The north in five days, with more time in the villages around Hanoi than a standard itinerary allows. You arrive in the afternoon, see a water puppet show, an art form that grew out of the rice fields, and have the evening free.
The cruise sails into Lan Ha Bay rather than the busiest part of Ha Long, with kayaking and swimming at the Ong Cam area, a sunset party on the sundeck, and the Dark and Bright Cave by local rowing boat the next morning. Back in Hanoi there is time for the railway cafes at Phung Hung, where the tables sit beside the working track.
The fourth day is the one people remember: Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake, a cyclo through the guild streets, Tran Quoc Pagoda, then Quang Phu Cau incense village, conical hat making, and the wheel at Bat Trang pottery village where you throw and paint your own piece.