Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Vietnam 2010
Return to Hanoi
The day began with a conventional Western breakfast, followed by a short shore excursion to some caves. These were located well above sea level and the climb up the rocky path proved to be less than ideal, especially given that the crew had insisted that we wear easily removable and washable flip-flops in the interests of keeping the boat clean and free of sand.
As we were due back in port by what most people would consider to be lunchtime, we were scheduled to have an early lunch on board Prince II - the group's final meal together had arrived already! Unlike previous lunches and dinners, this one was specially billed as 'last day à la carte'. After we had eaten, the crew appeared en masse, looking very smart in full uniform. They wanted to say goodbye and of course, as is customary on such occasions, to collect their gratuities. All too soon, we were seated in the little tender for the last time, sharing space with our suitcases for the final transfer to dry land. There was a little bit of organising to be done to work out who was travelling in which minibus: it turned out that we would be sharing a van with Brian and Kim from Colorado, as well as some people from other boats.
There then ensued a bus ride from Hell. We had the same vehicle and the same relatively sedate driver as two days previously, but somehow doing that journey for the second time in three days made it seem worse. We had a similar mandatory shopping break roughly half-way and the whole experience was rounded off by having to pick our way through Hanoi's crazy rush-hour traffic. Bruce and I agreed that, while we would consider another Ha Long Bay cruise in an instant, we would never, under any circumstances, be doing those transfers again.
Not a moment too soon for either of us, the van pulled up outside the Hilton Hanoi Opera and we jumped out. Check-in was on the 7th floor and, based on my Hilton HHonors Diamond status, we were upgraded to an Executive room with club access. There was some disappointing news, however: requests to the concierge for a couple of dinner reservations and for tickets for a performance of the famous water puppets, had not been actioned. At a hotel regularly voted as Vietnam's best, this was an unexpected and unwelcome lapse from five-star standards.
Despite the disappointment, we resolved not to let it get to us. We enjoyed the almost obligatory cocktails and canapés in the Executive Lounge and then had a room service dinner of tomato soup, followed by a club sandwich for Bruce and some pasta for me. After what seemed like a long day, we felt too tired to watch a movie.