Ha Long 2 Hotel Halong Bay

We arrived in Hanoi, which is the busiest, madest city we have ever seen, and which makes Bangkok look quiet! There are motorbikes everywhere, the constant beeping of horns and the 6am wake up megaphones, but we will tell you more about Hanoi later!<br><br>We booked a two day and one night boat trip out to Halong Bay, which was amazing. Gigs had been unwell for a few days ...

Some things are just harder here. In the cities, Hanoi and Hong Gai, the air is very bad. Mostly, the problem is the fumes from the many motorbikes (and cars too). You may notice some of the people in my photos are wearing masks. The water is not potable. Using bottled water is not a problem, but it creates a lot of plastic waste. Bathroom facilities are rarely comfortable.<br><br>I have found alot of food I like. But I am very careful to eat ...

... the more and on the whole it&#8217;s a great and unforgettable experience.<br> Our first day was a bit of an experience with the combination of lack of sleep, being ripped off in the taxi from the bus station and the general overwhelmingness of the city! Once we&#8217;d located, checked into and inhabited the hostel it was time to brave the shower with the practically see through door before heading out into the madness for a wander round some markets which turned out to be the ...

... will show them how to check the laptops and how to teach the children to care for and use them.<br> <br> After a leisurely tasty lunch prepared by one of Indochina Junk's chefs for our group, with fresh seafood of course, we returned to the boat for the picturesque cruise back to the mainland.I am very sensitive to the culture and traditions of the village and I am not unaware of the issues that bringing computers, learning games and ultimately perhaps the ...

... drink. We canoed around the bay and into some caves. <br><br>All this relaxation along with a few swims in the green ocean, both in the day and at night was refreshing. Night swimming was a bit scary but well worth it. The food on the other hand, was not so great. Ok, it kind of sucked but I was warned so at least I was prepared. Basically, unless you paid $100, you were going to eat badly. We ate badly, but at least we were surrounded by beauty. <br>

... good working order, we had a nice double room on the bottom floor, the first floor had the restaurant and bar. Top deck was for lounging around and jumping off. <br><br>Day 1 involved going to one of the many caves, Hang Dau Go which translates as "Cave of Wooden Stakes". It was awe inspiringly huge and had the most amazing stalagtites and stalagmites. Next up we kayaked around the cliffs, it took a little time for Team Bird to become efficient but we were ...

... or so. When he said $90 I laughed so hard I had to leave because people were looking at me. Needless to say the salesman didn't find it nearly as funny...<br><br>Now before I get into this I want to say that, in isolation, we had a great fun trip, didn't get ripped of, shortchanged or scammed in any way. However we were most definitely the exception not the rule.<br><br>The first problem happened to a trio of friendly Germans we met who, having purchased a ...

... does so) into the blue green waters of<br>the Gulf of Tonkin. <br><br>Another cool thing about the bay &#8211; the market comes to you. So you're standing there<br>looking at the cliffs when you hear in pretty good English &#8220;Excuse<br>me, want to buy something?&#8221; and on the water are two girls in a<br>small boat surrounded by snacks: Ritz crackers, Oreos, other cookies,<br>drinks and snacks. After talking with them for awhile (very cute) and<br>bargaining we ...

... durant la nuit a cause d un orage.<br>Le lendemain on se reveille sur un ciel couvert et repartons pour Halong city, Mat et Jason prenant un bus pour Hanoi puis Sapa, Sylvie et moi partons pour Ninh Binh sans passer par Hanoi. Le trajet se passe bien malgre le fait qu il est long et fatigant et qu on a du prendre un taxi pour les 50 derniers kilometres. Mais nous sommes bien arrives et content de pouvoir rester quelques jours a Ninh Binh pour profiter ...

... village with coffee shops and schools and a hospital and bars but its all floating. Its great. If you dont like your neighbor you just lift anchor and move. Fabulous. Great sight to see. After we Kayaked around the village we took a long boat ride, a good few hours thru more islands (there is about 4000 of them) to get back to the big boat for dinner. We had Champagne to celebrate Shirls birthday followed my several bottles of wine and a really nice ...