel back in operation very quickly.
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble