Upgraded!

Day 66 - Hanoi to Lan Ha Bay

We were collected in a fancy van by Orchid Cruises and joined six other tourists for the two and a half hour drive to Ha Long Bay where we would get on an overnight cruise. We had booked a Classic cruise, the middle standard of their three cruise types, but on the way K received a message to say that we had been upgraded to their top of the range premium cruise, and also that our cabin had been upgraded to their bets cabin, the executive suite! It seems strange, but we've been upgraded on cruises three times over our travelling history (this happened previously for a Nile cruise and also for Antarctica). 

We arrived at the harbour and were taken by speed boat to the main boat. There were only five cabins on board, and our suite at the rear of the ship had a wrap around veranda, a king sized bed and a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi. 

While we had lunch the boat moved from Ha Long Bay to Lan Ha Bay. The scenery was beautiful with huge islands formed from huge limestone rocks rising from the sea. There were a lot of boats (at one stage M counted 19 that he could see) but they all managed to keep a distance from each other so that it rarely felt crowded. 

While K stayed on the boat and had a massage and facial in our room, M went kayaking with the other seven passengers to see a small temple and then around some of the islands in the bay.

During happy hour we were given a cooking demonstration on making Vietnamese spring rolls, tried our hand a rolling our own, then sampled the results after they were cooked.

Dinner was another multiple course affair, with soup, entree, main, dessert, nicely cooked and well presented. We skipped the squid fishing, deciding instead to retire to our spacious room for the evening.

Posers

Day 65 - Hanoi

Not many plans today but K wanted to check out Bát Tràng Pottery Village, a 45 minute drive from the hotel.

We visited a huge shop with a large array of impressive pots (so many pots!), then visited the 19th century multi chambered wood fired climbing dragon kiln at Lò Bầu, followed by a walk through the market where K picked up a new piece for her collection.

Back in Hanoi we went for coffee at a fancy coffee place near the cathedral, sitting on the balcony watching the girls posing for their photos ... and posing .... and posing. Social media has a lot to answer for! 

In the evening we walked down to the lake where they were preparing for the Hanoi Marathon which was to start at 3am. We visited the night market, not much there of note, it was almost just a bigger version of the large Chinese junk shops you see back home.

Good decision

Day 64 - Hanoi

Our driver picked us up at 9am, and our first stop was the Quang Phu Cau incense village an hour and a half south of Hanoi. It was set up for photos with coloured bunches of incense sticks arranged in patterns, and ladders to climb so you could get a view from on high. There was someone pushing us to buy "tickets" so we could take take photos, we'd been told by our driver that tickets weren't required, and another tourist told us the tickets were just to use the ladders, so we ignored the tout and he went off to bother someone else. A quick look here was enough for us so we hit the road for Ninh Binh.

Our original idea was to take the two hour boat trip from Tam Coc, but after K looked up the boats and found that they were just basic benches with no shade, we changed the plan so we would take the boat trip at Van Long,. This was the best decision, we had a lovely, peaceful hour long boat ride with a lady rowing us and the river practically to ourselves. The only thing we would have changed is we wished we'd brought umbrellas as there was a lack of shade.

After the boat ride we visited Hoa Lu, Vietnam's ancient capital, and explored the grounds and the historic temples.

From there it was only about 10 minutes to the Trang An river complex, which was quite a contrast from peaceful and serene Van Long. It was very crowded, people and buses everywhere, and the whole set up was like a theme park. There were hundreds of boats, as well as shops and souvenir stands (there was even a Starbucks). We were relieved that we'd taken the much more relaxing boat ride earlier. 

We were back in Hanoi by 5pm after a very enjoyable day in the country outside of the city. 

Wrong side of the tracks

Day 63 - Hanoi

No commitments today, so it was a day to catch up on some sleep, acclimatise and make plans for the next few days in Hanoi.

After breakfast we arranged with our hotel for a driver to take us to the Ninh Binh area the next day. Once that was organised we walked down to Hoàn Kiếm Lake only a couple of minutes walk away from our hotel. The area was busy, lots of young women in cream dresses, many other older women in traditional Vietnamese dress, all posing for photos.

