Before I start with the next story, I would like to invite you to have a look at the following link! Daan made a video of our time together and it is a masterpiece! Put the following site in your browser and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgydZYS1iZ4

After being dropped off in Halong, we went looking for a hotel to stay. This was not as easy as we hoped since we could not find hotels that were open in the area. After about half an hour we checked in at a hotel and booked a room for 15$. It was a bit expensive but we were happy that we had a room. When we left to get something to eat the lady asked us for 10$ so we were just happy to hear that and payed the money haha.

The restaurant tried to scam us but luckily we're experienced travelers now! We ordered a Pho, noodle soup, but it wasn't on the menu. We were told it would cost 1,5$ but we got regular noodles instead. We didn't mind and ate the noodles while having a coke and a beer. They presented us a bill of 12,5$ and when we checked the menu there were no prices listed for the noodles. We objected and payed 7$, a realistic price for what we ate and drank, and walked away.

We went out to book a boat trip and we asked on our bus ride to Halong how much people had payed. Turned out that around 80$ was the price for 2 days 1 night on the boat in Halong Bay. So when we walked around and informed about the price we were flabbergasted when a guy offered us the same trip for 40$ each. We checked several times if we would get the exact same trip as written in the itinerary and he confirmed. We booked it, but we heavily questioned that decision after. We decided to show up sooner than he told us to to be sure that we would not be left behind or anything.

The day after we showed up an hour earlier, expecting a closed store, a different seller or a "you didn't pay me yet" remark. The place was open and filled with tourists who had their lunch before they went back to Hanoi. They just finished their tour. We were introduced to our guide and after 3 hours of waiting we boarded a boat to go into Halong Bay. We couldn't believe that we payed half of the money that other people payed for the same trip. Guess the tour operators get a lot of commission and we booked at the organisation ourselves so we could pay the lower price.

Halong Bay was amazing. I thought that the bay contained about 4 or 5 big rocks and that that would be it. I was never so wrong. The bay contains thousands of rocks and it was an amazing sight to see. This will be one of the best things I have seen in Vietnam and possibly my entire trip. The weather was very nice with the sun shining and a blue sky with some clouds in it. We stopped at one of the rocks to explore a cave. It was rubbish, especially compared to the Paradise Cave. They lit it up with colored lights, which made it look like a disco. Back on the boat we floated to a island where the people with 3 days 2 nights were dropped off. We slept on the boat, a bit outside of the harbor.

The next morning we had again beautifull weather and about 3 hours left on the boat. We enjoyed the view while working on our tan at the sundeck and when we arrived at the harbor we had lunch before we were put on the bus to Hanoi. All meals, the boat ride, sleeping on the boat and the bus ride was included in that 40$. Best deal ever haha.

When we arrived in Hanoi, we booked a hostel and we're about the have some dinner while planning the last morning together before Philipp flies back to Bangkok in the afternoon