07 July 2008 - Hanoi / Halong Bay

At 0530 we arrive into Hanoi. I'm feeling slighty queasy from the night before. When we get off the train, there are people everywhere. It is incredible busy. We get to our hotel where we drop our stuff off as we are going to an area called Halong Bay.

It is a 4 hour drive away and everyone is tired. I am seriously hung over.

When we get there it is very busy with hordes of tourists everywhere. We get to our boat which is quite sizeable. This area is famous for its limestone towers.







We take lots of pictures and take in the scenery. We then have a large seafood lunch before we go for a swim. We jump off the top of the boat. Lots of fun.


We then get taken to a cave called Hang Sung Sot, which has amazing stalagtites/ mites.



We then get back to shore where we stay in a nearby hotel. Most tour groups go back to Hanoi, but not us. This place is dead at night. There is nothing to do so we end up going to a local restaurant who probably never see tourists at night. We ask for a few beers and they are warm. Bleurgh! We promptly leave and go to another restaurant where they actually serve us cold beers. Phew.