From there we headed to the even more touristy Train Street, a narrow street with shops and cafes each side where you can sit at the edge of the train track to watch a train go by. We had no idea of the train timetable but it turns out there was one coming in about 30 minutes, so we sat, ordered a drink, and waited. It was quiet when we arrived, but as train time approached it became very busy, with more women in cream dresses posing for photos (of course). Once the train passed the street cleared very quickly.

We decided to walk along the train tracks towards the French Quarter, but it took us ages to realise that there were no steps down from the elevated train track so the only thing to do was walk all the way back again. Some kind locals told us there was no way down, of course they told us this after we'd worked that out for ourselves!

We enjoyed a traditional Vietnamese dinner, in a restaurant looking just like the ones back home. The food was fine but not as spicy as we'd hoped, and after leaving we finished up at our rooftop bar, fortunately our lift was now fully functional.

Should you travel on VietJet Air? Let me tell you a story ....

Day 62 - Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Hanoi (Vietnam)

A 5am pick up in the dark and an easy drive to the airport gave us the illusion of a cruisy day, but it wasn't to be. We arrived at the airport about 2 and a half hours before our flight but check in hadn't even started. We waited in the growing queue, we guessed (and it was later confirmed) there was a computer problem, but no information was forthcoming. This route (Almaty to Hanoi) was a new VietJet Air route, that had only been flown once before, so we thought it could be teething problems.

The flight time departure time changed from 8:10 to 9:10, and they finally started checking people in but it was very slow process as they checked people names on printed passenger lists. When it was finally our turn to check in it took about 10 minutes, we had to show proof of our tickets and our visas, once we had our boarding passes it was three hours since we'd arrived at the airport.  

We rushed through passport control to our gate then onto the plane, finding that we weren't seated together (we hadn't even though to check). K arranged a swap, then we sat in the plane for another hour while they waited for clearance from the ground crew. That eventually came and we finally took off, nearly three hours late.

Even then the problems weren't over, when it came to meal time they said they couldn't find a record of what we'd purchased, and asked for proof, which of course we couldn't get as we didn't have it printed. They did find our names eventually, against the seats we were supposed to have been sitting in when we originally booked. Of course they didn't have the meals we requested (Thai fried rice). Instead we were offered tinned shrimp or tinned fish, which came in containers that looked like cat food, and when opened also smelt like cat food.

Other than all of that, the flight was fine, and we arrived in Hanoi actually feeling OK, given all that had happened. 

We passed through immigration quickly and waited for our luggage. K's arrived within 10 minutes, M's arrived about 40 minutes after that, at around the time people were starting to panic about their luggage being missing. 

We finally walked out of the airport into the warm air and to our waiting airport transfer. We arrived at our hotel at around 9:30pm local time, thinking we'd check in then go out for a quick meal, but even that was harder than it should have been.

It turns our our hotel had lift maintenance starting at 10pm, which meant no lifts until the morning, and our room was on the 10th floor. We couldn't really go out for dinner unless we wanted to take the stairs when we returned (which we didn't). So, we thought it made sense to eat at the hotel's restaurant on the 12th floor - but then we were told the kitchen closed at 9:30pm. What to do? The hotel offered to order takeaway for us and deliver it to the rooftop terrace overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake. This was a great work around and was ultimately a nice way to finish off one of those terrible travelling days that can happen from time to time.

Sweet place you have here

Day 61 - Almaty

It was a gorgeous autumn day in Almaty, perfect for a free walking tour with a small group of only seven which made for a relaxed and chatty tour. Our guide Aiguerim (Amy for short) was excellent, starting with a brief history of Kazakhstan, beginning with the original nomadic tribes, then the invasion of the Mongols (Genghis Khan), through to USSR and independence. 

We have noticed that while a lot of people look Russian most of the population look more Asian. Amy explained that they were 80% Asian and 20% Caucasian, the main language spoken is Russian but Kazakh is also taught in schools, alongside English. 

We visited the Green Market with a variety of produce stalls, we were able to sample some horse meat (processed similar to salami), as well as different milk based products like cheeses and sweets that the nomads ate for energy while roaming the steppes.

