We’d booked a tuk tuk tour of the Ayutthaya temples for today. It’s relatively flat so you could also hire a bike and cycle, but it was a sweltering day when we were there so we were glad of the cool breeze when riding in the tuk tuk. We’d booked via our hotel, Siri guesthouse, and it was 1,000 baht (about £25) for the full day. I was very pleased when our driver turned up in a pink tuk tuk!
Our pink tuk tuk
Our first temple stop was Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. It’s main distinguishing feature is an enormous chedi, which you can climb to the top of and go inside via a staircase at the back.
Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, with its enormous chedi
Outside of the chedi is a huge reclining buddha.
The big reclining Buddha outside Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon
Oh, and there’s also a small lake with some big turtles behind the temple. You can buy food to feed them, which is quite fun.
Feeding the turtles in the lake behind Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon
Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is free to enter, and I found it to be one of the more interesting temples in Ayutthaya so would definitely recommend including it if you’re visiting the old temples of Ayutthaya.
Our next stop was Phra Mongkhon Bophit. From the outside, it’s quite modern looking and the red and gold exterior looks pretty but doesn’t really stand out as a must see temple.
Phra Mongkhon Bophit temple in Ayutthaya
However, inside is one of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand. It’s huge, and truly impressive. It was built in the early Ayutthaya period, and the total height of the image is almost 17 metres!
One of of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand, inside Phra Mongkhon Bophi
Next door to Phra Mongkhon Bophit is Wat Phra Si Sanphet, a much more ancient looking temple with a lot of old chedis. This temple has an entrance fee (50 baht, or about £1.25 for foreigners).
Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Ayutthaya
Just across the road is Wat Phra Ram, which also has a 50 baht fee for foreigners. It dates from 1369, and so some of the temple is in ruins. It’s a big site, with a huge central Prang and foundations and old ruins of various buildings and several small chedis surrounding it.
Wat Phra Ram, which dates from 1369
Wat Phra Ram is also next to a large and attractive looking park with a big lake in the middle, Bueng Phra Ram Park. Apparently it used to be a massive swamp in front of the old temple.
Bueng Phra Ram, which used to be a huge swamp
We got back in the tuk tuk and drove to Wat Lokaya Sutharam. There’s not much left of the temple itself, but there’s a huge reclining buddha (Phra Buddha Sai Yat), which was restored in 1954.
The huge reclining Buddha in Wat Lokaya Sutharam
We next went to Wat Chaiwatthanaram, which reminded me slightly of some of the temples we saw at Angkor Wat. I later found out that Wat Chaiwatthanaram has some Khmer influence, which probably explains the slight resemblance. It’s another temple with a 50 baht entrance fee, but is definitely worth a visit.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram, which has some evident Khmer influence
We then visited Wat Phu Khao Thong, whose main feature is a huge 50 metre white chedi. You can climb up the steps to the platform about half way up the chedi for views over Ayutthaya.
Wat Phu Khao Thong, with its impressive 50 metre chedi
On the way out of the temple, we drove past a roundabout with hundreds of rooster statues surrounding it, which I thought was quite cool.
The rooster statue roundabout right by Wat Phu Khao Thong
We then went to Wat Thammikarat, which has a Buddha head on a lotus flower outside of the temple entrance.
The Buddha head on a lotus flower outside Wat Thammikarat
The main temple building (the Royal Sermon Hall) is huge and must have been very impressive when it was fully intact.
Only the foundations remain of the smaller sermon hall (or Vihara) next to the Royal Sermon Hall, but these have been decorated with hundreds of rooster statues.
Wat Thammikarat, Ayutthaya
Our final stop was Wat Mahathat. It’s another ancient temple that’s in ruins and is on a vast scale, but it’s main distinguishing feature is Buddha’s face in a tree. Wat Mahathat is also one of the temples with paid admission of 50 baht.
Wat Mahathat, whose main distinguishing feature is Buddha’s head in a tree
Wat Mahathat is right opposite the night market, which was just opening up for the night. We had a wander around and bought some fish cakes and a cheese roti as a snack to share. They were both freshly cooked and very good (much better than the coconut pancakes we’d tried yesterday).
We bought some fish cakes and a cheese roti at Ayutthaya night market
We were catching the 6pm train to Bangkok, so we had an early dinner at The shop knows – ร้านรู้เองจ๊ะ. We ordered a chicken pad Thai and a pork fried rice. The pad Thai wasn’t amazing, definitely not the best we’ve had. The fried rice was better (it had that smokey wok flavour) but not exceptional.
Our early dinner at The shop knows – ร้านรู้เองจ๊ะ
We walked back to Siri guesthouse to pick up our bags and order a Grab car to the station. Annoyingly the train was over an hour late so we had a long wait at the station. The journey itself though was very pleasant, we were in the 2nd class air conditioned carriage again so the seats were comfortable with plenty of legroom.
It was late by the time we got to our hotel in Bangkok, so we didn’t bother going into town, and instead just watched an episode of Manifest on Netflix then went to bed.
We wanted to get the first train of the morning (which was around 10.30am) so we’d be in time for the monkey festival, which just so happens to be taking place in Lopburi today. We ordered a Grab from the hotel, but no drivers were available. We were just about to give up and cross the busy road that the hotel’s on so we could try to flag down a passing taxi / tuk tuk / songthaew when a driver finally accepted the journey. It’s good we allowed plenty of time to get to the station!
Like the other stations we’ve been to in Northern Thailand, Nakhon Sawan station is very attractive looking with a steam train out the front.
The steam train outside Nakhon Sawan station
We went inside and tried to buy our tickets (this was one of the trains you couldn’t book tickets online for) only to be told that the train wasn’t running today and the next one wasn’t until 12.42pm. So we had a long wait at the station. There wasn’t much we could do, as we had our luggage with us and there’s not a huge amount in the near vicinity (the market outside the station didn’t seem very open) so I used the time to read my kindle. Annoyingly the train was then over an hour late, so we ended up spending much longer that we’d have liked at the station!
We were in the 3rd class carriage for the journey, and the train was packed and quite hot and stuffy. However, by this point we were just glad to be on the train.
Our 3rd class train carriage on the train from Nakhon Sawan to Lopburi
We stayed at the Hop Inn in Lopburi, the same chain we’d stayed at in Nakhon Sawan. It’s a bit like Thailand’s version of premier inn, basic but clean, comfortable, and cheap. The one in Lopburi was further out of town than we’d have liked, however we only booked our accommodation a couple of days earlier and because of the monkey festival (which we also hadn’t known about until recently) most places were fully booked.
By the time we got a taxi to our hotel, it was late afternoon and so we’d missed the last monkey feeding at 4pm. We noticed there’s a 24hr self service laundry right next to our hotel, so decided to go out for an early dinner and then do some much needed laundry.
There’s a 24hr laundrette right next to the Hop Inn in Lopburi
We dropped our bags then headed out for a walk. There were millions of birds right outside the hotel, the noise was almost deafening. It’s not the first place in Asia we’ve noticed extremely loud birds, but was a bit surreal being right on a main road.
The millions of birds congregating on the main road outside our hotel.
It felt like a lot of restaurants around here were closed (despite google maps saying they were open). We spotted what looked like a night market and hoped there would be some good street food options, however it was only selling fresh foods and clothes (and looked like it was winding down for the day). We were just about to give up and go to the Big C supermarket (which is huge!), when we came across Sweet Lemon Kitchen & Bakery, which was fortunately open. They didn’t have a lot of the menu options, but we were able to order a Thai omelette with shrimp and some rice with stir fried pork. The food was good, though not exceptional.
