Before we entered Vietnam people joked about how hard it was to cross the road. When we arrived in Saigon we realised its not so hard just a steady pace & confidence should do it. When we ventured out for the 1st time in Hanoi all those rules went out the window! We didn't have much time to worry about it though as we were soon on a bus bound for Ha Long Bay.

3 days cruising around on a veritable palace. Sounded like bliss, surprisingly it was true to its word and we had a lovely time. The ship we chose, the Paloma, was beautiful. Bedrooms were much better standard than we'd been living in (best bed yet!) and the rest of the boat scrubbed up well too. There were about 14 of us picked up but some were doing 2 days and some, like us, were doing 3 days.

We were welcomed by the captain, manager & crew and invited for lunch. The food came out and it was all so lovely. Fantastic dish after dish but after dish number 4 we started looking around in disbelieve at the other passengers. Were they kidding? How much food were they going to serve us for a lunch. The answer, 8!! We were all catching each others eye with shock at the amount & quality of food being provided. As it finished I wasn't surprised that most of us slinked back down to our cabins for a sneaky snooze!

Our 1st stop was a floating village. There are many around the bay and although the government are offering free housing to those that live on the sea to move to the land, the percentage accepting is negligible. These folks were born here & will continue to live here. The houses are built on bamboo floats, some with bricks, others with tin. Some of them looked quite nice and strangely enough most had pets like dogs or cats!! The boat we were rowing in was a small round bamboo boat with a woman effortlessly showing us around. We also had 2 school teachers in ours. We pulled up at the school to let them out. The students were in a class, about 30 kids! We always feel a little weird visiting places where the locals home is the attraction. I'm sure they're used to it and its an income for them but I always feel rude gawping into their lives like that. This village was also a pearl farm, we were shown how then introduce the foreign object to the oyster then leave it for 2 years. At 30% success rate it's a slow playback for them.

Back to the main boat and its sunset cocktails and a short relax before dinner. Everyone was talking about how amazing lunch was still! We were called to the dining room and indeed there was another constant flow of 8 courses to plow through! It was insane! After the bus journey & the day at sea & the impossible amount of food we both passed out really early! I woke up and completely forgot I was on a boat, I opened the curtains and was greeted by all these beautiful limestone karsts as we sailed slowly onwards. They are similar to the ones in El Nido but multiplies by hundreds. If you wanted to see them all it would take 28 days we were told.

Enjoyed a beef pho breakfast and said goodbye to the 2 day people as they were leaving today. We were directed to a different boat and headed out just as the fog was clearing into a beautiful sunny day. Stopping at a beach a little way away we headed up the cliff to a viewpoint. The view was spectacular! So many karsts in turquoise sea, the path went up further but I was already tired so Sy climbed up the rest to take in the view. We rested here for a while before heading off to a kayaking spot.
We clambered into the kayaks from the steps on the boats side, were handed a head lamp and told to follow the guide. We were going into a dark cave. It was impossible to navigate, I got more freaked out and frustrated as I couldn't see the walls, i couldnt even see my hand, we kept banging the kayak into walls where we should have been turning and I got proper freaked out. It was so dark, even with the headlamp it was impossible. I just wanted to turn around. Then i realised as I went to adjust the lamp on my head. I'd forgotten to take my sunglasses off!!! What an idiot! No wonder it was so bloody dark. I took them off and the cave turned into a slightly darkened but could still see the edges cave! I got a fit of the giggles then as I couldn't believe I'd been so silly as we paddled out of the cave with ease! We paddled together as a group through an archway in the rock to reach a gorgeous lagoon the other side. We could see the corals & fish below our boat. I can imagine in summer with strong sunlight the waters must be beautiful.

Again the lunch & dinner today were 8 courses each with beautiful fresh fish, squid & chicken. We stayed up chatting to new friends made on the boat, drinking cocktails and (poorly) learning Vietnamese with the staff. We headed off to bed for another early start. The last day was short on the boat as we only had a cave visit in the morning. The cave was massive but we're finding it really hard to photograph caves well. Back to the big boat for brunch!!! Breakfast was only 3 hours ago but here we are with a 6 course brunch. Insane!! We said our goodbyes to the crew and got onboard the coach back to Hanoi.

Now don't get me wrong the bay was lovey and scenery was great, I just wish something could be done about the rubbish. Our captain apologised for any rubbish we may see in the water and said it came from the villages in the water but from what we were seeing, there's no way that was just the villagers. In summer swimming is a major part if the itinerary, there's no way I'd go swimming in that. We saw so many full & empty plastic bags, food waste & other rubbish it was quite upsetting. The routes the ships take are set by the government and they cannot deviate from them. They chuck the rubbish because they know it floats away but seriously why can't they employ a series of small boats to clean. It wouldn't take much other than a net and some men. I've never seen anything that bad, at one point on the way back a whole dead goat was just floating in the water too. Crazy.

I previously mentioned Sy had been bitten in his leg by an unknown insect in his sleep. This bite was not getting better, in fact it was getting worse. Oozing all manner of ick and swollen, it was incredibly painful for him to walk on so as soon as we got back we got him booked in to see a doctor. Some new meds later and here's hoping it improves for him.

We spend the next few days relaxing, blogging, editing photos, hanging out in coffee shops, sight seeing & planning our 1st week in China. China has come around so quickly and it's a little daunting.

There are a few sights that were good but I think our patience is running thin with the traffic here. It's insane. When you're crossing the road anywhere else in Vietnam there's a method to the madness but not here. Cars just don't care and will just aim for you, bikes don't ride around you, they're happy to drive straight into you or stop millimetres from your feet. There no pavement as all the mopeds park there. People, bikes & cars are just pulling out right in front of you everywhere, they don't look, just go. It's made it so hard to just walk 3 blocks without thinking you're going to be hit!! Doesn't help that with Sy's leg & my cold we've both been a little poorly but I have to say as much as we've enjoyed Vietnam, Hanoi hasn't won the vote for favourite city. Take us back to Hoi An please!!

Bags packed and ready again, tomorrow it's off to Kunming, China!!!