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Halong Bay.
We were picked up from our lovely super friendly hotel (!) in Hanoi early the next morning and got a mini bus to Halong City which took about 3 hours. It was a fine journey...nothing to report there...i may have slept. Oh we did stop for a loo break along the way at a place with glass doors and an attendant who opened the door whenever she thought you should be finished! We had heard some horror stories about people waiting for hours to get an a boat once they were at the bay but our trip was so easy! We had spent bloody hours in Hanoi trying to find a trip to Halong Bay we liked and for a good price - there are so many and it is really really confusing. In the end we settled for one that was $75 for three days and two nights with all food etc included. This was one of the pricier ones but I really really didn't want to experience Halong Bay from a rat infested dingy...! The boat was beautiful, very Miss Marple...I felt like I should be wearing long white gloves. Halong Bay by the way...is essentially this bay, in Vietnam yeah....its got these huge limestone karsts (islandy rock things) all over the place and caves and beaches and stuff like that. It seriously is breathtakingly beautiful. There is a great legend surrounding why the karsts are there - basically there was a huge fire breathing dragon who, in a fit of rage was smashing his way to the shore and with his tail he made the karsts. Really I think he was just misunderstood. Anyway, we got on the boat, checked into our immaculate cabin (it's gorgeousness hampered only slightly by the deafening sound of the engine next door), and set sail. Then it was time for a delicious seafood lunch with the other members of our group. They were nice...kind of quiet....apart from this rather large Spanish guy (more on him later). We spent a few hours cruising around the bay in the most beautiful glorious sunshine (how many adjectives can I use in this entry..?!) and then stopped to check out a cave. It was nice. Very big. Our guide Lucky pointed out some interesting features...such as a rock mermaid...and a giant (rock) boob. Later on after some more sunbathing on the top deck we went kayaking which was fun! There were loads of jellyfish in the water around us. We kayaked for an hour or so into a cave which was outstandingly gorgeous and then got back on the boat for a drink, sunset, and dinner (more seafood). Oh but before all this the aforementioned rather large Spanish man decided to jump off the top deck of the boat into the water. Distressingly I missed his jump as I had my back to him, but I did get to see the faces of the other members of the group who wore expressions of such shock I thought the fire breathing misunderstood dragon had risen again. And what a splash he made. We had a nice relaxed evening sitting on deck watching the stars...until the Vietnamese karaoke started up on the next boat. Honestly, I don't think there is a place in Asia you can escape the banshee-like sounds of the local karaoke. Anyway..it didn't matter too much as Halong Bay is as beautiful in the day as it is at night where everything has an eerie blue glow to it and you feel as though you are in another world. That night there was a storm to end all storms which roused me from my slumber (yes it was that loud!) and I watched the lighting and rain from our cabin window for all of 10 seconds before the lure of my pillow became too much.
The next day we had breakfast on the boat and then Jen and I, who were staying a day longer than everyone else, were transferred to another boat. It wasn't quite a luxurious as our first had been - but it would do I suppose! We stopped at Cat Ba Island, home to Cat Ba National Park where we were allocated some bikes and went on a little cycle around the island. I, obviously, went through 3 bikes until I found one that works. One of them wouldn't pedal and although I'm sure it would have been fine to follow our guides' advise to just 'push it uphill'....I had to put my foot down at some point. The cycling was nice, we went through countryside and a little village where I heard the LOUDEST frogs I have ever ever heard. We then had another seafood lunch and did some more jellyfish avoiding in our kayak. Later Jen went to Monkey Island with the rest of the group except for me, as I had heard some horrible stories about people being bitten by monleys (have I mentioned how scared I am of rabies by the way...?!). I sat on the boat and at one point could be seen frantically waving my arms at Jen trying to divert her attention to the 5 monkeys heading her way. Anyway, they all returned bite free. We spent that night in a nice hotel on Cat Ba island where I finally ate creme brulee after craving it for months, but not before another dinner of seafood. Yum. In the morning we cruised on the boat for another few hours before arriving back in Halong City, eating...shock horror!...a seafood lunch, and getting a minibus back to Hanoi.
Halong Bay was absolutely gorgeous and we had a really excellent few days. We were sad to leave but didnt have to much time to dwell on it as that night we had booked ourselves onto an overnight train to Sapa, right up North near the Chinese boarder.
Lots of love
Ella
xxxxxxx
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