14 hours on a sleeper bus and we have made it to Hue! We have gone to the sister hostel of the one we stayed in Hanoi (Hanoi/Hue Backpackers) and they have let us have breakfast, shower and use the internet. Really nice people here! We will chill out for a bit and in a couple hours go get on the next bus for Hoi An...luckily that one is only 4 hours long!

On Friday we went to go look around Hanoi. Really busy busy sitting...crossing the street is practically a suicide mission. Even at a crossroads you just have to go for it otherwise you'll be waiting all day! So first thing we headed to the military museum. For some unknown reason it was shut (the museum is shut on a monday and friday....) so we had to head somewhere else. We went to the prison which was used to hold and torture political prisoners. It was also later used to hold the american soldiers who were shot down in 1972 (i think.). The museum was interesting...it was a bit extreme to see the horrible conditions the vietnamese had and the actually pretty decent areas the americans were held.

After that we headed to the lake for a walk around. We stopped at the Kangaroo Cafe for lunch and then went to the little temple in the middle of the lake with a massive stuffed turtle in it. We then headed to the national history museum which we had hoped would be about the recent history but it was just relics and ancient bits and bobs...not what we had in mind. We had a quick walk around before heading to the "Fruit Shake Street". We walked along and sat down basically on the street on tiny little stools. We were handed a glass of all kinds of fruits (mango, banana, watermelon, melon, apple...even avocado!!) which had coconut milk poured over it. We had to put crushed ice into it which they also gave us and mush it all up - it was soooo good!

We then moved onto the Bia Hoi area which is where you again, sit on the street on a little stool, and enjoy a cup of local brewed beer which cost approximately 10p. Despite how cheap it was, it was damn good beer! ALMOST as good as Chang! We then headed back to the hostel to find some more roomies in our dorm. This made the total of us 3 girls, 3 scots, 4 irish and an aussi. We had a shower and then headed out for dinner....very unsuccessful! The food was below average...bummer. We then went to the bar where everyone from the hostel goes for a couple beers before bed time! Needed to be up early for Ha Long Bay!

We got on our minibuses and endured a 3-4 hour bus ride to the port. We got on the little boat to our junk which was aweeesome. Massive boat with an open upper deck and a bar/restaurant area underneath. We had lunch as the boat headed off for the bay and then went to the top deck to enjoy a little sunshine before we got to stop for a jump off the top deck. I managed to get em and jess to jump in with me all holding hands. It was a very high deck so was actually quite terrifying! After a bit of a swim we got back in to head to the next point. Time for some kayaking! They reccommended boy-girl so we got in our kayaks and kayaked away. We just around all the massive rocks in the bay and eventually stopped at a little beach for a beer before moving off to a cave. There was a severe lack of torches (about 2 torches for more than 30 people) so we sacked off the cave walk and sat on the little beach for longer. Then we went to a fishing village to check out the days catch - pretty cool - before getting the boat back to the junk.

After a quick shower we had dinner and then started the drinking games........a casual game of ring of fire quickly took a turn for the worse...lets just say. What happens in Ha Long Bay stays in Ha Long Bay ;)..dont worry. it wasnt that bad! the night continued with some chilling on the top deck before bed time. The next morning we had a quick breakfast. THe sun was shining so we all did a bit of tanning on the top deck. We had originally planned to only do one night but ended up being convinced to stay an extra night. We got on the transfer boat to "Cast Away Island". This is basically a beach, with a few walless bamboo huts for us to sleep in and a bar. (The trip to the island made us start to regret our decision to change as the rain was horrendous but once we reached the island it was so chilled out that a little rain didnt matter.) We had lunch and chilled out. Then we were all given the opportunity to wakeboard or banana boat. Us three girls opted for the banana boat which was hilarious, extremely fun however also extremely painful!

Jess and I then headed off for a bit of kayaking to some different bays and another beach. It's safe to say that Ha Long Bay is definitely one of the most beautiful locations on the planet. After a shower and some chilling we had dinner (AMAZING BBQ - squid, prawns, chicken...the works!) and then again the drinking commenced! Some good old card games and "I Have Never" before an evening swim. This part was awesome. There is plankton in the water which absorbs light throughout the day, and then in the evening when it gets moved about it lights up! So as you swim along and move ur arms the water starts to sparkle - uber cool! We were all dancing around in the bar until about 2.30am when the generator cut.....party over!

The next morning we were woken up and had egg baguettes for breakfast. It was raining again so we chilled out under the cover of the bar before heading off. Back to the Junk for an early lunch (by early i mean 10 45!) and then we got back to the port and got back on the minibus to head back to Hanoi. We arrived, got our bags, changed, grabbed some sandwiches and headed for our overnight bus. By the time we got there it was already pretty full so were fairly spread out throughout the bus. I didnt know what to expect....basically it was three rows of bunk beds. Crazy stuff! It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep - especially for jess whos mattress was wet - however i managed to sleep a good 12 hours of the 14. Gotta love my skill to fall asleep anywhere! The lack of sleep from the previous two nights probably helped a lot too.

We finally arrived in Hue. We have got a couple hours before we head to Hoi An! Yay! :D

xx Emma