Halong Bay Hotel

... with us. We then rode back to the boat and set off to a small beach for yes you guessed it...seafood dinner. After forcing a few more tiger shrimps and squid down us we set sail for Monkey Island to take pictures of the monkies and trek up to the peak of the island. Finally we set sail for Cat Ba Island where our hotel awaited us with another seafood dinner.<br><br>We woke up the next day smelling like kippers, I think ...

... top deck into the emerald green waters of Halong Bay. Halong Bay itself is absolutely stunning and perfectly picturesque with its 3000 limestone rocks jutting out of the sea towering above and dwarfing our boat, you can fully understand why it is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. We were worried that the whole place would be littered with tourist boats but it was actually quite quiet. Ha Long means where the dragon decends into the sea, legend has it that islands of ...

... although this included showing us rooms that he described as cinema rooms, ping-pong rooms and even a swimming pool - we thought this was supposed to be a hospital! What was impressive was the cave itself and the way that the engineers had poured the concrete inside it to create the rooms. Back on the bikes we headed back to town via the coast road. It was really pretty winding its way around headlands, deserted beaches and the occasional village. Our only problems were trying ...

... us to the main port where we boarded the same Junk boat for our cruise back to Halong City. The trip was beautiful but wasn't enjoyed as much by Tom who was poorly through some mystery bug. He also didn't enjoy our nice lunch or the five hour bus ride to Hanoi. He also didn't enjoy the night train we caught at 11pm despite being a 'soft sleeper' (1st class) it was still too short. Poor old Tom!<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

... had been killed during the Vietnam War when he was 4 years old and was determined to make sure his kids were going to grow up with the best chances in life possible. After a few more beers and rice wine it was time to head back to the hotel.<br><br>Next morning I woke up a little worse for wear, but managed to make breakfast! After which it was time to get a boat back to Halong City, and back through the beautiful scenery of Halong Bay. That soon got rid of my hangover ...

... houses floating on blue barrels. We stopped at Monkey Island. And like the game, there wasn't a single monkey to be seen. So we lay in the sun and splashed aroung a bit, listening to the whinges of the others about the lack of monkeys.<br> Here are some of the photos of our trip! Many more to come tomorrow!<br>Love you all,<br>Don't forget to tell us all the news from home! <br>Lucy and Adele

... again my height is an advantage - but little technique - but just loved diving around in the sand)<br>Me, Jasper, John and Katie all enjoyed a game with the locals, i even manage to take out one of my own team going for the ball) All good fun - the more active i am the better i feel.<br><br>The boat trip around Halong bay was smooth and the seafood good.<br><br>Stayed on land overnight - and the local reataurant was 'interesting' the owner was not to messed with ...