Today was pretty much a rest day. We walked from our hotel to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront and walked along the water. Today was the coolest day we have had since we left New Zealand. I think the temperature got down to 79. It was still very humid but as we walked along the water there was a nice breeze.

Our plane from Hanoi to Hong Kong was at 9:35 so we had to get a fairly early start. Grab is the ride sharing app we have used in Vietnam. It is very convenient and very cheap. So, we took a Grab to the airport and then flew to Hong Kong. The flight was about two hours.

I’ve been to Hong Kong twice before but China is another new country for Duke.

In Hong Kong we took a one hour bus ride and then walked a short distance to the hotel. There was a very long line for the bus but as one bus pulled out another one pulled up. The wait wasn’t too long at all.

The hotel we stayed at for our first two night in Viet Nam was on Hoan Kiem Lake. Now we are a bit further north staying near Truc Bach Lake. This morning we walked around the lake.

Today was another very hot day. The temperature was 94 and the humidity was 80%. Half way through the walk we were very hot so we stopped for drinks to cool off.

For dinner we went to Hanoi Fusion Pub and Restaurant and had an excellent dinner.

Today was our last day in Viet Nam. It is a fascinating country. Tomorrow we fly to Hong Kong.

Wednesday morning we were picked up at our hotel at 8am for the transfer to Ninh Binh, on the coast. From Ninh Binh we were scheduled to take an overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay.

At the dock in Ninh Binh we had to wait a while but eventually we bordered a tender boat which took us on a thirty minute ride to our cruise ship.

We had a wonderful big room with a balcony. The food was delicious and the islands all around us were like nothing I have ever seen, absolutely stunningly beautiful.

This morning after brunch we boarded the tender and repeated our journey back to Hanoi where we are tonight. We have another wonderful room in a different hotel, in Hanoi, the Tonkin Boutique Luxury Hotel. We had welcome drinks at the rooftop bar as the sun set. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and then went to Blake’s House of Jazz for a show.

Our hotel is in Hanoi’s historic old quarter, across from Hoan Kiem Lake. This morning after breakfast we walked around Hoan Kiem Lake. At the opposite end of the lake from our hotel we crossed the Huc Bridge and visited the Ngoc Son Temple.

After visiting the temple we continued on around the lake and stopped to have coffee and juice.

Tonight we had a great dinner at a restaurant called Link Bistro, not far from our hotel.