Tray Hotel Hai Phong Haiphong

... looked pretty miserable to be there! We had a small boat take us over to our Junk boat - The Jolly Roger - and within minutes were all sitting up on the sun deck beer in hand, listening to some tunes and aquainting ourselves with everyone on the tour. We had a good mix of nationalities including Brits, Scots, Welsh, Canadians, Dutch, Brazilians, Aussies and a couple of people from Chile. We stopped for a beautifully prepared lunch and then it was time to jump off ...

... worked on the 4 or 5 we turned on.
Young adults and adults present were fascinated, especially the few that have used a computer before. Our young boat captain and another staff member discovered the built in Wiki Activity and all of the articles available there. I tried not to worry that Activities were left opened or that XOs were not shut down properly. The teachers will come to Hong Gai tomorrow afternoon for teacher training Friday and Saturday. And ...

... enjoyable half hour on the beautiful white sandy beach watching them do their thing. Back at Cat Ba town we joined our new boatmates; John & July (from the UK) and Jasper & Nicole (Dutch) for a drink at the Bia Hoi and then went out for dinner.
The next day we met John & July after breakfast and joined them on a motorbike ride around the rest of the island. We felt much safer hiring motorbikes here and riding as there was virtually no traffic at all. Our first ...

... sunbathed in the morning with only two other people on the beach. Until midday it felt like our own private piece of paradise (except for the monkeys!) then at 1pm a new group of tourists arrived. It was still quite in the afternoon as people disappeared on kayaks and climbs to see the monkeys. We relaxed and packed for our trip back the next morning to Hanoi.

20th October
After breakfast we took the small boat back to Cat Ba. The minibus then ...

... took 3 hours on the boat to get us to Halong City, and from there it was back onto a minibus and back to the mayhem of Hanoi.

All I can really say more about Halong Bay itself is that I think I'm going to struggle going anywhere else on this trip that can rival the place for it's beauty. If anyone reading this is thinking about going to Vietnam, or even wondering where to go for a holiday, then get yourselves to Halong Bay. You will not be disappointed.

UTV

Bazz

... kommen lassen. Dieser hat wenigstens ein bisschen Fachkenntnis und uns ohne eine Sekunde zu ueberlegen Recht gegeben.

Am Abend sind wir in ein anderes Restaurant und auch da standen 20'000 Dong zu viel auf der Rechnung. Mann, schon wieder die Karte holen und der Kellnerin zeigen, was die wirklichen Preise sind. Diese meinte wieder mal, dass die Karte alt sei und die Preise nun hoeher. Was ist nur los mit euch Vietnamesen? Natuerlich haben wir auch hier nur die ...

... security guards or in a locker at the entrance. While it is perhaps understandable that people cannot take big bags into stores, security guards do not stop there. I was prevented from shopping at Big C Supermarket one day because I was wearing a cap. I refused to hand over my cap out of principle and asked whether the security guard thought I was going to steal something, and if so what he thought I would be able to fit under my cap. I soon found out. One ...

... in 1741, and it was he who began the tradition of buffalo fighting for motivating his soldiers. Buffalo fights are now an annual event in Do Son, and the finals are held on the 10th day of the 8th lunar month to commemorate the death at Do Son of the leader of an 18th Century peasant rebellion. It was also from Do Son pier that the last French soldiers left Haiphong on 15 May 1955. Do Son is also steeped in legend and the shape of the peninsula has ...

... of shops. Laos and Vietnam are poles appart. The difference is striking, but what I can't get my head round is the touts, they're so in your face that it boarders on being offensive. It took us 3 attempts in taxis to get to our hostel - it's difficult for a first timer not to get scammed. You say where you want to go, they take you to their mates hotel. 3 times. Ryan (the lad who'd been here before) was kind enough to give me his copy of the Loney Planet, which was a bit of a result - I ...

... over half a year riding the streets of Hai Phong, I have discovered a kind of language in the din. People, it seems, do not simply use their horns for warning others, but use them to say "goodbye", "hello", "get out of my way", to abuse their motoring peers and to send a cheeky reply to someone who beeped at them. I have found myself engaging in this motorized banter, often replying to the same person a number of times in one exchange. The problem is that when I do need to ...