From there we visited the Rakhat Candy Factory Outlet, a shop that sells chocolate and sweets by weight. M thought you could just have one of each type of lolly, but was told off twice by staff and other customers for mixing different sweets in the one bag, later finding out that each different type had to be weighed and priced separately. 

This is just one side of the bag

The tour also included visits to notable building and descriptions of their architecture, according to their time in history. There was the Ascension Cathedral, a wooden building that  has survived some huge earthquakes), and different types of apartments named according to the Soviet leader at the time (Stalinka, Kruschevka, and Breszhnevka). 

In the Guardsmen Park we saw the eternal flame as well as some impressive monuments to heroes from the Soviet Era. We finished the tour at the Opera House which is conveniently located right next to the apartment we're staying in.

We finished the day by revisiting a couple of places for some shopping - souvenirs for K near the Green Market, while M went back to Rakhat for more chocolate and lollies. Then it was time for an early night as we needed to get up at 4:30am the next day to be at the airport.

If you jump into that radioactive water you'll feel better!

Day 60 - Almaty

Today we'd booked a half day tour to leave the city and see some of the mountain area around Almaty.

We started off in a mini van with 20 other people and drove through the leafy outer areas of the city, with trees showing their autumn colours, to see Big Almaty Lake, changing to SUVs for the last 12 kilometres. The lake has a similar aqua blue colour to some of the rivers and lakes we'd seen in New Zealand. The lake is the source of Almaty's water and is surrounded by snow capped peaks. It was also smaller than we expected and while it was pretty, spending an hour there was a bit long. It's a very popular attraction, when we arrived it wasn't too busy but by the time we left the place was full of people taking and posing for photos. 

We then drove to Alma-Arasan Gorge to see the hot springs, which are also known as the Radon Springs since the heat source is radioactivity. We were told that the spring water is said to have some health benefits, but also that people with cancer should not visit, and that if we did go in we shouldn't stay in the water more than 20 minutes.

The walk from the car park to the hot tubs was uphill and took about 20 minutes, following the stream that flowed down from the mountain. We didn't take a dip but there were plenty of people who did, including some quite old people who struggled with the climb but were possibly hoping for some kind of healing from the water.

From there M went exploring a little further, finding a very small waterfall, and also an old Soviet era sanitorium that the old Soviet leaders used to visit. 

After the tour finished and we were back in Almaty, M went exploring, jumping on a train going in the opposite direction to where he wanted to go, but it all turned out OK as it was a very pleasant walk back thorough town to where we were staying. 

Always carry some cash

Day 59 - Astana to Almaty

It was another crisp sunny day in Astana, and we needed to get to the airport for our flight to Almaty, the old capital and the largest city in Kazakhstan, so we decided to use Yandex, a Russian app which is the Uber equivalent over here.

After trying for 15 minutes and not being able to find a driver we spoke to hotel reception, who informed us that Yandex was down but they could book a taxi for us. There was a catch though - the taxi only took cash, and we had none. So M rushed off to find an ATM, returning 15 minutes later with some cash.

We arrived at the airport about 30 minutes later than we'd planned to find that check in didn't start for another 40 minutes anyway. 

Coming in to Almaty we could see huge snow capped mountains in the distance, quite a sight. We checked in to a nice apartment near the Almaty Opera House, and ventured out to the local supermarket to do some shopping. The variety of food on the shelves was quite different to what we'd been expecting, with more of a Russian influence, and everything being in Cyrillic script made it difficult to work out what we were buying.

Later on we walked to a restaurant for dinner, finding the streets to be quite busy, there was a mix of tourists and locals, and buskers with varying degrees of talent, the worst one being the guy who just sang along very loudly to rap songs. 

Yes, we invented that

Day 58 - Astana

As we only have one full day in Astana we decided to book a private tour to make sure we caught all of the highlights while we were there. Because we weren't quite used to Kazakh time yet we arranged to be picked up at noon, when we were collected by our driver/guide, a young student from Astana. 

We visited all of the main city highlights, which had all been built within the last 25 years. It seems weird to be in such an old country that was once part of the USSR, yet everything we saw was so young and new. The place reminded of us Skopje, the capital of Northern Macedonia. 

