Paradise - well its very close

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Cat Ba Island
Well we have got a bit out of sync with the old blog and we have Hanoi and a bit of China left to write about but I thought I would show everyone where we are at the minute and have been for the last 4 or 5 days; Cat Ba Island – North East Vietnam. I also wanted to say a big 10th Happy Birthday to my nephew James!! Xxx

So we have come here to visit Halong Bay but after all the travelling around we have done over the past few weeks, we are having a well deserved chill out and done basically Jack s*&t since we have been here. We have just watched loads of films, sunbathed, eaten and drank and it’s been great. Today we decided enough is enough of this bumming around, so we have booked to go on a days boat tour tomorrow where we get to see Halong Bay, visit monkey Island, snorkel and kayak so should be good (just hope I don’t get sea sick).

It’s a bit mad here nice beaches and its low season so prices are low and its quiet but the downside is that some of the owners of hotels and stuff get a bit desperate for trade; today we tried to intervene with this Aussie couple who were getting hit with flip flops after walking out of a room they didn’t want to stay in. Some guy in our hotel turned off our hot water after 2 nights of us being here because he said it wasn’t included in the price, but they changed their minds when we said we would leave, this is the same room where we have found 2 cockroaches and 2 lizards and they want to argue over hot water?! Other than this it is like paradise!!

Just going to turn in tonight for an early night, will sleep a bit easier now the lizard has been caught and no sign of cockroaches for past 2 days; Dim reckons he has out smarted them by having the lights on for the past 2 nights which has meant we have had to sleep with eye masks.

To be continued…..

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Photos

Traffic jam on the way to the port..
Another mad journey - got a taxi to a port in the middle of nowhere - honestly thought we would pull up and a rowing boat would be waiting..

the junk
thats what the boats are called you can get a rowing boat out to them and eat there

wedded bliss
another woman getting snapped in a picturesque place its mad they all do it in China too..

Comments

[nobed]

NICE
hello mad i like the look of your latest entry best it looks well chilled and peaceful-for a change! the beaches and general scenery looked really pretty, shame le dragon ruined some-only kidding mary!!!!X, was ace to speak to you both the other week, thankyou for ringing me it was really good to hear from you, its fukin freezing here at the minute-(friday 26-11-10 @1pm) gunna snow this weekend if it doesnt today and gunna be like this for at least two weeks!! having a paperwork day today so its pretty chilled and flange is workin this weekend so i rekon it could be a propperfogargeme weekend with some hardcore xbox!!!! nino n bry came down for a day earlier in the week and we got pissed was good to see them and we had a laugh! bet your glad to see the back of china from some of the photos and your text on the blog it dont look like a place i have any desire to visit! however some of the stuff looked really nice and cultured and im bet your glad you did it. you both look really well in your photos-are you growing a beard r kid, have you shaved since you left? im gunna attempt this skype thing after writing this-finally! any way gunna love you and leave you take care of each other my bezzy mates and hopefully speak to you both asap all the best love BENNXXXXX

[Nino]

Hi Guys, hope your both well, i've been following your blog and getting itchy feet, me and bry could well rob a bank and be off again soon (if only). Just sat up watching the cricket like a sad b###ard, just looked out of the window and we have a couple of inches of snow, which means i will be hibernating for the weekend and probably the rest of the winter. China must have been a bit of a shock to the system, you are suposed to break yourself in gently with some easy countries to travel, but you guys just threw yourselves in at the deep end. I wouldn't mind checking it out myself sometime, i dont know if i could handle all the lung butter being coughed up though!! Friday night and no beer, busy with course work all this weekend. Proper burnt my hand today and still hurting, i put a fring pan in the oven to finish off a dish i was cooking, took it out with a cloth and put it on the side, 30 seconds later i forgot and went and picked it up like a plank, blisters on all fingers and across the palm of my hand, i bet the neighbours thought i was killing someone!! went to london at the weekend and we stayed with chap for a night in maidstone, it was really good to see him and i think we will be spending new year together, not sure where we will end up though. Have you decided where you will be staying for christmas? Anyway, cricket is getting quite exciting (honest!!) so i'm going to sign off, keep the pics and comments coming, they are the only thing reminding me that there is a life outside of work at the moment!!!