Okay, I know it has been a while since my last post but this
is a story that I must tell from beginning to end. Ha Long Bay was one of the
highlights of my trip and though touristy it was majestic and beautiful beyond
words. It is one of those places that
you cannot expect to have all to yourself as it is one of the 7 natural wonders
of the world. It has more than 3000 limestone karsts and islands that align the
120 km coastline. The legend tells that
the Vietnamese asked the gods for a dragon to protect them and help them fight
the foreign invaders from the north. The gods sent a mother dragon with her
baby which descended into what is now Ha Long Bay. The dragons began spitting
out jewels and jade. Upon hitting the sea, these jewels turned into islets
dotting the sea and forming a barrier against the invaders. The dragons fell in
love with the bay for its peace and beauty and decided to stay and live there
for the rest of time. 
We left from Hanoi in the morning, the bus unnecessarily
stopped at a tourist shop for about 45 minutes... it’s just one of those things
they do to tourists...but we made it to the bay by noon. There are around 1500
boats that operate on the bay, so the port was packed beyond belief. There were
all sorts of boats, thankfully ours was one of the best ones! There were 14 of
us in total, sundeck, dining room, AC double rooms with private bathroom, and a
covered deck with tables. It was perfect. After a couple of hours we had our
first stop: Surprising Cave. The cave had colorful light displays of rock
formations each with a hidden meaning. We
came out of the cave and went kayaking to explore the surroundings. As the sun
started setting we went to an island where we climbed to the highest point (a
good climb I must admit) and got to an incredible lookout point. Back on the
boat we had dinner and played cards as the stars came out. All of a sudden, a
storm begun to unravel, and the once still waters swayed the boat from side to
side. Maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but it did thunder and it was ...
amazing. 
We had set up our alarms for sunrise but by the time we got
up the sun was already out... I spent the rest of the morning on the sundeck,
enjoying the view, the breeze and the sun. Around noon i started feeling
sick... the world was spinning. Motion sickness hit me as i stepped off the
boat, how ironic. For the rest of the day I felt like a walking zombie and I couldn’t
bring myself to eat anything. Our day wasn’t over through, we were planning on
going to Cat Ba Island all on our own (without a tour) but our current tour guide wasn’t very helpful
when we asked about it. He made it seem like taking the public ferry was almost
impossible but we knew it could be done. We were the only non Vietnamese people
on the ferry along with Heloise. I was
so sick that I just sat there with my head buried between my hands
hoping for it to pass... after an hour and a bit we reached land! Once we had
made it to the other side of the island we rented motorbikes, filled the bikes
with beers and ice (long story short we had a 24 pack of beer that we had been
carrying for the past day because we weren’t allowed to drink it on the boat)
and set off to find a quiet beach. We stopped by the side of the road and found
the perfect beach. Went for a swim in the oh so very warm water and had a
refreshing beer. The sun started going down so we got back on the bikes and
chased the sun along the coast line. Unfortunately Heloise got a flat tire and
we were in the middle of nowhere... fortunately everyone in Vietnam has
motorbikes so there was a little place that fixed bikes nearby. Heloise went to
get her money and cell from the trunk but they were missing! Someone must have opened her bike when we
were at the beach :s Yikes. Once all issues were solved we found a place to
stay at the main beach and went to get dinner.
Some “Fried Crap spring rolls” anyone? 
On the way back we stopped at hospital cave which as the
name describes, was a hospital during the Vietnam War. It was quite impressive
and intricate with various escape routes and defence strategies. The guide was
also interesting as he pulled out his money collection showing us bills from 38
countries!
HANOI
Back in Hanoi we spent our last moments together, its crazy how fast time can go by. The next morning we were all heading to different places, Tan and Dan to Hong Kong, Tuli and Mateo to Laos and I to Nin Binh. One last dinner, one last round of beers, and many more adventures to come. Sad to split up but knowing that we will meet again someday J .