We visited a lot of grand buildings and monuments, including the Opera House, Baiterek Tower, Khan Shatyr (the biggest tent in the world, which houses a shopping and entertainment centre), Ak Orda Presidential Palace, the pyramid shaped Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, and the Astana Grand Mosque, which is the fifth largest mosque in the world by capacity. All building were new and modern, in fact what we saw of the whole city was spotless, reminiscent of somewhere like Singapore.

Our guide was surprised to learn that the flat white originated in Australia (yes Kiwi's, we know you like to claim it), it's pretty interesting that we had a couple of decent flat whites in a place like Kazakhstan, but we couldn't find a decent coffee at all in France! 

After the tour finished we went for a walk, ending up at Khan Shatyr where it was getting busy, as there were lots of families about on this pleasant Sunday. The day had been sunny and bright at 12 degrees, but as the afternoon progressed it got colder, heading towards a forecast minimum of -2. 

We finished the day with a meal at our nice hotel, which included horse meat on their menu. M considered that it might be worth a try and seriously pondered it for a short time, before chickening out and ordering grilled chicken (yeah, pun intended).

Very nice

Day 57 - Istanbul (Turkey) to Astana (Kazakhstan)

Pretty much just a travelling day today. Around 10:30am we were driven to the airport, we checked in to our flight to Kazakhstan, and after a five hour flight we landed in Astana, the capital, around 9pm.

Walking from the airport into the open air to our taxi we could feel the cold, it was only about 4 degrees, but clear and still. On the way to our hotel we passed futuristic looking buildings, all lit up in neon, and huge monuments, including a massive mosque, and full size replicas of Russian spacecraft.

It was dark but because of three hour time difference with France it didn't feel late. However it was too cold outside and Astana is too spread out to easily walk anywhere at night, so we settled for a drink and snack in the hotel restaurant before turning in.  

Let's try that again

Day 56 - Bordeaux (France) to Istanbul (Turkey)

Time to say goodbye to France after three weeks, we've probably visited a few too many "Most Beautiful Villages in France" and are well and truly ready to travel somewhere new. It will also be good to go to a place with less smoking at restaurants, however we are sorry to say goodbye to the friendliness of the French.

Our early start for our flight to Istanbul was made very easy by a direct tram to the airport with the stop only a few minutes walk from our apartment.

Bordeaux airport is definitely not glamorous and the smiling patrolling police passing with the nozzle of the machine gun about six inches away from K was a little confronting. However the staff at the airport, including immigration were very personable and friendly.

The flight was a little over three hours, and as we were landing at Istanbul airport we felt the wheels touch the runaway, then the went nose up and we were accelerating upwards again. There was chattering throughout the cabin as people wondered what was happening. Eventually the pilot made an announcement, that due to flight conditions we have to go around again and it's totally normal". It didn't feel normal to us though, it was another 20 minutes or so before we finally landed, with another 15 minutes or so from there while the plane taxied around the massive Istanbul airport to find a parking spot.

Our next flight isn't until tomorrow afternoon so rather than stay at the airport we decided to try a cheap hotel in the small seaside town of Karabarun on the Black Sea, a 20 minute drive from the airport. We went for a walk along the nice promenade, there were families and locals enjoying the sunny afternoon, though the beach was quite dirty with a lot of washed up plastic. It looks like there's a bit of development underway, as the promenade isn't quite finished, presumably the proximity to the new airport has given the area a boost.

Rained out

Day 55 - Bordeaux

Heavy rain and a chill in the air put a dampener on things today. We spent some time preparing for our departure from France the next day, and finalising some plans for the rest of the trip.

The rain lifted around lunch time so we headed out to get some food, but it started again just as we returned to our apartment. 

Later in the afternoon the rain stopped so M went shopping and also did some exploring, only to be caught in heavy downpours a couple of times, sheltering in doorways to keep dry.  

By around 6 it seemed the rain had eased enough to venture out again so we sat at a bistro by the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux not far from our apartment. 

Today's rain was quite a contrast to the 20 or so days of almost perfect weather we'd had up to now, perhaps we've timed our departure almost perfectly.

