Twenty-fourth Day - Hallong Bay and Trip Back to Hanoi

Today is our last day in Hallong Bay. We woke up a little later that yesterday so we definitely didn’t see the sunrise. Breakfast was about the same as yesterday but that’s OK. After breakfast we packed up our things and then went to see the cooking demonstration. Today they showed us how to make fresh spring rolls. You basically had to put the ingredients on evenly and then roll it up. No need to pinch it in. Then we went to Te Top Island, the island that we dropped off the two day people yesterday. We hiked up to the top of the island and had a wonderful view of Hallong Bay. Then after staying for a few minutes we hiked back down and go onto the boat. We packed up as we sailed through Hallong Bay and then went up to the sun deck to see our last views of Hallong Bay It was so beautiful, islands with very steep bare sides and then lush, greenery on the top. There were, it seamed, thousands of islands. Then we arrived at port. We were all sad to leave such a pretty bay but we have more great adventures to come! We got our luggage and then got into the car to take us back to the Elegance for one more night. On the way back we stopped at a place “conveniently at the half way point” It was a place that sold all sorts of arts and crafts and a restaurant. We ate some food and then got back in the car. When we arrived at the Elegance we were welcomed warmly as always. We got some pictures with the manager and the staff because the manager won’t be here tomorrow. Then we walked around Hanoi for a wile and had dinner. (Look near the bottom for what I meant to say.) I think that it would be proper to decide the Elegance in more detail than I have because it was such a memorable hotel. It had glass doors in the front and to the right of the doors were a sofa and a coffee table. it you walked in a little way to your right would be a travel desk where you could organize a tour. Opposite of the travel desk was reception. If you went to the right of reception were some chairs and a news paper stand. Opposite of the chairs was an elevator and if you stood in the middle and walked towards the back of the hotel you would be in the breakfast room. Behind the tables on the back wall is a mural/painting that showed a scene in Hanoi. The only thing missing was the multitudes of motorcycles. To your right is the cooking area which has a stove and a refrigerator and some counter space. It was extremely small only about five, maybe six, square yards in total area. It must have been extremely hard to cook because the squashed three sometimes four people in the space! OK now if you walk back so that you are in the lobby facing the travel desk you will see the bottom of the stairs. On the second floor if you turned right you would be facing two rooms and if you tuned the other direction on you left would be the elevator and if you walked just a little further to you right would be a bathroom that guests waiting for a room or those who have already checked out. In front of you is a lobby with a TV and a few chairs and a sofa. It also has two computer for guests to use. On the furthest side away from you is a little overhang where you can see the first floor. If you kept on going up the stairs you would be on the third floor which on you right would be tow rooms and down the hall one more room. On of the ones that we stayed in. The rest of the eight floors are basically the same so I will not bore you any more with my explanations and move on to…Oops I made a mistake. Right before the tour of the Elegance I said “Then we walked around for a while and had dinner.” But really this is what happened.
We had been wanting to do a cicilo ride but we hadn’t been able to. Did I tell you what a cicilo is? If I did you get another explanation. A cicilo is a cross between a stroller and a bicycle. The back wheel of the bike and the seat are at the back and the stroller type thing is front with a little bar at the back that the driver uses to pedal. The stroller is just a metal thing that is sorta like a sofa just really short. It also has a foot rest and two wheels on either side. We asked the receptionist to call one so that we could tour the old quarter. They came and we got in. Hannah and mom got into one and dad and me in another. Then we toured around. I felt bad for our guy because he had such a heavy load. We had asked for an hour tour but we only got a forty minute tour. Oh well it was very net to do because we could really enjoy the sights without having to dodge things on the sidewalk and cross streets. When we got back we payed them and went back to the hotel. Then we went out to dinner and went to bed.