17 December 2014. Tackling the Hong Kong Trail

It was a beautiful sunny day and so I set off to the Peak to the start of the 50km Hong Kong trail. I did the 12.5 km of the first two stages. The start began with beautiful views of Victoria harbour before becoming more rustic and ended at Aberdeen - the fishing harbour.

Some of the signage along the way was less than informative!

In the evening I went to Dimdimsum  - a highly rated restaurant just down the road.

16 December 2014. Last leg to Hong Kong

I was up relatively early this morning for what the hotel kept telling me was my 'last breakfast'. It made me slightly paranoid. Anyway, as it happened, we landed safely in Hong Kong and I made the easy journey to Wan Chai.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Hong Kong; very different to the grey skies of Ha Noi. But, what with unpacking and catching up with a faster internet, I didn't get out until the evening. I decided to go to the Din Tai Fung restaurant in Causeway, passing another with a rather over-exotic menu for me!

15 December 2014. West Lake

My final day in Hanoi was warm and sunny. I went for a walk in the West Lake area and rediscovered the ultra cool cafe that was still playing its very laid back music.

I was also taken by the (literally) yardstick applied to decide if someone was eligible for cheap entry to the Hanoi Club

On the way back to the hotel, I passed by the President's Palace and Uncle Ho's mausoleum. A very pleasant relaxed outing with all the traffic almost forgotten by the lake.

14 December 2014 Bat Trang and the Night Market

During the day, I took the bus (47A) to the pottery 'village' at Bat Trang. In fact it is a bit large for a village - more a small town, given over almost entirely to pottery. There were, of course, plenty of shops but very little pressure to buy and it was all very pleasant on a sunny day. I walked away from the centre of commerce, down to the river and then made my way back through a real maze of tiny streets that make Venice seem easy. All in all, it struck me as an attractive place but it did not seem to try to do more than cater for day trippers. 

Aside from the pottery and the streets, I came across the amazing bicycle florist.

Wandering around, my attention was caught by the boats on the rive that seemed so laden that any plimsole line must have been well and truly submerged

Just outside Bat Trang, there is a weird modern resort, calling itself an EcoResort. It seemed like one of the huge resorts that one finds in France with tower blocks of flats, villas and communal buildings - plus a camp site. 

That evening, I went to the night market, together with one of the student guides. We ended up at a nice streetfood outlet and overall it was a pleasant if not massively informative night out. 

13 December 2014. Co Loa and the Golden Bell

Today was to be my Co Loa day. It is a citadel outside HaNoi and I planned to take the local bus there. On my way to the bus station I visited the 'Traditional House' in Ma May Street. It has a lovely air of darkened calm about it and is well worth the 30p entrance.!

So then I caught the number 17 bus to Co Loa.

It was all remarkably straightforward and the conductor was helpful in getting off at the right stop.










I was really glad a made the excursion. It is about 15km from HaNoi and a different world. Hardly any traffic; chickens and cows wandering around; children playing football. not entirely a rural idyll but very nearly so.

The site itself is very interesting. In particular, there are some beautiful temples, one of which  stretches back through three layers. There is also an exhibition area that presents the entire 80 hectare archeological site.

Away from the main buildings to visit, I was particularly truck by the tombs amongst the alotments.

All in all, a very worthwhile day out.

In the evening I went to the Golden Bell Show that promised to be a collection of Traditional Art Performances. Unfortunately, it seemed rather like traditional for tourists to me with the women dancers dressed a bit like the Tiller girls. It finished with getting the audience on stage to try dancing through the sticks.