Our food at Lemon Kitchen & Bakery, Lopburi
After dinner, we headed back to do our laundry and watch a couple of episodes of Manifest on Netflix before bed.
Sunday 27th November 2022
Lopburi doesn’t have any Grab cars but does have Grab motorbikes. We ordered a couple to take us into the centre of town. Both drivers appeared to be in the same location, however Pete’s turned up about 10 minutes later, whereas mine didn’t move at all. We decided to try and ask Pete’s driver if he could phone mine (as we don’t speak Thai). When we showed him the booking with the drivers details he immediately knew what we were asking and also was able to just speed dial the driver from his phone. I guess they thought it was odd having two bookings to and from the exact same locations and thought it was a mistake? Anyway, my driver turned up within 10 minutes, and we were both on our way!
Our first stop was Phra Prang Sam Yot, the famous monkey temple. I was a little nervous going inside as I’d heard stories and seen photos of monkeys jumping on people’s back and stealing things, and didn’t particularly like the idea of being attacked by a bunch of monkeys (there are a lot of them hanging out at the temple). Fortunately they were all very sedate. While we were there. another tourist even went up to a baby monkey and touched its paw. The mother was holding on tightly to the baby’s tail and I was half expecting her to get aggressive, but they were both very placid.
You can also go inside the temple, which is a monkey free zone but does have a lot of resident bats.
Phra Prang Sam Yot, with its myriad of monkey inhabitants
Monkeys also just wander the streets, it’s quite odd seeing them around town, strolling along or chilling out on fences and vehicles.
From the monkey temple, we could walk to all the sights within Lopburi. As well as large, partly intact temples there are also loads of much smaller ruins scattered around Lopburi, such as Wat Indra, which we briefly visited.
Wat Indra, one of the many small temples that are now in ruins and are scattered around Lopburi
We continued walking until we reached Pratu Chai, one of the old city gates.
Pratu Chai, one of the old city gates.
Right by Pratu Chai is a restaurant, Pad Thai Buri Ka Prao Hom, where we stopped for lunch. We ordered a chicken pad Thai and a crispy pork pad Thai. The waiter then told us we should order the special appetiser which was a specialty of the restaurant. We had no idea what it was (the menu was in Thai only) but decided to give it a go. It ended up being some crispy prawn dumplings, which were superb! The pad Thai were a bit different to the traditional pad Thai we’d had so far. The presentation was excellent, but I think I prefer the simpler, more traditional pad Thai to this restaurant’s more modern interpretation.
The modern interpretation of pad Thai at Pad Thai Buri Ka Prao Hom
After lunch, we continued walking along the city wall (although there’s not much left of it) until we reached Chaichanasongkhram Fort. There’s not a huge amount of the fort remaining but the couple of walls that are still standing are quite impressive.
Right by the fort is an old water gate, Patu Chong Kud, which was built for water irrigation and as a navigation route between the city moats.
The Patu Chong Kud water gate
We continued to Wat San Palio, which is slightly different as it’s an ancient Christian building built by French Jesuit priests. A lot of it is in ruins, but you can tell it must have been impressive back in the day.
Wat San Palio, an ancient Christian church
We next headed to Wat Bandai Hin. This temple is relatively intact, and has a beautiful and very ornate chedi.
Wat Bandai Hin, with its beautiful ornate chedi
Our next temple was Wat Phrasi Rattana Mahathat, another of the paid entry temples with a 50 baht fee. This is a vast temple site, and there are quite a lot of chedis and ruins of ancient buildings to see.
Wat Phrasi Rattana Mahathat, a huge ancient temple in Lampang
By this point we were melting in the heat, so went into Baan Sahai Cafe for a cool drink and an ice cream. The cocktails were very cheap at 90 baht (about £2.50) each, so I decided to give one a go. Pete had a strawberry ice cream float. We also shared some mango sticky rice and a scoop of coconut ice cream. They were nice, but the mango sticky rice wasn’t as good as the one we’d had in Chiang Mai.
Drinks and ice cream at Baan Sahai Cafe
It was now mid-afternoon and getting time to go back to the hotel and pick up our bags, then catch our train to Ayutthaya. We ordered a couple of Grab bikes and mine turned up first. He didn’t have any Grab branding on his clothing and his bike registration number was different to what the app said it should be, but he knew my name and where I was going so I thought nothing of it. However we then drove in the opposite direction to what I expected and went down a load of small country roads for what felt like ages (the most direct, and quickest, route to the hotel is down a main road). I was starting to get a little nervous as I had no money on me and my phone doesn’t have internet access unless it’s connected to wifi.
Fortunately the Big C soon came into view. We’d gone way past the hotel, but were finally on the main road I recognised. Pete had beaten me back to the hotel, despite his Grab bike arriving 10 minutes after mine (he waited until I was on mine before ordering, to avoid them being confused by two identical routes at the same time). We suspect the Grab driver was unauthorised or something and so went the convoluted back routes to avoid being stopped by the police or anyone.
As there are no Grab cars in Lopburi, we’d asked the hotel to order us a taxi as we didn’t fancy being on the back of bikes with our luggage. The taxI soon arrived and took us the train station, which is another attractive building with a steam train in front.
Lopburi station with its steam train
This time we were in the 2nd class air conditioned carriage, which were so much better than the 3rd class fan carriages we’d previously travelled in.
The 2nd class carriages were air conditioned and comfortable, with plenty of legroom
We’d not traveled far when we weee served a meal to our seats, which was very unexpected. We’d not ordered any food, apparently it just comes with the ticket type we bought. It was slightly odd – a tub of hot rice with two vacuum packed packets of cold chicken in sauce (one turmeric and one spicy). I think mixing the chicken with the rice is meant to heat it, but it ends up being barely lukewarm. I think if it was piping hot it’d have been ok, but as it was, I wasn’t a fan. I did quite like the accompanying biscuits and banana chips though.
Our slightly odd train meal
It was evening by the time we arrived in Ayutthaya. We got a tuk tuk to the Siri Guesthouse (where we were staying), checked in, and dropped our bags. We then went out to explore the night market. It wasn’t as good as we were expecting, everything seemed to be winding down even though it was only 8pm. Perhaps because of the impending thunderstorm? We bought some coconut pancakes from one of the few stalls that were still cooking. They were ok, but I wouldn’t buy them again.
We bought some coconut pancakes at Ayutthaya night market.
We got back to the hotel just in time, it started pouring with rain a couple of minutes later. Hopefully it’ll have brightened up by tomorrow!
We checked out of the hotel, left our bags, and went for a walk in search of an early lunch. We ate at หมูกรอบ ส.สามชั้น, another very local restaurant with no English. We managed to order a spicy pork and rice dish topped with a fried egg, which we shared between us. It was very tasty.
Our delicious porky rice lunch at หมูกรอบ ส.สามชั้น
After eating, we went back to our hotel to pick up our bags then got a Grab car to the station. Phitsanulok station is very attractive, with a steam train outside the entrance – this seems to be a common theme in Northern Thailand!
Phitsanulok station is very attractive, with a steam train outside the entrance
Outside of the station is a decent sized market. As we’d arrived at the station with plenty of time to spare, Pete and I took it turns to look after our bags and go and have a wander around the market.
The market outside Phitsanulok train station
We were in the 3rd class carriage with fans for this journey, and the train was very busy. There was intermittent rain showers along the way, so the windows kept getting closed (as otherwise you get soaking wet) so at times it was a bit hot and not the most comfortable journey.
