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Day 2,
Day 3,
Day 4,
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Day 6,
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Day 12,
Day 13
Ha Long City
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| Ha Long City from the ship |
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| From the ship to the port terminal |
The ship spent a second day docked at Ha Long, so we had a leisurely breakfast we walked back along the long wharf to the port terminal.
There were actually free shuttles to and from the ship because the wharf was so long.
After a bit of haggling, we caught a taxi into town to go to what we had was described as the Ha Long Market.
Unfortunately we were deposited at a tourist shopping centre selling all of the usual paraphernalia that we have seen throughout Vietnam which we have avoided buying.
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| Long mural depicting cities of the world |
We decided to slowly take a long walk back towards town, hoping to find some local shops and people. After about about a kilometre, passing many empty buildings and hotels, and getting some directions from local Vietnamese, we arrived at the huge main market, both wet and dry. We enjoyed walking around, looking at shops, produce, and the local people going about their business.
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| Seafood shop |
Ric was intrigued by what appeared to be cuttlefish fritters, so he bought some and they proved to be quite tasty – basically large chunks of cuttlefish battered and deep-fried and a local delicacy.
We also managed to buy a small quantity of what looked like cashews with a pinky brown outer shell which turned out to be very freshly roasted coated with some mixture and very tasty. Again, a typical Vietnamese snack from this region.
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| Battered cuttlefish |
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| Just 2 please |
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| Buying some cashews to taste |
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| The pre-packed cashews |
I was surprised to see hand-painted traffic light control boxs here, similar to those in Sydney, so I had to photograph them.
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| Variety of dried fish |
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| Painted Traffic control box |
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| Painted Traffic control box |
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| Painted Traffic control box |
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| A Koren man having a facial |
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| Wedding reception venue |
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| Inside the venue |
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| Another wedding reception venue |
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| A fruit tree |
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| Fruit covered by net bags |
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| There is a bit of night life too |
Frances and I headed back to the ship for lunch and a rest before spending a bit of time in the afternoon practicing tai chi together.
