North Vietnam.

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So we headed to Hue but only stayed there for two nights. We booked a tour along the river to visit some tombs as this was the tour recommended to tourist. We set off the following morning to the boat where we bumped in to a few friends that we have been bumping in to all over Vietnam. So we had good company for the trip at least. The boat trip was enjoyable, floating along the river watching the world go by. However the tombs weren't that great and our 'guide' insisted on purchasing our tickets himself so I think there may have been a bit of scamming involved. After the trip we went for dinner with our friends and relaxed. The next day we headed to the Citedal and tried to find the market, we got lost for quite some time and never found the market, we did however find a big supermarket with price tags! The first we had seen on our trip to Vietnam. Later on in the day we hopped on a night bus to Han Oi and booked a three day cruise to Halong Bay. Whilst being in our hotel that evening, Kirsty looked out the window to notice that the building behind us was on fire, we quickly put our clothes on and went outside to see what was happening. The fireman that came strolling down the street were very nice, the first hot firemen I have seen EVER! After we thought the fire was out we returned to our rooms only for the power to cut out and to see that the fire had gotten bigger. We went back downstairs armed with wind up torches, much to the amusement of a drunk Japanese guy who had apparently never seen one and started taking pictures. We were locked in our hotel as the shutters were electric and the owner told us to go to bed and not worry about the fire, we couldnt get out anyway. Luckily the power came back after an hour and the fire was put out. It was safe to sleep. The next day we began our trip to Halong Bay.

The trip was fun but the weather wasn't so good. The scenary was still stunning and we made a lot of friends on the trip. We went to the beach on an island and seen our first sea snake of the trip, it was huge! We visited a few different caves and went Kayaking around the islands. We also had the chance to swim off the boat but there were jellyfish in the water so we stayed on the boat. After our cruise we stayed in Han Oi for a couple of days, getting lost in the alleyways and bumping in to more friends and drinking. We then got yet another night bus (and our last in Vietnam) to Sapa.

Upon our arrival in Sapa we were hounded by people trying to sell us things. All the way from the station to the hotel which took us some time to find. We caught up on some sleep and made arrangements to go to a village with some members of the tribe the folling day. It was very misty in the mountains but the view was still amazing. Way up in the mountains with green fields and hills for miles. A perfect place to spend our remaining days. The trip the next day was a four hour trek to the village, followed by lunch with the tribe people, a short walk to the next village and a motorbike back up through the mountains. A very good day, surrounded by trees and butterflys but very exhausting! We are now waiting for our two day bus trip to Laos!

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