We were in the 3rd class carriage for the train journey from Phitsaulok to Nakhon Sawan
We arrived in Nakhon Sawan to find Grab doesn’t work (at least not in the station area). A women asked if we needed a taxi, Pete showed here where we were going (the Hop Inn hotel), she said it’d be 150 baht (about £4) and then ushered us into a green songthaew (a bus / taxi hybrid vehicle). It was a bit of an odd journey. Usually the songthaew follow a set route and cost about 10 baht per person. The one we got into was full, but after driving a few metres the driver told everyone except us to get out and transfer to another one. She then drove us straight to the hotel door (we never managed to work out the songthaew routes, but pretty sure our hotel wasn’t on one!). I guess she saw us and thought she’d use the opportunity to transform her songthaew into a taxi and earn a bit of extra cash (to be fair it wasn’t any more than a Grab car would’ve been).
The songthaew, which turned into our private taxi
It was pouring down with rain, so we chilled in the hotel for a bit, and used the time to do a bit more trip planning. After a couple of hours the rain had eased off, so we grabbed an umbrella from the hotel lobby then set off in search of dinner. We ate at เตี๋ยวโต๊ะขาว by หม่าม๊า” สูตร ยกซดเจ้าเก่า, and shared some stir fried flat rice noodles with crispy pork and some egg noodles with crab and pork between us. The food was very good, and I especially enjoyed the wide rice noodle dish.
Dinner at เตี๋ยวโต๊ะขาว by หม่าม๊า” สูตร ยกซดเจ้าเก่า
We were both feeling tired, so went back to our hotel for a couple of episodes of Manifest on Netflix before bed.
Saturday 26th November 2022
This morning we decided to head to the Ganesh idol park and fortunately were able to book a Grab car to take us there. However once there, we found we were outside the area that Grab serves and so (with the aid of google translate) asked the driver to wait for us.
The Ganesh idol park is a park in Nakhon Sawon, and it’s main distinguishing feature is a huge bright pink temple in the shape of Ganesh, the multi-armed Hindu god. It was magnificent to see!
The giant bright pink Ganesh in the Ganesh idol park
You can go inside the temple, and there are multiple statues of Ganesh, each one unique (but all bright pink).
There are many pink elephant statues inside the Ganesh idol
Behind the temple, the park continues. There’s another temple, but this one shaped more or less like a normal building, although some of the structure is made to look like tree trunks. It’s an interesting place to visit.
The Ganesh idol park is slightly quirky and definitely worth a visit
We returned to our Grab car, and asked our driver to take us to the Nakhon Sawon observation tower. It’s on the top of the mountain, and has commanding views over the city.
The Nakhon Sawon observation tower, which is at the top of a mountain
You have to take you shoes off to enter the building (which seems to be a common thing for museums in this area) and can then take an elevator or the stairs up to the observation deck. The ticket price was 20 baht (about 50p). The observation deck has 360 degree views over the city, although there’s unfortunately no outdoor area. There’s a few informational signs, but they’re all exclusively in Thai.
Views over Nakhon Sawan city from the top of the The Nakwon Sawon observation tower
Behind the observation tower is a big Buddha. Not as big or impressive as the one in Bangkok, but still worth seeing.
The Big Buddha just behind the Nakhon Sawon observation tower
There’s also a temple nearby, Khiriwong Temple, which is also known as The Golden Hilltop Pagoda. At the back of the temple is an imposing and beautiful golden chedi.
Khiriwong Temple, Nakhon Sawan
At this point it had started raining heavily, so we were glad of the shelter.
We decided to walk down the mountain. Ignoring the intermittent bouts of heavy rain, it was a very pleasant walk, passing several small temples and shrines along the way.
The walk down the mountain went past several small temples and shrines
We were nearing the bottom of the mountain when a truck pulled up and insisted we get inside. The back seat was loaded with boxes, so it was a bit of a squeeze with the woman half squatting and half sitting on my lap in the back, while Pete was squeezed into the front seat which was on its furthest forward setting. It was very kind of them, and saved us from getting soaked in the latest downpour though!
We exited the truck, thanked the couple for the lift, and went into ผัดไทยเจ๊ใส for some lunch. It’s a Pad Thai place and they only do Pad Thai, which they do very well. So well in fact, that Pete had to order seconds!
Our delicious pad Thai at ผัดไทยเจ๊ใส, Nakhon Sawan
Nakhon Sawan is built on two rivers. At the point where they converge, there’s a monument / artistic modern bridge, called Phasan, The Origin of the Chao Phraya River. We ordered a Grab car to take us there. It’s a very Small cool looking bridge!
The bridge at Phasan, The Origin of the Chao Phraya River
You can also walk over and inside the bridge. It makes for some pretty good photos!
You can walk both inside and over the top of the bridge at Phasan, The Origin of the Chao Phraya River
It was a hot day (the rain had long since stopped!) so we stopped for a cold drink at Rabbit bubble milk tea. There are quite a few cafes by the bridge, but we quite liked the name of this one (and the drinks looked good in the pictures!). Pete chose strawberry and I had cocoa, they were both very good and just what we needed in the heat of the day.
Our cold drink at Rabbit bubble milk tea, outside Phasan, The Origin of the Chao Phraya River
Grab unfortunately doesn’t work here, and there were no obvious taxis around. We decided the best (perhaps only!) option was to walk the 40 minutes across the island and over the river into town. We set off but were soon stopped in our tracks by a dog blocking the road and barking somewhat aggressively at us. There seem to be a lot of dogs out on small country roads in Thailand, and we didn’t want to take our chances so headed back to the bridge. There were a couple of touristy looking minibuses in the car park, so with the aid of google translate Pete asked them if they were going into the city centre. Both said they were full. One of the drivers, however took pity on us and took us into the nearest cafe where he had a lengthy conversation with the owner. Eventually he used google translate to tell us “they take you”, and the owner and his son pulled up on their motorbikes. Pete and I got on the backs of their bikes and had a lift over the river. We gave they money for the petrol, which they seemed very confused about (and it didn’t help that they speak no English and we speak no Thai!) but eventually accepted.
The owner and his son, who came to our rescue with their motorbikes
We walked along the river and then stopped at Bitter*Sweet Homemade Icecream for an ice cream. They didn’t have banana, but did have the next best thing – banoffee. So Pete was happy. He had one scoop, along with one scoop of coconut, I opted for a single scoop of almond and toffee. It was very good ice cream, and nice to sit in an air conditioned restaurant away from the heat.
We stopped for an ice cream break (and to cool down) at Bitter*Sweet Homemade Icecream
We continued walking Wat Nakhon Sawan, a large and impressive looking Buddhist temple near the river. As we approached we could hear chanting being piped out of loud speakers. There seemed to be a prayer service going on, so we didn’t try to go inside.
Wat Nakhon Sawan, a large and impressive looking Buddhist temple
We walked a little further to Ko Yuan Canal Park, and walked the length of the canal. This is a lovely little area, with some street art on the walls and plenty of fish (you can buy fish food to feed them)
Ko Yuan Canal Park, where you can feed the Koi carp
The far end of the canal is quite near Paradise Park, our final destination of the day. By this point, the sun was setting but the park was still very busy with joggers and people relaxing, and looked beautiful.
Paradise Park looked beautiful after sunset
It had been a long day so we took the lazy option of ordering a Grab takeaway to our hotel room. One of the high rated options was the Pizza Company and they did mini pizzas for a few quid, so we decided to give them a go and ordered a spicy chicken and a pepperoni. To be honest, they were a bit disappointing- the chicken one tasted like it had mayonnaise instead of tomato sauce in the base, and wasn’t particularly spicy.
Our mini pizzas from the Pizza Company were a bit disappointing
We decided to give the breakfast at our hotel (Harmony Ville) a go, as it was included in our room rate. To be honest it was a bit disappointing – an uninspiring western style breakfast, that came with a pretty bland rice porridge.
