Best Western Pearl River Haiphong

... joke! Again we didn't have a camera at this point as we didn't want it getting wet - so you'll just have to use your imaginations!

We spent that night on the boat playing drinking games and having a good dance up on top deck (I provided the music via a ipod set), as spirits were high there were a lot of nudies jumping off the top of the boat.......of course we had to join in! Carolyn got into the dancing a little too much and started to boogie on a chair ...

Oh my, I just looked at the cool Travelpod map. I am so close to China. That explains why there are so many Chinese visitors in Bai Chay. And, alot of the food seems familiar. I am finding dishes not unlike some of the Chinese food we eat in the US. Off course there is Pho everywhere, the delicately flavored rcie noodle soup which Vietnam is known for, and seafood of every type fresh from Halong Bay. I must take a minute to tell you how much I am ...

... avoid animals that kept wanting to run in front of our bike - we narrowly missed a chicken and a big male goat! John and July recommended going to the resort for lunch that was through Cat Ba Town itself and around the next headland. They were certainly right about the great food - Cesca and I shared a sandwich as it was huge. That afternoon Cesca and I lazed around on the beach as the other two went off for more bike exploration. We met up with them again for Bia Hoi and ...

... cost us $15 each for one way. A tour would only cost us $40 for three days and two night including 2 breakfast, 2 dinner and 3 lunch.

Now we had decided how we were going to get to Ha Long bay, now we were to decide what tour
company we will book it through. There are hundreds of tour companies offering very similar packages at different price. In the end we went through our hotel as we had enough of looking at this point. The tour company was called, 'discovery' and ...

... by dramatic lighting, with stalagmites and stalactites hanging everywhere in the once underground cavern. After walking around the cave we then drop anchor in a remote part of the bay where we have a chance to swim and kayak for a while. Kayaking turned out to be the best way to see the bay, giving a sense of scale and the chance to go through small caves to 'hidden' lagoons. Once we'd had our fill of swimming (and cannonballing of the top of the boat, obviously) and kayaking we had ...

This turned out to be an eventful day. As we were getting up the power failed (again). When we went down for breakfast another guest said that the main fuse box located in the restaurant had emitted flames, smoke and sparks which had caused the loss of power. The owner with great nonchalance merely separated the offending wires and power was restored and we got our breakfast. We were taken by motorbike from the hotel to the quayside, as pillion passengers along with ...

... helmet like the one I had, which I liked a lot, only to become frustrated to find that someone had stolen the left strap from it. On other occasions I have also gone to buy food or drink only to find that the container has been opened and some contents removed. Such small scale theft is not suprising given the small incomes many people have and the vast array of foreign imported goods on display in these large airconditioned supermarkets. For many, theft may ...

... as it is believed that her spirit protects the village people from further danger. The example of Do Son is a tragic one and illustrative of a sense of continuity in the ways in which women are positioned vis-a-vis men. Do Son beach resort has become synonymous with sex, and whenever a man asks me whether I have been to Do Son, he usually does so with a knowing smile. I have lost count of the number of times I have either been advised to visit Do Son ...

I was in Hai Phong when the motorbike helmet law was officially launched last year. Overnight it seemed that the traffic scenery changed from a few wearing helmets to a few not wearing them. Leaving my apartment that morning I forgot to put mine on, but thankfully remembered it just as I rode off to work. An hour later I was invited by a school Principal to wear it on stage in front of over 1,000 lower secondary school students. How embarrassing it would have been if I had ...

Goodmorning Vietnam.....or, should I say......Canada. Well, it's done.....it's official.....I'm married and we have the wedding reception photos to prove it. And, we have a video....and it's a good thing cause I can barely remember the night for getting so drunk and stupid........I will have to watch it when I get home to see if it was a good night or not.....just kidding. But honestly.......I got tanked.......passed out and hit my head......I'm ok ...