Democracy in action?

Day 54 - Bordeaux

M went for a walk in the morning to go and buy some of what he'd read were Bordeaux's best croissants. He bought two at at only €1.40 (about $2.25) each, they were very good, better than the hyped ones you can get back home, plus he didn't have to line up for them!

During the walk he had noticed there were a lot of police around, and presumed it must have something to do with the school protests that had been going on in France. Then while enjoying our croissants in our apartment we heard a chanting crowd, we went outside to check and saw hundreds of students and teachers protesting, it all seemed peaceful enough. M went for another walk across the river later and ran into the protest again, it seemed to have increased significantly in size.

We then both went to see the sights of Bordeaux, while walking the streets it seemed very quiet, and there were police everywhere. There were a group of them in riot gear that just seemed to be hanging around, M took a photo but we didn't think too much of it.

Then a couple of minutes later they all ran past us towards the protest coming down the street, firing shots as they went. We could see gas canisters of some sort being launched, M moved up to get some photos and video of what was going on, K followed not too far behind. We could then both feel some irritation, dry throat and a chemical sort of smell, not sure if the gas was tear gas, it did have a minor effect on us for just a short time, but we moved out of the area so it didn't last long. 

From there we headed away from the action towards the more touristy part of town to see major monuments and buildings like Place de la Bourse and Fontaine des Trois Grâces. Miroir d'eau is very shallow area of water where those places are reflected, but there were too many people (and dogs) walking through to get any great photos.

We wandered back through town, encountering plenty more police along the way, there were small groups of protesters wandering around but no more encounters like what we'd seen earlier. 

Later on as we sat at a cafe in the plaza near the cathedral, it started pouring rain. We had read that the great run of weather we'd been having was going to end, but it arrived a bit earlier than we'd expected. 

I hope you're going to clean up after yourself

Day 53 - Bergerac to Bordeaux

Our last day of driving as we leave Bergerac headed for Bordeaux. We stopped at Saint-Émilion for a quick look around as well as a coffee and a bite to eat, finding once again though that these tourist towns appear to be geared towards larger restaurant meals. We are also in serious wine country now so there were numerous expensive looking wine shops with giant bottles of red wine. We finally found a little cafe/patisserie in a courtyard, but winced when our two cinnamon scrolls and two "flat whites" cost €25 ($40 ... ouch!).

While driving to Bordeaux we were reflecting on our three week road trip of southern France and how it was easier than expected. Google Maps of course has made navigation around the world much easier for quite a while now, but combined with ChatGPT to not only plan itineraries and daily routes but to give us guidance on things like where we should park, it takes all the stress and angst out of driving on the other side of the world.

We are staying three nights in Bordeaux but we have to return our rental car to the airport first. As our apartment allowed for early luggage drop off we stopped on the way through, but were taken aback when we walked in and found the cleaner lying on the couch eating a toasted sandwich while scrolling on their phone ... I wonder if they're paid by the hour?

Filling up with petrol in France has not been so easy, the majority of the service stations are unmanned and we've found that most of them don't accept our credit cards so we've been constantly driving around trying different stations and ending up paying a lot more per litre at a manned station. On top of that 85% of stations in the Bordeaux area are out of at least one type of fuel, as France is in a nationwide fuel crisis due to the Middle East issues and panic buying. It took an hour of driving and four service stations before we found one that had the right fuel and accepted our cards.

After dropping the car off we caught the tram back into the city, did some grocery shopping and settled into our apartment a hundred metres from the very impressive cathedral.

All I want is a sandwich

Day 52 - Sarlat-la-Canéda to Bergerac

After a morning coffee in the town square and a final look at the gorgeous Sarlat we drove via Domme to La Roque Gageac, another of "France's Most Beautiful Villages", with more buildings built into the cliff opposite the tranquil Dordogne River. 

We were hoping to find something snacky for lunch, but all of the restaurants seemed to offer only large meals, so we drove on to Beynac where we found an ice cream stand that sold rolls and muffins, which we ate sitting by the river.