Our breakfast at the Harmony Ville Hotel, Phitsanulok wasn’t brilliant
The hotel is on the canal, which used to form part of the moat outside the old city walls. It was lovely to walk along.
The canal and old city wall in Phitsanulok
Our first destination of the morning was Chan Royal Palace. Apparently Phitsanulok was briefly a capital city, and at the time the King of Sukhothai built Chan Palace as his residence. There’s a Historical Park just outside the palace, which contains the ruins of three ancient temples. There’s not a huge amount left of them, but they’re interesting enough to see and it’s easy to tell they must have been impressive sights before they fell into disrepair.
The ruins in the historical park outside Chan Palace are interesting to see
There’s even less to see of the Palace itself, only the remnants of the old foundations remain. However, there’s now a museum on the site, the Chan Royal Palace Historical Centre. The museum tells the story of the history of Phitsanulok, as well as the palace itself. Information is in both Thai and English, The English translation uses surprisingly flowery language (we had to look up what behoove meant!).
There was also an extremely enthusiastic guide, who seemed very excited to see us. Apparently her motivation for learning English is so she can sing Westlife songs. Pete looked less than impressed by this news!
A huge group of school kids arrived at the museum just as we’d finished, we obviously timed it well as they filled a good deal of the museum!
A huge group of schoolchildren arrived just as we’d finished seeing the Chan Royal Palace Historical Centre
There’s very little to see of the Palace itself, just some ruins of the old foundations. Animal statues (mainly chickens of various sizes!) lined the footpaths, so that was quite cool to see. There’s also a shrine dedicated to King Naresuan the Great on the old Palace site.
The shrine in the Palace grounds and the animal statues lining the way
We walked across the bridge over the river, and then continued along the river bank. We passed a very busy noodle bar, the Hoi Kha Rim Nan Noodle Restaurant, so decided to stop there for a bite to eat. You had to remove your shoes before entering the restaurant, and inside it had a very cool layout. You either sat crossed legged on the floor at low tables, or on bar style seating around the edge, dangling your legs down to the street below.
The Hoi Kha Rim Nan Noodle Restaurant, where we stopped for lunch
We ordered some pork wantons, pork cracking, and one portion of Tom Yum soup to share.
Our lunch at the Hoi Kha Rim Nan Noodle Restaurant
The food was good (the Tom Yum was much better than the one we’d tried in Chiang Mai), but not exceptional. The pork wantons could have done with more filling, the pork was a bit scant.
After lunch, we walked to the Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Woramahawihan (which is also known as Wat-Phra-Sri or Wat Yai). It’s a very important Buddhist temple, which is apparently famous in Thailand. As we entered, we noticed the beautiful doors, inlaid with mother of pearl. Outside of the temple is a huge Buddha statue, in front of a a Khmer style prang.
Wat Yai with it’s beautiful mother of pearl inlaid doors and many images of Buddha
However, the most famous part of the temple is the Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, which is considered one of the most beautiful Buddha images in the whole of Thailand. Interestingly it’s the only area of the temple where you’re required to wear a face mask to visit. They’re also very strict about covering up before the Buddha image, and have free sarongs outside for people to borrow if needed.
Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, one of the most beautiful Buddha images
Our next temple stop was the nearby Wat Nang Phaya. The interior walls of this temple are decorated with paintings, and there are also some brightly coloured paintings in the galleries outside the temple.
Wat Nang Phaya, with its bright and beautiful paintings
At the back of the temple are some ancient looking stupas, which look a bit incongruent with the style of the main temple.
The ancient stupas at the back of Wat Nang Phaya
The final temple of our walking tour was Wat Ratchaburana, also called the Royal Pagoda. There’s a big wheel thing outside the front of the temple, which seemed to be something to do with fortune telling. Whatever it was, it looked very cool.
The temple itself is believed to date from the Sukhothai period and has a very impressive ancient chedi.
We stopped off at กรี่ กะหรี่ปั๊บ 25 ไส้ (handmepie) and bought a couple of local sweet pastries, one with a pineapple filling and one with pandan custard inside. They look a bit like miniature Cornish pasties, The pineapple one was a bit too sweet, but I quite liked the pandan custard (although Pete wasn’t too keen), and the pastry was very light, buttery, and flaky.
Our sweet pastries from กรี่ กะหรี่ปั๊บ 25 ไส้ (handmepie)
We continued walking until we reached the Clock Tower, which (like the one in Lampang) is in the centre of a roundabout.
The clock tower in Phitsanulok
Just round the corner from the Clock Tower is a small road with a bit of street art.
Street art in Phitsanulok
We continued to the Folk museum, and got their just in time. The heavens a couple of minutes later, and we were very glad to be in a dry museum!
It started to pour with rain just after we got to the museum.
The museum was apparently started by an eccentric old guy who liked to collect various objects. As well as his collection of weird and wonderful items, the museum also tells the story of various traditional arts and activities, including weaving, coconut grating, sugar making, and rice milling.
Just over the road from the Folk Museum is the Buddha making factory. It’s not a museum as such, but it’s open to the public so you wander around and observe the process.
We headed back towards the town centre and cam across a brightly coloured Chinese temple. It’s not one of the main sights, but I loved the dragons wrapped around the entrance pillars.
The brightly coloured Chinese temple we stumbled upon near the river.
We walked back over the river, and stopped off for dinner at TonTan Thai Kitchen. It an extremely intense service experience! We walked in and were escorted to our table by three waitresses, who then stood extremely close to our table and hovered over us while we looked at the menu. It took quite a few attempts at asking for a bit of time, asking to read the menu, gesturing etc. before they finally took the hint and left us in peace. However, it seemed to require all three of them to take our order and bring anything out to us (including Petes can of coke, which needed one to carry the glass, one to carry the coke, and one to apparently supervise!) Despite the slightly overwhelming service, the food was very good. We shared a stir fried noodle dish and a spicy minced pork between us. It was slightly pricey for Thailand, but was worth the money.
Our dinner at TonTan Thai Kitchen
It was now evening and had been a long day, so we walked back to our hotel. The bridge across the canal was beautifully lit up and looked very pretty.
The bridge over the canal looked pretty lit up at night
We walked from our hotel into the centre of town, stopping off for a quick look around Wat Sri Chum temple. It’s a beautiful Burmese temple, which used to be much larger but unfortunately much of it was destroyed in a fire in 1992.
Wat Sri Chum, a Burmese temple in Lampang
We then had lunch at Ko Run Noodle Wonton, a small local restaurant with exclusively Thai menus and no English spoken. We used google translate to try to figure out what the various menu items were, then pointed at two different items to order. I don’t think we got exactly what we ordered, as we ended up with two identical bowls of noodles, although each seemed to contain everything on the menu (crispy wantons, minced pork, grilled pork, and processed pork balls). I wasn’t a huge fan of the processed pork balls, but the rest of it was very delicious.
Our lunch at Ko Run Noodle Wonton
We then went to the Ban Pong Nak Museum, which was perhaps the oddest museum visit ever! We ordered a Grab car and it pulled up outside Fort Surasakmontri, a big army base. The museum was the other side of the entrance, however there were soldiers stationed with guns outside, so it didn’t look like we could just wander through.
Our Grab car pulled up outside the entrance of Fort Surasakmontri army base
Pete got out the car, showed one of the guards a picture of the museum, and asked if we could walk through the army base by gesturing and using google translate. One of the soldiers came up to the car, gestured for us to get back in, and had a very long conversation with the Grab driver. We assumed he was telling them how to drive around the outside of the army base. We got back in, he reversed slightly so he was level with the entrance, the guards removed the barrier, we drove forward a few metres, and then one of the guards had another long conversation with the Grab driver. No idea what they were discussing, as at this point we could clearly see the museum building from (it’s very distinctive looking!). After a few minutes, we drove the few metres to the museum entrance and were dropped off.
