Blogs from Hai Phong, Red River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 7

July 11 2012 Somehow I always end up on the back of someone’s motor bike, holding on for dear life and enjoying every second of it. But lets back up for a minute… Upon arrival not only was I greeted by my contact from school but also the stifling humidity. As soon as we left the airport I was instantly at ease with Vietnam. It’s something about tropical weather and surroundings that just make life more peaceful. The green, lush land I saw rush past my window was so tranquil posing a juxtaposition to the conditions of the roads. Not to say the roads were in bad conditions but it’s definitely a jungle navigating them. Constant, blaring horns, cars, trucks and motor bikes driving which ever way they want, and the most annoying thing; no one ... read more

After leaving Sapa we went back to Hanoi for one night and then took a local bus to Cat Ba Island. We decided to go to Cat Ba Island instead of Halong because we have heard good things about it and it's basically Halong minus the tourist crowds. It's really easy to arrange the trip by yourself without booking with an agent. Just go to the Loung Yen bus station and there you can buy a ticket for VND220000 that includes the bus, a minibus to the ferry port, the ferry and a minibus to Cat Ba Island. The journey takes about 4 hours door to door and is really easy. All the accommodation is pretty much on the sea front and they offer good deals. We found a nice one for $10 with lovely sea ... read more

Fourteen hours on a bus and I go from mid-point Vietnam in Danang to the Northern capital of Hanoi. But I will leave this city for another time and skip over instead to Cat Ba, the largest island of Halong Bay. Halong Bay (and Lan Ha Bay which is the same thing just different province) is supposedly one of those "must see wonders" of the world. Legend says the karst mountains, at a distance appearing as one continuous chain but which are in fact separated by quiet coves and smooth expanses of water, were created by the tail of a passing dragon rising and falling as his wings carried him further inland. Most of the islands are uninhabited, there being few places to dock a boat and building a house on sheer rock face an engineering ... read more

got up at 6.30 to brave the public bus..it actually seemed ok when it pulled up to pick us up, and the journey was fine - apart from when it broke down..we soon got started again but it was a bizarre expereince seeing 10 vietnamese men try to fix the public bus. halong bay is magical - the scale of it is fantastic over, 2,000 islands.. our boat was great - good food and great company (a real international mixture with oz, belgium, swiss, russia all represented). We visited surprise cave - now there is a reason why the cave is called a surprise - see if you can guess in the pics, i'll give you clue - its red and points in the air... Went kayaking on halong bay and actually managed to avoid falling ... read more

Jo woke me up at 0500 to catch the sunrise. I’d slept pretty well with only the hum of the generator at the stern breaking the silence of the bay. The day broke with the misty haze that we’d become accustomed to since arriving in Hanoi – not a full on fog but just enough to take most of the colour out of the layers of limestone islands in the distance. Quite mystical. Jo went and woke Josh (the kiwi) up as requested and he appeared on deck blurry eyed, almost immediately regretting his decision to ask for a wake up call. Our boat was at anchor and slowly drifting around in circles so we followed the sunrise around the boat. About an hour or so later the sun peaked over the top of one of ... read more