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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ha long bay is magical. You can fly direct from singapore to hanoi. Several boat tours will pick up from hanoi. I did a private one day trip when I went. They picked us up from our hotel, drove to the port, we went on the boat for a few hours, had lunch on the boat, they stop for snorkling or swimming or whatever, then back to the port, and we were driven back to the hotel. I think most people do at least a night on the boat, but we had such little time and still wanted to see it.

I was also going to suggest taiwan, which was one of my favourite places in asia. Amazing food scene. [/quote]

I thought about that! So, from what little research I did online, and please note I have no direct experience, it seems the bay is suffering from over-tourism and getting too dirty to enjoy.  There IS an alternative called Bai Tu Long bay that is apparently the "new" Ha Long. It will be, however, too cold to get into the water for swimming or snorkeling in December :( But I agree it sounds and looks magical and is definitely on the list.

What did you think of Hanoi?[/quote]

I’m not the PP, but our family went to Vietnam over December/January 2 years ago. We did a 2-night Bai Tu Long Bay cruise that was amazing. We went with Indochina Junk - highly recommend. The weather can be iffy in winter (chilly, foggy) but we lucked out with gorgeous sunny weather in the 60s-70s. Some people even swam when we had lunch on a small island, but I grew up swimming in the bathwater-temp Gulf of Mexico and found the water a little cool for that.

Hanoi was my favorite city out of all we visited in Vietnam (also went to Hue - my 2nd favorite, Hoi An, Da Lat, and Saigon). It has a deep history and strong sense of culture. Like all of Vietnam, the traffic is nuts, though, the air pollution can be awful, and Vietnamese will tell you that northerners are not as friendly as southerners (I didn’t really notice that). Winter weather can be cool in Hanoi.

We stayed in the Old Quarter, which is lively, charming, and close to lots of sights, but chaotic. I think if we go again, I’d want to stay in Tay Ho or maybe in the French Quarter a little south of Hoan Kiem Lake.[/quote]

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