Adventure Northeast

Arrive in Hanoi. You will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel for a rest after your long journey. The remainder of the day is free to rest, relax or explore Hanoi on your own. Hanoi, the up-and-coming capital of the new Vietnam, is a picturesque city of more than 6 million people. Its tree-shaded streets are filled with lovely examples of French colonial architecture. Your hotel is situated on one of the narrow bustling streets of the ancient commercial quarter. As you walk the streets you willl be transported back in time.  You’ll be swept away by the scenes in the marketplaces, family life in the street, commerce, and a mixture of old and new technologies. In the evening you’ll enjoy a “welcome” dinner at a finest restaurant, where we will begin our exploration of the culinary delicacies of Vietnam and have our trip orientation. Overnight at hotel.

In the morning we will visit the Confucian Temple of Learning as well as the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh and the War Museum, and listen to traditional Vietnamese music. After lunch at Cha Ca restaurant, we’ll explore Hoan Kiem Lake (where local seniors practice a rigorous, joint-limbering version of tai chi), the Ngoc Son Temple, built on an islet in the middle of the lake, and the old “Hanoi Hilton.” We may also have time to wander the downtown area and visit the colorful Hanoi market and the market district, where each street hosts vendors of a particular trade: metal workers, funerary wreaths and electronics. The afternoon is free to explore on your own. Dinner at restaurant and overnight at hotel.

Drive north about six hours (180 miles) to Ba Be National Park, situated in Bac Kan province of northern Vietnam, having a picnic lunch en route. Ba Be, a relic of natural lower mountain forests that once covered all the mountain ranges from east to west north of the Red River Delta, covers an area of some 90 square miles, of which more than half is strictly protected and the remaining is in a forest restoration zone. The park’s densely forested area is a refuge for unique flora and fauna (410 plant species and 300 wildlife species), and surrounds the only natural lake in Vietnam (it is actually three linked lakes). The area is home to Tay, H’Mong, Dao, and Nung ethnic groups, who have lived on the shore of the lake and in the surrounding mountains for hundreds of years. We’ll arrive in the early afternoon and cross the lake by boat (30 minutes) to a Tay village where we stay in a wooden stilt house on the edge of the lake.

Round-trip hike in the mountains to a remote Dao hill tribe village that still retains age-old cultural traditions. (We’ll carry a packed lunch.) Return to the Tay village for overnight. (6 hours hiking; 12 miles).

Today we’ll visit a local market, then hike along the trails of Ba Be National Park, looking for birds and butterflies (more than 300 species!) and possibly taking a swim in the lake. Overnight at a lodge in Ba Be National Park.

The many limestone mountains surrounding Ba Be have numerous caves and under-streams, including the Nang River, which flows through the 100-foot-high, 1,000-foot-long Puong Cave all the way to Ba Be Lake. Today we’ll paddle an inflatable kayak right through the cave on a navigable 14-mile section of the river.

Return drive to Hanoi, with the afternoon free to explore the city and its Old Quarter. Overnight at hotel. 

Drive to Ha Long Bay by van, stopping several times to stretch our legs. Time permitting, we’ll visit Bat Trang pottery village en route. In Bat Trang, village life centers on ceramics. We will visit a ceramic factory and the home of a famous artist, and pass by the stands of old women selling betel nut. As we head north we catch a glimpse of rural Vietnamese life, people working in the rice paddies, water buffalo, children returning from school, and ancient temples. After three hours we come to Ha Long Bay, where the silhouettes of endless limestone formations beckon us to begin the second part of our adventure.

Board our support vessel, a traditional wooden junk. We head out into the sentinels of Halong Bay, arriving in the late afternoon at the Ba Men temple. Overnight on board near Ba Men Temple.

After a kayak lesson, we’ll venture out into one of the most scenic areas of the bay. We visit spectacular beaches sheltered by imposing limestone towers, and on the first day encounter fishing families in a “floating village.” These are true boat people, spending their lives in the narrow confines of their small vessels. They still practice an ancient cult of worshipping creatures of the sea, and we may be invited to share in their ceremonies at the temple. We also visit the three tunnel lakes, a series of limestone lagoons accessible only by small boats when the tide is right. Overnight on board.

After breakfast on board the boat we bid a farewell to our Vietnamese support crew before returning to Hanoi. The afternoon is free to relax, shop, or explore on your own. Farewell banquet in the evening at one of Hanoi’s finest restaurants. Overnight at hotel.

Transfer to airport for departure on homeward-bound flight.