Ha Long Bay to Hanoi Jan 26

Waking up to another grey day but loving the view from my window anyway.

I am on the Golden Lotus now. It is a newer boat and a little nicer.

They have a sail but it wasn't up while I was on board.

The deck is very nice.

Passing another boat which looks much the same.

Our guide showed us this rock that they have on the back of the 200,000.00 dong note. There is no mistaking it.

These people are selling fruit from their boat.

Here is another one, prepared for a lot of business.

We left our shuttle boat and got into bamboo boats to go check out some more caves. It came with a person to row it. This girl is our person.

I took her picture and she took mine.

The first cave was open ended and took us into an area compleatly surrounded by rocks.

The second one took us out to open water again but we returned back through them both to get back to the boat.

These folks are from our tour.

A view as we paddle along.

Another view. Every angle is a different view. I never get tired of looking.

Here we have a school which is attched to the floating village and moves with them whereever they go.

Aproaching Ha Long City coming back.

Our bus stopped on the way back at a store which was also a greenware shop. They had several warehouses full of molds and pots. There were many kilns there but I couldn't tell if they were still in use.

Here they are patching deformaties on some greenware.

We got back to the Hostel around 5:30 and I was feeling like I had put in a long day. I ran out for some supper and went to bed very early because I had to get up for a flight and because I was already feeling sick.

This shot of a store selling New Years decorations is an example of what the whole street looked like.

The way they arrange things is with all the stores on the street selling the same type of thing. My street was the only street selling these decorations and was it ever pretty.

I must say that the Hanoi Hostel was a good place to stay. For five dollars a night you get a bed in an eight bed dorm with heat, a/c, hot water, free wi-fi, breakfast and the place was super clean. The staff were great so I would have to say it is one of the best.


Tomorrow, off to Vientiane and hopefully some warmth.


My tip: Come to North Vietnam in the summer.