We had to remove our shoes before entering the museum, which is free to enter. We were the only visitors, and got our own private tour of the house. It was a bit odd, as there were three guides but only one of them spoke any English. However, all three of them escorted us around, with just one of them doing the talking (although all three would keep breaking off into little Thai conversations together).
Ban Pong Nak Museum, a slightly odd but interesting museum in Lampang
There’s a little coffee shop and garden behind the house, so we relaxed with a couple of cold drinks – an iced pink milk for Pete, and an iced Thai tea for me. A couple of guys dressed in army uniform joined us, they seemed fascinated by Pete and with the aid of google translate managed a bit of conversation.
Our iced drinks in the garden behind the Ban Pong Nak Museum
We then got a Grab car to Kelang Nakhon Public Park. The entrance gates look quite cool, and they’ve also got some hedges shaped liked horses and carts, but inside it wasn’t the most inspiring of parks (although it probably didn’t help that the weather was very grey and overcast).
Kelang Nakhon Public Park
We didn’t have all that long until we needed to head back to our hotel to pick up our bags, and then go to the station for our train to Phitsanulok.
Lampang station is lovely. It’s got a big steam train in front of the entrance (which seems to be common for stations in Northern Thailand).
Lampang station with its steam train outside the entrance
The inside of the station is also very pleasant, with little statues dotted around and plenty of seating.
Inside Lampang station
We thought we’d booked second class seats, but the carriage was decidedly less comfortable than the one we’d had on the train to Lampang. However, the fans were all working and with the windows open it wasn’t too hot. There was a bit of drama when someone noticed some water on the floor. Everyone had to evacuate their seats while one of the train crew seemed to investigate the source of the water. After about 10 minutes, they mopped up the water and everyone could return to their seats.
Our carriage (which I think was 3rd class) on the train from Lampang to Phitsanulok
At every station, the train would stop for 10-20 minutes and various food vendors would get on and try to sell their wares. We decided to give one of the Pad Thai a go, and shared one between us. Definitely not the best we’ve had, but not bad for a few baht on a train.
Pad Thai on the train from Lampang to Phitsanulok
We didn’t reach Phitsanulok until 11pm, so got a Grab car straight to the Harmony Ville Hotel where we were staying, and went to bed.
Today we went to the station nice and early in the hope of getting a ticket for the 8.50am train to Lampang. We usually buy train tickets in advance but had been to the station a couple of days earlier (as we couldn’t work out how to buy tickets online), only to be told that they go on sale just 2 hours before the train departs. The train goes all the way to Bangkok, and it’s only the long distance tickets that can be purchased in advance. Fortunately there were still tickets available (we were slightly concerned we’d end up having to wait for an afternoon train)
Chiang Mai station is beautiful and there’s plenty of seating available in the waiting area so we had a comfortable wait for the train.
Chiang Mai station is a very attractive looking station
The train pulled up at the station about 20 minutes early, and everyone boarded. Despite this, it ended up departing about 10 minutes late, which is apparently not that uncommon in Thailand.
Our train from Chiang Mai to Lampang
We were in a second class seated air conditioned carriage, and the seats were very comfortable with plenty of leg room. At every station, various street vendors would get on the train, and walk down the carriage selling food or drinks.
Our comfortable second class carriage on the train from Chiang Mai to Lampang
We arrived in Lampang around lunch time, got a Grab to our hotel to check-in and drop our bags, and then walked into town. We were staying at the SR residence, which was good value (cheap price, large and comfortable room, and close to the centre of town).
Lampang is famous for its horse and carriage rides, and on the way into town a whole procession of them passed by us.
A procession of horse and carts passed by us on our way into town
I really liked the look and feel of Lampang. The streets are very picturesque and lined by old and interesting looking buildings. It’s a shame we won’t experience it during the weekend, when the night market is open.
The streets of Lampang are very picturesque
We went to หงวนชุน for lunch, which felt very like a local place. No English menus or foreign looking customers. We used google translate on the menu, and were then very surprised to find one of the waiters spoke a bit of English. We ordered chicken Khao Soi (a local Northern Thai dish, with a curry soup base and crispy noodles) and pork noodles. The food was excellent, with the Khao Soi definitely a cut above the ones we tried in Chiang Mai.
Our yummy lunch at หงวนชุน
After lunch we continued walking to the Lampang Museum. It’s in a bright yellow building, and the building was much larger than I was expecting.
The brightly coloured Lampang museum
The museum is free to enter, and was very impressive. If you’re ever in Lampang, I’d definitely recommend visiting. It’s got a lot of interactive multimedia displays so would also be a good museum to bring kids to.
The Lampang Museum has a lot of interactive multimedia exhibits and would be great for kids
Most of the exhibits tell the story of the history of Lampang, and are very well done. It was extremely interesting and a good way to spend a couple of hours.
The exhibits in the Lampang museum are very well set out, and tell the history of the city
Just by the museum is the place where all the horse and carriage rides begin. It’s 400 baht (about £10) for an hour long city ride, which includes visits to a few temples and historic sights, so we decided to give it a go.
We decided to take a horse and carriage ride around Lampang
Our first temple stop was Wat Pratu Pong, a small Buddhist temple with traditional Lanna architecture.
Wat Pratu Pong, a small Buddhist temple in Lampang with traditional Lanna architecture
We then got back in the carriage, and continued on to The Louis Leonowens House, an old wooden house that used to be the home of Louis Leonowens. He was a British guy who founded a Thai trading company, and was the basis of a major character in the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam (which the musical The King and I was adapted from).
You can enter the house and look around and there are some informational boards in both Thai and English with a little background on the history. It doesn’t take that long to see, but is quite interesting and worth a quick visit.
The Louis Leonowens House in Lampang is worth a visit
Our next stop on the tour was another temple, Wat Kaew Don Tao Suchadaram. It’s the principal Buddhist temple in Lampang and is beautiful. Apparently it used to house the Emerald Buddha, which is now in the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
Wat Kaew Don Tao Suchadaram is the main Buddhist temple in Lampang and is beautiful
We then rode past Chao Ya Suta Stupa, some ancient ruins of an old temple, and stopped briefly to take a photo.
Some ancient temple ruins in Lampang
This was the last sight of the tour, and we rode back to the start point. We discovered another temple with some brightly coloured dragons just around the corner. We couldn’t go inside, but I really liked the dragons adorning the entrance.
An interesting brightly coloured temple we happened upon, near the horses and carts in Lampang
We continued walking around the centre of Lampang, stopping at ร้าน รักษ์บัวลอย to try some Bua Loy, a traditional dessert. It’s a coconut soup with some rice flour dumplings, candied pumpkin and beetroot, topped with a scoop of coconut ice cream. I wasn’t too convinced by the vegetables but the rest of it was lovely, not at all too sweet (which we often found to the the case in Vietnam).
Our Bua Loy coconut dessert at ร้าน รักษ์บัวลอย
We wanted to go to the Lampang Arts Center but when we got there it was closed (despite google saying it was open). I think it might only open on weekends, it seems a few places here just open at the weekend. It wasn’t a completely wasted trip though, as the road that the museum is on is lovely to walk along and has some beautiful old buildings that are worth seeing.
Some of the beautiful old buildings in Lampang
We soon reached the river, and spotted a restaurant (ป้าแข อร่อยทุกบาท) that was extremely busy despite it being only 5pm. We decided to stop for a snack as we noticed they do crispy pork. The menu is completely in Thai though, so it took us a while to figure out which was crispy pork so we could point to it! It was worth the effort though, as the pork was great – very crispy and crunchy but not too fatty or greasy.
