Ha Long 'til we get to shower?

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after our HORRIBLE night train from Sapa (broken ac, dirty sheets, stinky cabin mates, and the FOULEST bathroom holes ever...shout out to liz warren for the tp roll!) we made it back to Hanoi at the butt crack of dawn. we took advantage of the light morning traffic, and we did the unthinkable in this crazy city... dun dun dun... we got a "taxi" ride on the back of motobikes! we are hooked and want one in the states.

ah ha ha ha. sorry. have to side note for a sec.
a cricket just landed on jessie's arm and she freaked out. then stacy was like "haha, why are we scared? we like to eat you. come back!"

ok. anyways, back to the adventure. well, the picture does not really capture the moment, but imagin this skinny asian man with 250 pounds (due to the backpack of course...ok, maybe b/c of all the fried food) on the back of a tiny bike, winding (and we mean winding) around the streets. at one point, we had two greyhound size busses on each side of us... crazy. jessie's bangs looked even hotter after blowing in the wind (let us note here, it was nearing 72 hours of not showering after hiking 22 km, sleeping in a tribal village, and topped off by the fabulous train ride described above).

we did not want to get off the bikes b/c we had to get right back on yet another form of trasportation...the bus! 5 hours later, and we found ourselves at the coast. ahhh. Ha Long Bay...at last!

All of the boats and caves made us feel like we were in Never Never Land. we cruised around on a boat in emerald green water for hours before docking on an island to stay the night.

yes! a hotel with a shower. who cares if the faucet is right above the toilet? ohh. no hot water? refreshing...

fresh sqid for dinner. jessie was stoked. stacy liked the tentacles the most! no soy sauce here though...only the finest fish sauce...smells lovely (not).

this island beach town was laid back. a massage, "happy ending" included, was goin for about $5...with room to bargain! we decided to hold out for thailand. we enjoyed the out door, beach side beer halls made of TINY plastic furniture. a pint of draft beer = about 18 cents. nice on the budget and the belly!

sad to go back to Hanoi, but Hoi An was just around the corner. this new city is in the middle of vietnam, on the coast, and is known for its fine tailors and cloths. uh oh! might have to break the good budget trend...

xoxo S & J

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Photos

junk cruise at Ha Long Bay
"jessie, give me back my hat. my hair is so greasy i'm going to fry us some lunch!"

ancient cave
discovered in 1993

cave
natural beauty "enhanced" by rainbow lighting... now we were really looking for tinker-bell.

party at my house!
through the bay, 'round some islands, beach on your right. BYOB.

how much for the little dude?
they just don't leave us alone! these small boats would cling on to our ship and try to sell anything from fresh fish to beer or fruit. notice how they always have the token cute kid?

floating fishing village
these water huts had bamboo decks in their "front yards" with crab traps, squid/fish nets, and even holding pens for fish and sharks!

nice?

Comments

[Dannie]

Absolutely breathtaking fotos, ladies. Your blog brings brightness to my day and my cramped little cubicle in downtown Sac. Love you both!

[lisa b]

man, i miss the two of you
Your pictures are wonderful (i expected nothing less!), but your captions top off the experience of reading through your journals. I can just hear the two of you deciding what to write for each picture, cracks me up. love you, lisa

[Lizo Warren]

Takin Care of Buisness
I am so happy to hear I could provide assistance in helping you take care of your buisness over there while you were logging out. Although I'm very jealous of your adventures over there (since I'm now waking up at 530am for work) I'll now remember to appreciate my cozy house with hot showers, familiar food that definitly has no grasshopers, and of course endless supplies of TP! Love you girls. Keep the blogs coming. You are by far the best ever documenters of a trip, and I love the pictures.

[Admo]

Ladıes
amazıng man...

[Adam]

Amazing!!
I can't tell you how amazing those pictures are. I am soooo jealous. I hope we'll get to see more when you get back to the States. If you come back. How could you leave such a paradise?