Tuesday 14th July - On board

Day 2 on the Jasmine and it was a very regimented schedule.

06:30

Tea, coffee and croissants on the poop deck.

07:00

Tai Chi on the sun deck

 

 

07:30

Excursion to Tip Top island.  First there was a walk up 427 steps to the highest point for some photo opportunities.  You can really see from up here what a factory cruising on the bay is.  I counted 29 boats at one point, most of which were significantly larger than ours.  Our boat had 24 cabins.

 

Random penguin waste bin

Then some swimming in the sea.  Our travel agent guide says they do not recommend swimming as the water is pretty polluted due the number of boats.  David refused to go in.  I did but kept my eyes and mouth closed every time my head went under water.

08:30 

Return to boat for shower, pack and vacate the room.  We managed to lose one of our party on the island so were late getting back to the boat.  This was followed by breakfast (very good - had every choice) during which we cruised back to the marina ad disembarked at 11:00

Our next flight from Hanoi was not until 19:05.  We had not been very impressed by our guide so far as she seemed fairly detached and would point out some strange things.  For example, on the way here we drove past a huge factory with a few hundred thousand bricks stacked up outside and said, "that's a brick factory".

She redeemed herself today by taking us to a pagoda off the beaten track - by far the most impressive we have seen so far.

In this pagoda the offerings are water, cookies and tinned beans.



 

 

Apart from the fretwork which is wood, the roof and pillars are concreted painted to look like wood.

There is also the most impressive collection of bonsai:

And the main room at the top is spectacular:

To get to the top temple, you had to climb these stairs.  Shoes were provided but were too small for me (again) and in 42C it was like walking on hot coals.

Here's our guide praying - we think it's for a good tip.

We continued on to Hanoi Airport stopping at another service station on the way which all seem to be ceramic factories.

First trip on Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to Hue.  While the plane was very new and the leg room was great, in a 1 hour 15 minute flight all we got was a glass of water.  Compare with Lao Airlines who gave us a snack and a beer. Bah humbug.

Random Vietnam property update, houses are tall so that all family generations can live on different floors.  Houses are slim as property taxes are based on floor size.

Random Vietnam fact:  70% of all Vietnamese have Nguyen as eith a family name or a given name.

Our hotel tonight is run by the Vietnam School of Tourism and the room is HUGE.

Went to eat at a restaurant recommended by the guide which wasn't bad.  Then to bed for another early start to visit the Citadel.