Halong Bay

Our 3 day trip to Halong Bay was a ton of fun - definitely my favorite part of Vietnam. We took boat rides around many tiny islands (there are over 2000 of them), most of which are not inhabited. We were surrounded by cliffs and trees. The entire view was absolutely magnificent. Even the boat ride was fun. We did a bit of tanning on the top deck and jumped off the side of the boat several times to go for a swim. We explored Hang Dau Go, a large cave up in the hills of one of the islands, which people nicknamed "Surprise" Cave since the were surprised when they walked through it and found the 3rd chamber, which is huge and according to our guide, can hold up to 4,000 people. Unfortunately, people have defaced the walls inside the caves with graffiti and even chipped off the stalagmites to sell to tourists. We spent the night on the boat - it was like a mini-cruise ship that only accommodated around 12 people. Our group of 8 ended up with our own boat.

On our second day, we went kayaking in the morning and the afternoon around the islands that were part of Cat Ba Island National Park. Cat Ba Island is the largest island in the Halong Bay area. We paddled into secluded lagoons and had the opportunity to see the cliffs and rock formations up close. The water was calm so it was an easy paddle, although paddling the weight of my partner who has never kayaked before and is almost twice as heavy as I am did turn my arms into jello that night. We paddled to 2 different beaches, just a couple of the many secluded beaches that we found, and swam for a bit for before and after lunch. A boat took us to the main island where we spend the night.

On our last day, we took a boat ride to the pearl farm. We jumped into the waters closeby there for a swim before the boat brought us back to Halong City. This is definitely the thing to do if you are in Hanoi/Vietnam.

Hanoi on the other hand, has been a rather uninspiring city. It's busy and bustling, but everything closes very early. We tried a local grilled fish dish called cha ca at a restaurant which some author lists as one of the 1,000 things to do before you die. I thought it was okay - there is only one dish served - grilled fish (grilled really means deep fried in Vietnam). I'm really tired of fried foods, especially fried fish and spring rolls. Later that night, we closed out several places and then got lost trying to find a third bar that supposedly stayed open past midnight. We never found it, but ended up playing soccer on the streets with some locals, who then brought us to a dark alley with a pho shop at the end of it. The pho shop was really someone's tiny living room with a few tables and plastic chairs. I don't think they were really supposed be serving people there in the middle of the night since they kept trying to close the doors and wanted us to stay quiet. Nevertheless, the pho was great. It was such a random evening, but the first time that we have really had the opportunity to interact with the locals. The language barrier makes it rather tough.

We were supposed to leave Hanoi yesterday but our flight got cancelled. Will save that debacle for another posting. Miss everyone lots.