Halong Bay, Sapa Mountains

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Hi all,
Well just back from the "holidays".......we went to Halong Bay which is up at the northeastern coast of Vietnam.....& it was pure relaxation from beginning to end. We went on the bus with our tour group to Halong city & then we got a lovely wooden boat around the bay. Our cabins were quaint & opened out to look out onto the sea...it was like Pirates of the Carribean & it was so much cooler with out of the city & the sea breeze was a welcome change. That day we sailed around the bay & went into some spectacular caves....then swimming in the ocean.....spent ages in the water....was like a hot bath! That night we slept on the boat. The following day we visited the Cat Ba islands to see the caves & stayed in hotel there. We went to a Vietnamese niteclub there too.....arrived in at 10pm thinking we were probably very early....to find about 80 of the locals giving it socks on the dancefloor...no cover charge either & not many of them seemed to be drinking so don't think they'd make a whole lot of dong! Within about 5 mins we were all dripping sweat-no air conditioning except a few big fans scattered about the place....you could have rang out your clothes there was that much sweating & dancing! It was great craic. We were abandoned at about 11.15 when all of a sudden we were dancing amongst ourselves.....obviopusly the locals had to go home to bed cause the day starts early for them at about 5am.
We were back in Hanoi city for only a few hours before going on our trip to Sapa Mountains.....took an overnight train there & back.....enjoyed some lovely trekking, beautiful scenery & lovely refreshing dips in the river...could have stayed on Halong Bay or Sapa forever it was so relaxing! Would highly reccommend it!
Unfortunately we had to come back to the city....got here at about 5am off the train & have been wondering around ever since...but it is so exhausting walking around in the heat & being constantly pestered....Madam moto? Madam bike? Every few minutes the same thing.....& dodging the traffic hasn't become anymore enjoyable.....it's not that it's a bad place but when you have been away from it....you realise that you've had enough of it!
This evening we are heading down south on a bus, overnight, to Hoi An which is meant to have lovely beaches & a more slow paced town....can't wait....it'll probably take us the best part of a day to get there but we'll hopefully sleep overnight....that's if they don't deafen us with the music which has been know to happen too.
So everything so far is going well....feels like so long since we left. We've met some lovely people on the tours who give you tips on where to go so it's been easy making a itinery.
Looks like this uploading photos isn't going to happen anytime soon....internet cafes don't always let you.....so you're going to have to wait.
Anyway hope all's well....sorry to hear about the crappy weather back home...so won't complain too much about the heat.
Love Alison

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Photos

Halong Bay Boat Park
And not a pirate in sight!

A big hello from Sa Pa
Always a smile for the camera

Halong Bay
From the boat

Halong Bay by day
tranquility on the bay!

Halong Bay Caves
Hidden away in the caves are the Irish Delights...hehehe

Deep in the caves
A tight squeeze that only the small people are privileged to experience

Rice Paddy Fields of Sa Pa
Not a potato to be had...it's rice from here on in

One big happy family
Traditional outfits of one of the many Sa Pa tribes

A boy & his herd
Even the little ones have work to do on the summer holidays

Overlooking Sa Pa
Not too far from home