Saigon Halong Hotel Halong Bay

... when they invited us to jump from the 3rd floor on the boat into the water. As both the American and the Candian seemed well up for it I forced myself to jump first (if only so they couldn't see the wide-eyed fear as I fell!) Once in the water I could safely bravado it up until that bloody American suggested we go again! Anyway, manliness re-assured we resumed on our way to the bay.

That night we took the French girl and the north Americans out for ...

... br>I don't think I can tell you about Halong Bay, you just need to go there and see it yourself. My photos almost certainly won't do it justice, but I've posted a few for you anyway.

It was a great fun trip - traditional old junk (albeit tatty and a bit grotty in places), good company (a mixture of French, German, Italian and Chinese - I was still the only English person) good food, a comfy little cabin ...

... so if your food was late - we were impolitely told to wait a moment, Emma ordered a drik which never came and when asking for the drink for a second time she was told - that they did not have the drink. The drinks in general were warm - so not a good sprite. (Favorite comment - John paying for his 2 'warm' beers)
My food was ok - but if you are hungry do not order the shrimp soup - it is about the size of a coffee cup - Jorge had to order 2 and still not filling.

... and diving off the boat which concluded our Halong Bay trip. We got back to the harbour had lunch and had a bus ride back to Hanoi. We made sure we found a nicer looking guesthouse before we embark on a 2 day trek in Sapa. In the evening we went to a water puppet show, set to music in a traditional Vietnamese style with occasional fireworks which we thoroughly enjoyed.

11th September
Spent a day shopping and researching tours to Sapa and picked up a ...

On n'avait pas specialement planifie d'ecrire quoi que ce soit a propos de ce voyage. Apres tout, ce sont des vacances "normales" de 3 semaines et des poussieres, sans rien de formidablement extravagant.

Mais voila, le virus de "l'ecriture ...

... agent we were whisked away to a much more beautiful spot.

The second the sun had set we were transported straight back to the fish farm. That evening we had dinner on the fish farm and the boat stayed moored up we couldn’t understand why the crew were so desperate to stay at the fish farm but we soon found out, as they spent the evening eating and drinking with 20 friends, standard Vietnamese customer service?

When booking ...

... to make an escape, Dave bravely stepped into the road in front of the van, pointed at me and the bags and made it clear that he didn't want either to be driven away. (my theory is that he was more concerned about the bags, but i appreciated the chivalry) Long story short, it took an hour for a bus to arrive, and it was exactly the same that had been intended to take all the tourists (including the ones who had braved the dodgy restaurant food). So our tourist guide who ...

... me on this trip. It was awesome!!

Then back to the boat and more swimming - we were bombng off the top of the boat!!! Then dinner which was lovely and some cards and then we slept on the boat. It was so lovely. It was one of my favourite bits of the trip so far:)

Will post the amazing photos later.

Love lots

C++

... rainy mist is gorgeous. The low clouds swirl eerily around the karsts and the sounds are all dampened by nature's sound proofing. It is serene. We paddle through a cute little floating village and around some of the smaller karsts in the bay. Eventually we head back because I can't block out Luc's complaining any longer.... it was truly wet and cold to give him credit. I was just trying to enjoy it regardless. Back on the junk we get... wet....and are told to quickly vacate our ...

... room last night we heard a tourist asked by our hotel staff ask if she had enjoyed her tour to Ha Long Bay, from where she'd just returned. Her reply was "the place was lovely, but the tour was terrible".

Hmmmm....

The last 'tour' we'd been on was in Laos, and that was pretty relaxed, with genuinely nice people running it.

Halong Bay, Vietnam al_fey