Crispy pork at ป้าแข อร่อยทุกบาท
By this time the sun was starting to set, and the orange suspension bridge looked beautiful.
The orange suspension bridge in Lampang looks beautiful around sunset
The road opposite was lit up by a load of hanging lanterns and lights, and also looked very pretty.
We walked down it, and came across the Chiang Rai temple. It’s a big of a confusing name (as obviously it’s in Lampang), but apparently the guy who constructed it was born in Chiang Rai and so named the temple in honour of his birth town.
We arrived just before they turned on the colourful outdoor lights for the night. It’s a good time of day to visit. as it looks beautiful lit up at night.
The Chiang Rai temple looked beautiful when they lit it up for the night
We went into the building next to the main temple, which was extravagantly decorated inside – so ornate and beautiful.
We then went into the main white temple, which was equally impressive. The interior of the main temple was also adorned with paintings on each of the walls.
The interior of the Chiang Rai temple was beautiful
We carried on down the road and did a bit of sunglasses shopping. Pete needed a new pair as the coating on the lenses of his Polaroid sunglasses had started to peel off (despite them being less than a year old and relatively expensive!) Hopefully the Thai ones last longer! The sunglasses shop was right by the clock tower, which looked lovely lit up at night.
The Clock Tower in Lampang
We continued walking towards our hotel, and then took the lazy option of ordering a takeaway via Grab. One of the top rated places was a pizza restaurant, and we just couldn’t resist. We ordered one to share between us, and we weren’t disappointed – it was actually very good pizza!
After eating. we watched a couple of episodes of Manifest on Netflix before going to bed.
Not a huge amount to write about today as we spent a fair bit of time travelling. We flew from Hanoi to Chiang Mai, and arrived at the airport 3 hrs before the flight. Partly because we may need to re-arrange our luggage (to fit within the meagre 7kg per person limit) and partly because we thought they may ask for proof of onward travel. Although we’ve booked some of the later stages of our trip (our flights to Australia and accommodation there) we’ve not booked anything departing Thailand as we’re not 100% sure how or when we’ll leave. We also need to collect our boarding pass from the airport (although we checked in online, according to AirAsia Hanoi airport doesn’t allow online boarding passes) so we factored in the additional queuing time / probability of being held up by either luggage weight, proof of onward travel, or both.
We’d pre-booked a taxi on Booking. Com (for a change it was cheaper than using Grab), which picked us up late morning. On the way we drove past the mosaic wall, which we’d been staying right next door to when we first arrived in Hanoi, but only found out about a couple of days ago. It’s beautiful and goes on for miles!
The ceramic mosaic mural road in Hanoi
There was quite a long queue for the AirAsia desk (presumably because everyone had to get boarding passes printed). The couple in front of us got charged over $150 for their overweight luggage, which they were not at all happy about. I’d have just left something behind if that was me.
Eventually it was our turn. As Pete handed over passports etc, I surreptitiously put each of our bags on the scales (there are no scales for general use in the airport itself). Pete’s bag was 1kg overweight, so I moved some to mine and tried to fit the remaining few hundred grams in various pockets. It was all ok, and fortunately they didn’t ask for any proof of onward travel from Thailand.
We cleared security and immigration (they spent ages checking our passports and e-visa on our mobile phones, much more so than when we entered the country). I wasn’t at all impressed with Hanoi airport, all the prices were in USD and were ridiculously expensive (including Burger King where meals seemed to be $15-20!). We were planning on getting lunch there, but quickly changed our minds!
Our AirAsia flight departed and landed on time, and we arrived in Chiang Mai mid afternoon. We got a Grab car to our hotel, Canary House. It was great value for what we paid, large air conditioned room with a fridge and comfortable bed, and the hotel provided free tea, coffee, and biscuits.
We checked in, dropped off our bags, then walked into the old town for some food. We ate in Grazie Thai Local Food, and ordered chicken Khao Soi (a local Northern Thai dish of curry noodle soup topped with crispy noodles) and stir fried morning glory with pork. It was very good food. We loved the Khao Soi and the morning glory was very flavoursome with a nice chilli kick to it.
Khao Soi and stir fried morning glory with pork at Grazie Thai Local Food
We went for a short walk, and then returned to our hotel for another episode of Manifest on Netflix as we were feeling quite tired.
It wasn’t the best start to the morning, as we woke up to find out our hotel (Hanoi Cristina Hotel) had no cold water. Unless you turned the temperature right up (so it was unbearably hot), no water would come out the shower. We let the hotel know, waited about half an hour for them to try to fix the issue, and then eventually gave up and went out.
The Cristina Hotel is in a small alleyway, and at the entrance of the alleyway is a small street food vendor frying corn fritters. They looked and smelled very good as we left our hotel this morning, so we decided to give one a go.
The slightly bland corn fritter from the street vendor
To be honest, it was a bit disappointing. If it had some chilli or seasoning it’d be very tasty, but unfortunately was pretty bland.
We walked through the old quarter, and then had lunch at Bún Cá Sâm Cây Si. We ordered one portion of the Bun Ca and one fried fish roll to share. It was quite tasty, but also lukewarm – if only it was piping hot, we’d have enjoyed it so much more.
Bun Ca and fried fish roll at Bún Cá Sâm Cây Si – tasty but lukewarm
After lunch, we walked to Hoa Lo Prison. This prison was originally used by the French colonists for political prisoners, then later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.
During the French era, the prison was overcrowded and conditions barbaric. The museum claims that the American prisoners of war were treated very well, and has photos of the sharing Christmas dinners and looking happy (although this slightly contradicts American accounts of mistreatment and torture).
Hoa Lo Prison has an interesting but harrowing history, and is well worth a visit
Outside is a monument that acts as a memorial to all the Vietnamese political prisoners that suffered and died at the prison.
The memorial monument at Hoa Lo Prison
All in all it’s an interesting museum, and if you want more detailed information you can hire an audio guide there. We didn’t bother, as I think Pete was still slightly traumatised after the audio guide at S21 prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. There’s quite a lot of English informational panels, so you still get a lot out of the museum without the audio guide.
We next went to the B52 Victory Museum. It looked quite a lot like a construction site when we arrived, but we were beckoned in, so entered with high hopes.
The B52 museum looked very much like a construction site
As we approached the building, it still looked very much like work in progress. There were a couple of guys dressed in army khakis coming down the stairs, Pete gestured to them / asked if we could enter, they said yes and seemed happy for us to enter the museum. Not sure why though, as the building itself also was very much under construction.
The building itself didn’t seem any more complete
At least we got to see a downed B52 bomber and a couple of S-75 air defence missiles in the grounds outside.
The downed B52 bomber and a couple of S-75 air defence missiles outside the museum
From the museum, we walked to Huu Tiep Lake to see another downed B52 bomber. This one is still in the same position as when it was shot down.
The downed B-52 in the same spot it was shot down, in Huu Tiep Lake
The streets around this area are all very narrow and interesting to explore, with lots of local shops and food stalls.
We walked back towards the centre, and stopped for a cocktail along the way, at Puku Cafe & Sports Bar. The drinks were ok, not the best, but we were in need of a quick break by this point so it was a nice reprieve.
Cocktails at Puku Cafe & Sports Bar
We then continued walking to Ô Bún Chả: đặc sản Hà Nội for dinner. The meal was tasty enough, but didn’t blow us away and we’ve definitely had better spring rolls in Vietnam than the ones we ate here.
