Sunday, November 22, 2009

To Cat Ba Island

Day 28

    Got up at 6am to watch the sunrise on the top deck of the boat while everyone else sleeped in. It was very peaceful this morning and I had some time to myself to reflect on my journey.



Others slowy got up around 7:30 for breakfast as the boat took off for Cat Ba Island.



     Left everyone and met up with Brian and brother to go on a short hike in the National Park. Tom our guide was great entertainment and him and I really bonded today.



    The hike was really sketchy becuase it was wet, slippery and packed with people on a small jungle path. At the top there was a old war lookout tower that was really rusty and a sign that says max 5 people at a time. We took turns going up it and I went up trying not to get stung by enormous wasps at the top. My hands were shaking as I took pics because the tower was so high.



     Tom and I hiked back down the hill me teaching him English words and him teaching me some Vietnam history. Returned to the hotel, had lunch and then went on a boat to monkey island. It was more like a nice beach with a few monkeys that were constantly trying to steal your belongings. It was cool though to finally be on a beach where we could swim and hang out.



    Had dinner back in town and went to the waterfront to take in the city. Tom took us around the corner to a bar where we all hung out and mingled with other back packers.



    One interesting thing I noticed about this island is that there are tons of groups of guys, some holding hands. This struck me as odd becuase I did not see any local woman on the streets, but I have later learned that this is normal behavior for vietnamese men. Played pool for a while, got some late night food and returned to bed around 2am.

Halong Bay

Day 28
      Out of our hotel by 8am and take about a 3 hour bus trip to the Halong Bay Harbor. Take a little ferry boat out to the main boat called a "junk". The Junk was very nice and was something like a floating fancy hotel.



    Our rooms were great as well with a huge bed and one of the biggest bathrooms we have had all trip. Unload our stuff and have a great 5 course lunch with fresh fish, squid and all sorts of sea food. I was very impressed. Later we got off the junk and took a small boat to some very large caves in the mountains that shoot up from the sea in small islands. It was very cool and looked like the Bat Cave with all the rocks lit up in different colors.
    After wards we stopped at the floating market where they had all sorts of exotic sea life for sale. Everyone went out Kayaking but my neck was still killing me so I sat it out and just talked with another girl who also could not kayak because she broke her ribs and busted her ear drum in Vang Viang. Back to the main boat and we went swimming and just hung out on the top deck talking with the other people on board, enjoying the amazing scenery. They have dubbed this area the 8th wonder of the world and its for good reason.



    For dinner we switched up the groups and two kids about 9 and 12 years old joined us. The boy was freakin hilarious and was defiantly a aspiring comedian. He had me in tears multiple times making fun of our English friend Wes and his accent. He was the kind of kid where you just cant say anything with out a witty comeback. We hung out around the table for most the night doing Karaoke and I turned in around 10pm.


One More Day In Crazy Town

Day 27

    Zev left this morning with Jeanie and Shea to go on the overnight boat cruise to Halong Bay while Deb, Kirk, Wes and I decided to stay another day and check out the city. We checked out of the hostel as it was just way to chaotic and cramped and got a pretty nice hotel closer to the lake and center of town. My neck had been killing me since Vang Vieng where I accidentally pulled a muscle in it so we looked for a hospital or doctor to take a look at it. Found a American doctor but he wanted $150 just to see me so we decided against that. Spent most of the day just walking around the city and the huge lake in the center of town.



    Got a massage and a bunch of food all while trying to not get run over by motor bikes. Just crossing the streets in a mission and seems like a death wish as scooters wiz inches away from you at random. Later that evening we all went out to dinner at the top of one of the biggest building giving us a great view. We had to get up early the next morning to catch the bus to Halong Bay so we all crashed out.