Where to start. An exciting, beautiful, social, alcohol-soaked, turbulent, confusing, adrenaline-fuelled past few weeks. Sapa was pretty but it was covered in thick cloud, preventing me from seeing very much. It was cold too. On clearer days you can observe stunning layered rice paddies amongst mountain scenery. I did get to see some of it on a trek I did which went through some local ethnic villages. After sapa I travelled via a bus-boat combination to cat ba Island. From there I went on a two-day boat tour to halong bay as well as other better-preserved bay areas. It was fantastic. We kayaked around the karsts, through cliff-caves, in stunning hidden lagoons, and between islet-beaches in the open sea. We saw monkeys in the trees on an island and heard their calls. I shared a boat
... read more