Dinner at Ô Bún Chả: đặc sản Hà Nội
As we were walking back to our hotel, we passed a lovely looking Bahn mi place, Banh Mi Nhé, so obviously couldn’t resist sharing one between us. We ordered a pork Bahn mi, which was amazing, definitely one of our contenders for top Bahn mi in Vietnam. So we had to give the chicken a go, which was equally as good.
Our very delicious Bahn mi at Banh Mi Nhé
With very full tummies, we went back to our hotel for a couple of episodes of Manifest on Netflix before going to bed.
Today is the start of our 3 day / 2 night cruise on Halong Bay. We’re travelling with Rosy cruises, and paid $475, which we booked via Hoa Ta on Facebook.
We get picked up at 7.45am and at 7.30am someone arrives at our hotel to show us where to go. We weren’t expecting this, but it’s a good thing – our hotel is down a small road the minibus can’t reach, so now we’ll definitely be at the right pick up point!
The minibus arrives a few minutes later. The seats are large and comfortable, it’s a very similar bus to the one we got from Ninh Binh to Hanoi (thankfully the driver seems much less crazy though!)
Our minibus from Hanoi to Halong Bay. There are 3 seats per row, so they’re large and comfortable.
We’re the first pickup, so we now spend an hour driving around Hanoi picking up other passengers. Today the minibus is completely full. We finally get on our way, and it’s a smooth and comfortable ride. We stop off at an oyster farm along the way, so the driver can have a break and everyone can use the bathroom. I actually find it a very interesting stop. There’s a lot of information about pearls and how they’re produced, and you can see the workers seeding the oysters. Apparently they then have to wait at least 2 years for the oyster to form the pearl around the seed.
We stopped at the oyster farm on the way to Halong Bay
We then continued on the minibus to Halong Bay, where everyone was dropped at their respective waiting rooms. The waiting rooms seemed a little chaotic, packed with passengers from often more than one cruise company. We found the check-in desk for Rosy, paid the balance of our cruise (and were a little disconcerted that apparently they don’t give receipts), and were told to leave our luggage. We were expecting them to take it somewhere, but nope, it was seemingly left abandoned in the waiting room. Fingers crossed our luggage makes it, and we’ve not just paid a lot of money to a scammer!
After about 30 minutes our tender boat arrived to transfer us to the cruise ship. As we sailed towards the Rosy, Viet, our cruise manager, explained the itinerary for the day.
Our cruise ship for our Halong Bay cruise
As we approached, we were greeted by the crew stood on deck and very enthusiastically waving at us! Inside, the ship was beautiful.
The interior of the Rosy cruises ship was beautiful
We particularly liked our cabin and it’s sea view. All the cabins on the ship have private balconies, and I think this is the same for all of the Halong Bay cruise ships.
Our cabin with its private balcony
After checking in, it was time for lunch, which was served in the ships restaurant. A lot of the tables are by the window, and the views were amazing! Lunch was a multi-course set menu. I really enjoyed the soup and the squid stuffed with pork, but the main course was very westernised and I didn’t find it as good. The dessert of mango mousse was excellent, and Pete was even offered a second one which he gladly accepted. I got the impression that if you wanted more food, you could just ask for it and it wouldn’t be a problem.
Our 5 course lunch on the Rosy was beautifully presented
We were then free to explore the ship as we sailed into the bay. The top deck is a sundeck, with a bar area, lots of seating, and incredible views over the water.
View of Halong Bay from the sundeck on Rosy cruise
We then went to sit on our balcony for a while. Just as we sat down a little boat selling drinks and snacks approached the cruise ship.
View from our balcony on the Rosy Cruise ship
Her drinks were a bit cheaper than the price on Rosy cruises so we ordered four cold beers, which she put in a fishing net and hoisted up to us.
We drank two of them on the balcony, and stuck the other two in the fridge in our room to enjoy later. It wasn’t much longer after we’d finished our beers before we dropped anchor for kayaking. They basically give you a kayak, tell you roughly where to go, and then leave you to get on with it.
Kayaking in Ha Long Bay
It was so relaxing paddling around the little mountain islands, although I soon discovered kayaks aren’t the most comfortable things to sit in! Pete, ever adventurous, decided we should try and paddle round one of the further islands. It was all going well, until we suddenly ground to a stop. The final channel was too shallow to kayak through, with quite a few sharp looking rocks sticking out of the water. In hindsight, we should just have got out and walked through the channel, carrying the kayak (our ship wasn’t too far from the other side) but I was slightly panicking at the thought of one of the rocks puncturing the bottom of the kayak! So we backtracked and paddled all the way back to the cruise ship, only just making it back as the sun was setting.
We were still kayaking back to the ship as the sun was setting, but fortunately made it back before dark!
We returned to our cabin to shower and change before the 6pm spring roll making session on the sundeck. It was also happy hour during this time – although it was buy 2 drinks get 1 free, rather than the usual buy 1 get 1 free that we’re used to. On the plus, you can mix and match the drinks and don’t have to drink all 3 at once. So we ordered 2, then got the 3rd free one a bit later on.
The spring roll making was fun. First there was a demonstration, then the passengers were allowed to get stuck in. The spring rolls were then fried for everyone to enjoy.
The spring roll making class on the sundeck of Rosy Cruises
At 7pm it was time for dinner in the restaurant, which turned out to be another multi-course affair. We went to our cabin to grab our couple of beers from earlier (the drinks on the ship are quite expensive). Again, the food was very good but I wasn’t totally convinced by the oysters with cheese and would have preferred a more traditional Vietnamese main dish (rather than the very westernised steak and mashed potatoes with a cheesy sauce)
Our 5-course dinner on Rosy cruises
After dinner you could do karaoke or squid fishing. I don’t think anyone on our boat did the karaoke, but quite a few of us had a try at squid fishing. Unfortunately it’s not the right season for squid fishing, so no-one caught anything but it was a very relaxing end to the day.
Tuesday 15th November 2022
Rosy cruise offer what they describe as a light breakfast. It turned out to be a selection of meats, bread, pastries, and fruit which you help yourself to, and then a hot option of either Vietnamese noodle soup or freshly cooked eggs, cooked however you like them. Not my idea of light, but I suppose it is compared with the multi-course feasts we’ve had so far! There’s also free tea, coffee, juice, and water with breakfast, which makes a nice change as most of the meals don’t come with any drinks.
The majority of passengers seem to go for the 1-night option, so it was just ourselves and one other couple who boarded the tender to take us to the day boat.
We headed to the day boat on the tender
The day boat isn’t exclusively for Rosy cruises, but picks up passengers from various cruise companies. This makes sense, as very few people on each cruise seem to stay 2 nights. The day boat consisted of 2 decks, with the restaurant area, seating, and a couple of toilets on the lower deck, and a big open plan sundeck with with seating and deckchairs on the top deck.
The sundeck on the day boat
We sailed to Cat Ba island, where we given the option of cycling or getting an electric car to the village. Most people, including Pete and I, chose to cycle. I’m not much of a cyclist, but fortunately the route was flat most of the way. There was one quite steep hill where most people, including myself, got off and pushed their bikes up.
The cycle to the village on Cat Ba island was fortunately flat most of the way
Once we reached the village, we went to a “fish massage” place, one of the ones where you stick your feet in a pond, and tiny fish come and eat the dead skin.
The fish massage on Cat Ba island
After relaxing with the fish, David (our guide on the day boat) took us to some of the ancient houses in the village, and explained a bit about them. At the final one, we sampled a few different flavours of rice wine, one of which had a massive snake in the flask. To be honest, they all tasted very similar to me. Clearly I’m not a connoisseur.