We continued our drive following the river, all the villages we drove through seemed very sleepy, it's as if rural France almost shuts down on a Sunday, even the major supermarkets we drove past were closed. We finished in the town of Bergerac, our stop for the night. Only one more driving day to go!  

On your feet or on your knees

Day 51 - Figeac to Sarlat-la-Canéda

We continued through the Dordogne region with our first stop of the day at the magnificent Rocamadour. The town rises up in stages along the side of a cliff, we drove to the car park at the top level so we could walk down and take the lift back up later.

From the 14th century cliff top castle ("The Chateau") we followed the path past the stations of the cross, to the holy city ("The Sanctuary"). We wanted to see the famous statue of the black Madonna in the Vierge Noir chapel. There was singing coming from inside but there were no signs forbidding entry so we opened the door and went in and stood at the back. The chapel was full, people had their heads bowed as they were in the middle of Saturday morning mass. We waited for a gap in the proceedings and snuck out, we did manage to see the statue but maybe we should have waited until later.

We then took the 216 step staircase called the "Grand Escalier" down to the medieval village (apparently pilgrims used to walk up on their knees). The town runs along between the base of the cliff and the river, and is your typical French ye olde medieval tourist town (souvenirs, bars, restaurants, local delicacies etc.). 

K took the lift back up to the top while M walked up (not on his knees though), going back in to the now almost empty chapel to get a better look as well as some photos. 

K still wasn't feeling great so we drove on from Rocamadour, via the town of Martel to our overnight stop of Sarlat-la-Canéda for an early check in. We arrived early enough to have a quick look at the weekly market. The town and area is famous for foei-gras, ducks and nuts, so there were lots of shops selling all of those things. The town was a great example of a well preserved medieval village, and it was very nice walking the cobbled streets and looking at the old buildings, it's the kind of thing you expect to see in France but you're not sure that sort of thing still exists until you see it yourself.

Only in France ....

Day 50 - Carcassonne to Figeac

Time to leave Carcassonne but K hasn't been feeling well, so we decided to head straight to Saint-Cirq Lapopie, apparently one of the most beautiful villages in France. 

Because we didn't take the scenic route via Albi it was tollways most of the way, driving through the outskirts of Toulouse before leaving the highway for the last 30 minutes of winding roads to the village.

We arrived and the car park was almost full. However K wasn't up to walking the sloping roads to the village so we settled for a couple of photos before jumping back in the car and driving along the Lot river valley to Cajarc a little further on.

We stopped for a coffee at a bistro, this was the first time on our trip that the staff knew no English at all, but M managed to navigate the ordering and payment process like a natural born Frenchman (with the speaking ability of a two year old). 

We continued along the Lot valley, through villages built on rock walls on the left and the clear, still river on the right, it was a very pleasant and picturesque drive.

We arrived in Figeac and checked in to a hotel a couple of minutes walk from town. We had learnt that Figeac was part of the French section of the Camino de Santiago, which we'd done part of (Leon to Santiago de Compostela) in 2019, so M went exploring to find the route, but then decided to walk up to the Monument du Cingle on a hill overlooking the town.

On the way to dinner we passed a baguette vending machine (only in France ....). It was Friday night but Figeac was quieter than other places we'd visited, it was a nice change to stay in a place that's not so tourist focused.

     

 

This all looks vaguely familair

Day 49 - Carcassonne

The funny thing about Carcassonne is that this blog says we've been here before when we were on our way to Leon to walk the Camino de Santiago in September 2019, but neither of us can remember much about it, although we do remember picking up a pamphlet on a nearby Australian Zoo. 

The walled city and castle are really magnificent, just what you would expect a huge medieval castle to be. It has a large (dry) moat, massive double walls and numerous very well preserved watchtowers. How they managed to build such huge structures in the 13 century is incredible.

K was feeling worse and starting to think she might have covid so M went off to walk the city walls on his own, it was a little before the tourist buses started arriving so it well timed and very enjoyable.

We both explored the city a little later, it's very touristy and the crowds had built up but it wasn't too bad. A little later on M exited the walled city and explored the lower city, ending up at Canal du Midi, which goes from Toulouse in the west all the way to the Mediterranean near Marseille.