Today we were up as told at 7.30am for breakfast except for Rob and Sara who had decided to stay on Cat Ba Island for a few extra days to see some more of the island as we hadn't really had the time to explore it properly. They were going to catch the boat back another day and they tour guides had already confirmed that this was OK. I wonder who was looking after their pig at the hostel or whether there had been bacon for breakfast for a few days while I had been away!

Unfortunately most of the day was spent travelling by boat back from Cat Ba Island to Halong Bay where we boarded and then back in to Hanoi via coach only stopping for yet another seafood lunch, exactly that same as the other meals we had had all trip.

I can honestly say that although Halong Bay is a very beautiful place indeed and the scenery is quite unique, the overall experience of the 3 day trip has been ruined by the fact that the days had been so regimented and that the drinks on the boat were so expensive. If they only gave us some options to chose from then the whole experience would have been improved, but then I guess I did book an organised tour and if they left us on our own for 3 days then I would have complained also. Next time, or if anyone else decides to go, I would definitely suggest only doing the 1 night on the boat as nothing extra was gained from going to Cat Ba Island.

Back at the hotel I asked where the pig had gone and they told me "This was a hotel for people and not for animals" and that it had gone to one of the staff members family farm. I guess for fattening up ready to be eaten at some time in the very near future.

For the rest of the afternoon, I sat in the TV room at the hotel (as this was the coldest room) and updated some more of my blog while watching badly dubbed American films in Vietnamese. They were basically the standard film with the whole soundtrack turned down with one Vietnamese person reading every line from the film. It was very poorly done but I could still hear the original English voices so I could follow the film too.