The ancient houses and rice wine tasting on Cat Ba island
I took the lazy option of getting the electric car back from the village, and enjoyed the views. A few more people joined me in this option, but Pete cycled back (at a considerably faster pace than when I was with him)
The scenery on Cat Ba island was lovely
Back on the boat lunch was served. I was very pleased to see it was all Vietnamese food (ignoring the side of fries). Each table was served with a succession of dishes – spring rolls, fried fish cakes, prawns, a whole steamed fish, and stir fried chicken with ginger and lemongrass. Finished off with watermelon. It was all very good, and I preferred it to the fancier, better presented, but much more westernised food on the cruise.
Our lunch on the day boat
After lunch, the boat sailed deep into Lan Ha Bay, where we dropped anchor for kayaking.
The day boat sailed into Lan Ha bay and dropped anchor for kayaking
We then sailed a bit further, and dropped anchor again – this time near a very small beach for swimming. A few people (Pete included) jumped from the top deck into the sea. I’m however much too chicken for that.
On the way back to our cruise ship, David pointed out an oblong island which is apparently meant to resemble a pen.
This evening’s entertainment is the same as yesterdays, starting with spring roll making at 6pm. As we’d done this last night, we just sat on the sundeck admiring the views with a couple of beers (which disappointingly are not included in the happy hour promotion). We still got to eat the spring rolls though, as Andrew (one of the waiting staff) very kindly bought one over to us, which was a nice surprise.
I was a bit disappointed when we got into the restaurant and saw the menu was identical to last night. However, it soon became apparent that we were being served different food to everyone else. We were very glad of this as we love trying new things and definitely didn’t want the same meal twice in two days.
Our dinner on the final night of our Rosy cruise
We already knew there’s be little chance of catching any squid, so after dinner we went back to sit on our balcony for a while before bed.
Wednesday 16th November 2022
It was an early start today as the tender boat leaves at 7.15am to take us to the dark and light caves, and floating fishing village. Breakfast was the same as yesterday, but we didn’t eat much as we’ll have brunch late morning (which I suspect will e substantial).
It’s a short ride to the fishing village, where we’re transferred to traditional wooden sampan boats to explore the caves.
These boats are rowed by a guy standing up at the back of the boat – very different to any we’ve seen so far. It was very scenic and enjoyable rowing through the caves, although these are not as impressive as the ones found in Trang An, Ninh Binh.
We rowed back to the floating fishing village. It’s more of a hamlet than a village, with a couple of floating shacks, a small fish farm, and a few house boats moored around the floating structure. I liked the fish farm, it’s basically a few small square ponds that are filled by sea water (with netting to stop the fish escaping).
We got back on the tender and headed back to the cruise ship. We were now sailing through the most scenic parts of Halong Bay so went up on the sundeck to admire the views.
We sailed through the most scenic parts of Halong Bay
It was soon time for brunch to be served, as we continued to sail to shore. This was another multi-course affair, and was probably my favourite meal on the ship. Even though the food was still very westernised, the smoked duck just melted in your mouth and the chicken Kiev thing was very tasty.
Our final brunch on the Rosy cruise ship
At about 11.30am, we said goodbye to the Rosy and transferred to the tender to take us to shore.
The tender boat took us ashore
The waiting room on shore was again quite chaotic, with various different minibus companies coming to pick passengers up. We had to wait about 30 minutes before ours arrived. It was a very similar bus to the journey there, and we had a comfortable ride back to Hanoi (with one 20 minute stop at a service station along the way).
Today’s our first full day in Hanoi, and we set off to explore the Old Quarter. We passed a lot of interesting streets and shops, including a brightly coloured lantern store which I really liked.
The brightly coloured lantern store in Hanoi Old Quarter
A little later, we came across a shop selling bamboo ladders, which I also thought was quite cool.
The bamboo ladder store in Hanoi Old Quarter
For lunch, we went to Chả Cá Thăng Long. It was absolutely packed and we had to wait outside until a table was ready. Pretty much the only dish served here is Cha Ca, fish fried with turmeric and dill. They bring a little gas stove to each table, which you cook the fish on.
Cha ca at Chả Cá Thăng Long
It also comes with rice noodles, spring onions, herbs, peanuts, and a dipping sauce. You put a bit of everything into a bowl, then mix it all up. It was amazing. Probably one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes.
Cha ca at Chả Cá Thăng Long
After lunch, we continued walking until we got to train street. It’s now forbidden for foreigners to walk over the train tracks and so it was very quiet, though still a cool place to see.
Train Street, Hanoi
We carried on walking until we reached the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. It was a bit if a mission finding our way in, and we ended up walking most of the way around the perimeter. Several people along the way seemed to think it was closed. I don’t think they were trying to scam us as most of them appeared to be confused tourists!
We were just about to give up, when we found a way in. You have to go through a security scan to get in (we’d passed a couple along our way but they were all closed).
The first building we came to was the Ho Chi Minh museum. We didn’t go inside (there’s an entry fee if you do want to) but it’s quite an imposing building.
The Ho Chi Minh museum, Hanoi
Just beyond the museum is the Chùa Diên Hựu Buddhist temple. It’s a relatively small temple, but very colourful and ornate inside.
The Chùa Diên Hựu Buddhist temple in the grounds of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Behind the temple is the one pillar pagoda. I must admit it was way smaller than I was expecting, a little underwhelming but still beautiful.
The one pillar pagoda
We continued walking until we reached the mausoleum itself. We couldn’t go inside as apparently the remains of Ho Chi Minh are sent away for maintenance during October and November. If you come another time of year, it’s open to visitors in the morning only.
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
It was still worth seeing the mausoleum from the outside, and the grounds surrounding it are very pleasant to walk around.
The grounds of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum are very pleasant to walk through
After the mausoleum, we headed to the Botanic Gardens. On the way we came across a mobile hairdresser, who’d set up shop in the middle of Hanoi. This seems to be quite a common thing here, as we saw a few of them during our time in Hanoi.
A street barber in Hanoi
We had to pay a small fee to get into the Botanic Gardens (can’t remember the exact amount, but it was literally a few pence). It was a very pleasant place to wander through, with a big lake in the middle and an area with a few sculptures off one of the paths. It felt like this is a popular spot for locals to come on the weekend, to exercise and socialise.
The Botanic Gardens in Hanoi
We exited at the opposite end of the Botanic Gardens, and it was then a short walk to the Ho Tay lake. The lake is vast, and I’m sure if it was less hazy than when we were there, the views across the water would be spectacular.
View over Ho Tay lake, Hanoi, on a hazy day
We walked around the lake to Tran Quoc Pagoda. It’s got a lovely location on the lakeside but was again smaller than I was as expecting (mainly because the icon on google maps makes it look huge!).
Tran Quoc Pagoda on Ho Tay lake, Hanoi
As we left the temple, we noticed the other side of the lake had lots of swan shaped pedalo boats.
We didn’t bother to have a go, but instead continued around the lake to Ma Xó cafe for a drink. This is the first cafe we’ve been in where you need to take your shoes off to enter. Upstairs is a cute little balcony, which we sat on and enjoyed a cocktail with lovely views over the lake. Pete pointed out some huge rats climbing the trees opposite us – I had no idea that rats could climb trees!
Cocktails on the balcony overlooking the lake at Ma Xó cafe
After our drink, we headed back into the centre. Our lunch was very big and filling, so we weren’t hugely hungry and shared a pork Bahn Mi from Bánh mì Long Hội. It was an excellent Bahn Mi, though not quite the best we’ve had in Vietnam (an unnamed street vendor in Saigon holds the top spot for us!)
Bánh mì Long Hội
Tomorrow will be an early start, so we picked up a couple of cold beers and headed back to our hotel for another episode of Manifest on Netflix
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 