Goodbye Vietnam!
And hello Laos... we've got a couple of hours left in Hanoi before we take a sleeper bus to Vientiane in Laos.
Feeling quite sad to be leaving Vietnam behind, but have a good feeling about Laos. Everyone we've spokent o who has been there, love it!

It was Lindsey's birthday yesterday, and we were suposed to still be in Halong Bay but had to come back a day early due to a Typhoon!!! We went on Monday and were due to stay two nights. 1st night on a Junk out in Halong Bay, the 2nd night on an Island. We had good weather on Monday, we kayaked and swam in the sea, and visited a beautiful cave inside one of the limestone kasts. We had a fun night on the boat after dinner singing Karaoke (Oh dear!!) and a very good nights sleep in our little cabin. But the next morning it was very rainy and we were told at breakfast that we would have to go back because a typhoon was on it's way. We got back to the mainland at lunchtime and just as we were having lunch the Typhoon hit. It was a huge rain, wind and lightening storm, so we were glad we were back on land. But sad that we didn't get to spend Lindsey's birthday out there. We did get a refund though.

So we spent Lindsey's birthday having a very lazy morning, breakfast at 1pm (I think that's a record for us) and then wandering around town window shopping. Went to Le Pub for drinks with a couple we met at Jungle Beach.

Nowe we're gearing up for the coach journey. We have our travel sleeping bags, snacks, wet-wipes, tissues and fully charged up ipods... wish us luck!!

I will report back once we land in Laos.

Tracey
x