Finding Light and Darkness in Vietnam
Our tour begins in Hanoi
The direct flight from Washington to Seoul took 15 hours followed by another four-hour flight to Hanoi. Before joining our guided tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, we booked two daytrips out of Hanoi. We found a well-reviewed company called Vietnam Top Travel and I give high marks to gracious and soft-spoken Hien.
We were picked up by a driver in a comfortable SUV to start the two-and-a-half hour journey to scenic Ha Long Bay. With the streets of Vietnam crowded with more than seven million motorbikes and scooters darting every which way, we were happy to let our driver have that task. The dock at Ha Long Bay is lined with day cruise ships that were mostly unused as the usual throngs of Chinese tourists were not present for various reasons.
Our ship motored through the soaring granite formations and stopped at an island to explore the Sung Sot Cave, one of the largest caves in the bay. Unfortunately, I jumped off the back of the ship and tweaked my knee. I may have forgotten that I am not meant to be taking that risky move at my age. I took it easy as we were fed (over-fed) a freshly prepared seafood lunch. In the…
