Ok, so from Hoi An I left for Hue. On my arrival I did my usual 'grab my bags and run from the touts' thing to avoid all sorts of scams between buses and hotels. I eventually found my bearings and when I was almost at the street I was trying to find for a hotel, I Vietnamese man saw my guitar and struck up a conversation. I was wary at first even as he insisted he was not trying to sell anything. After a while of talking, though he seemed fairly harmless and he asked if he could meet for a drink or meal just to talk some more. I'm not quite sure why I agreed but I guess I thought it would be good to speak to a local over a relaxed meal and drink, rather than being chased down the street by touts, more or less the only other contact you get. I met him back at the same spot having found a hotel to dump my bag and he drove me on his bike to a small restaurant and we basically just had a nice meal with a couple of beers, all of which he insisted on paying for, before he dropped me back to the same spot we had met. A very surreal experience but a good one all the same!

Nienke from Hoi An turned up later and we shared a room and went out for a meal in the evening on a floating restaurant on the Perfume River. Next day after meeting Tania as well, we walked around the ancient citadel around which Hue is based but were both pretty underwhelmed as not many of the buildings on the inside were intact. I left that afternoon for Hanoi, another long overnight journey. I had two main objectives here. One to book a Halong bay trip and two to see Indiana Jones in the huge international cinema! The later I deemed more important on arrival so having found the backpacker area for a cheap guesthouse I walked in the direction of the cinema. I was therefore highly disappointed after a long walk to find that the film did not arrive there for another 2 days, by which time I would be in Halong bay! It was however a good excuse to explore the city on foot.

The next day, rested after the bus and the long walk, I booked a flight back to Bangkok for a few days later before Nienke and Tania arrived. It turned out they had gone to stay in the same area but at a YHA backpacker hostel. I met them in the early evening and loved walking into the foyer and seeing other people living out of a backpack! From here we booked Halong bay for the next day and went out in the evening to see a water puppet show. Here the puppets rested in the water and were operated via long poles by puppeteers in the water behind a screen. With the enormous variety of puppets and with the aid of live traditional music, they acted out a series of local legends and stories. The only one I recognized was the legend of Hoan Kien Lake, this name meaning 'lake of the restored sword', and the lake in question was the one right outside the door in the center of the old quarter of Hanoi. In the legend a divine sword, with which the king was able to build his kingdom, was taken back by a giant golden turtle to the bottom of the lake where it belonged. The puppet show was interesting but I think if enjoyed the one in Kyoto better. Afterwards we met friends of Nienke, Suzanne and Anthony and went out for a meal together.

Next morning bright and early I dumped my bags at the hostel, which I was determined to stay at on my return, and we boarded a bus to Halong bay, where we eventually arrived in a violent thunder storm which luckily passed, alowing us to get on the boat. We were on a standard 'Junk', the name of the standard three storied wooden sail boats used in the bay. We were immediately given lunch which included various bits of seafood including octopus and squid, which I had never tried before but thoroughly enjoyed. Then we set off for one of the many islands, whose name escaped me, and we disembarked to see the huge caves. At the same, though, many other boats came to do the same, ejecting, it would seem, half the population of Japan, so we shuffled through the caves in tight formation, marveling at the bright coloured lights that lit dead and dirty stalagtites and stalagmites along with one or two fake underground springs. It was hard not to feel like we were queing for a ride at Disneyland. Back at the dock, the fleet of ships, in true S.E Asian style, were all trying to get to the dock at once, resulting in a familiar pile up, leaving us to climb over other boats to get to ours. Back on board we were shown our rooms, full en-suite with proper beds. Infinitely more comfortable than those on the Hammer in the Whitsudays then! They dropped some people off to do some kayaking while the rest sunbathed on the top deck. I was fascinated to see small houses floating in amongst all the islands. I even saw what appeared to be a bank floating with them! Anyhow, we moved on to a spot to anchor for the night and once there we all changed and jumped off the top deck for a swim in the deep water. The evening was passed with a meal and a few beers and chatting with the various other Brits on the boat, before bed. In the morning we just made our way slowly back to port and Tania amused us by reading our tarrot cards on the way. One lunch and a bus ride laater we were back in Hanoi, where Nienke and Tania departed for Sapa. I stayed the next two nights in the hostel, which I found to be one of the most comfortable I'd been in and a welcome familiar environment after all the guesthouses. On my penultimate day I visited the temple of literature, the first university in the country, being centuries old. Then, at long last, I made it to Indiana Jones, well worth the wait, and on the way back from the cinema visited the temple on Hoan Kiem lake to see an embalmed giant turtle which was meant to have come from the lake, like the one of the legend, although turtles have not been sighted in the lake now for a couple of years. My Vietnam adventure over, I caught my flight in the morning back to Bangkok in order to get down to Ko Pha Ngan for the full moon party.