After HoiAn wemoved onto Hue for just a night,thank god because the rain was unbearable! We arranged a tour from the riverside for a boat trip because it was cheaper than booking with our hotel, i think this offended the women at the hotel due to events that followed. The next morning the girls headed out for the boat tour, i missed out cos it was pouring and i would have been miserable due to lack of waterproofs. Snuggled back down to sleep then a guy came and showed people around my room and then got told to get out!...at 8am! we were paid up till 12! They told me to go to Lucys and Leannes room which we had till 5, i was sooo cross but watched Romeo and Juliet and that cheered me upa tad. When we checked out i complained and got 50cents off!! Anyway we were told bus would pick us up from outside hotel..didnt happen! we werew made to lug our huge backpacks in the heavy rain 500metres to the bus where we then sat on for 16hrs soaking wet! We didnt think things could get any worse. We arrived In hanoi in the morning and got taken to a skanky hotel...the leaflet looked really nice. We were going to leave Hanoi the next day so we put up with it for one night.

We booked Halong Bay tour 3days 2 nights for $85. So worth it! We spent one night on our boat, then next day got taken to Cat Ba national Park and we cycled into a village. On the way i saw a buffalo just lazing in a huge vat of mud, he was covered,i wish id got a photo! We then did a mini hike through some jungle, but alas did not see any funky wildlife, just a very large stick insect! After the cycling we got back to the boat and had lunch (all meals were included and its been the best food yet). After lunch we got in more sunbathing time before kayaking around the bay,and after did some swimming. By then the temperature had really dropped! That night we stayed in a 3* hotel on Cat Ba Island which was pure luxury!! I was so happy. After dinner we went for drinks with our tour group to a lonely planet pub,and my wine got topped up each time my glass looked empty, very classy. Cat Ba had grown on us so we told our tour guide we werent coming back to Hanoi just yet abd we stayed for 4 more days...obviously we'd checked into a much cheaper hotel! Cat Ba is still relatively undeveloped and the internet there cost 60p an hour, where everywhere else its 20p! It also had a few power cuts and theres only one ATM. We found Cat Co beaches which are like something off a film, totally deserted and clean. I was in heaven and for the next 4days we did what travellers should and REEEElaxed! We still got our transfer back to Hanoi for free and even a lunch thrown in.

So now im writing from Hanoi, this morning we went to Ho Chi Minhs Masoleum (basically the body of a Vietnamese leader that has been embalmed and is now displayed) There were so many people there and i have not seen so much order yet in Vietnam. Guards every 5 paces,no smiling or talking, no cameras. We got there just has the Guards where changing, apparently something that rivals that of Buckingham Palace. The body looked very fresh as its just come back from Russia where it is maintained for 3months of the year. Personally it couldve been a waxwork and i wouldnt have known.