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In the morning, I packed up my bungalow and enjoyed a huge buffet breakfast once again on the patio above. Fresh pancakes, made to order omelettes and fruit lined the bar. We watched the transporter boat approaching the island and the hotel host yelled from the beach that it was time to go. The boat collided with the shore and we all raced out to climb the plank back onboard.
We cruised around the bay, passing a little village on the water as we made our way back to the main cruise. Each house painted a different bright color with fish traps dangling in front of their homes.
We reached the Fantasea cruise ship and the crew reached for our hand and transferred us back to the boat. We had a two hour cruise back to the main land, so I climbed the stairs back to the top deck to soak in the view one last time. I found Miguel and Christina back on the cruise, they wrapped up their hotel stay on Cat Ba and would be returning with us.
An hour into the cruise, Treng called everyone into the dining room on the second level for lunch. The server held the tray of drinks and I asked, "May I have the orange pop please?" Oliver nearly spit out his drink. "Orange pop? You have got to be kidding me," he shook his head and laughed. "What?" I smiled.
The servers placed platter after platter in front of us to share. We passed around fried fish sticks, fried spring rolls, rice, beef and potatoes and chicken stir-fry. I was definitely able to get down more Vietnamese food then Cambodian but was still anxious to get back to America and fill up on fish tacos and whatever my little heart desired.
"So back home to Orange Pop tomorrow?" Oliver asked. "Yes, I go home tomorrow." I smiled. "You had such a short trip!" He exclaimed. Everyone reminded me of that in Asia, while I thought it was a very long trip. Oliver hadn't returned home to England in over two years and would finally be going there in a few months. I asked him why he had not returned and he said he was addicted to travel. He loved to explore and wanted to see as much of the world as possible. Christina and Miguel chimed in and explained they would be traveling until December or until they ran out of funds. I asked how they were able to get that long off of work and she told me she was a teacher and Miguel quit his job. "You just quit your job to travel?" I asked. He nodded his head, "Christina and I have been wanting to take this trip of a lifetime. I had been working for an IT company and they sent me on a project for a year in Las Vegas. I was tired of living in Vegas and wanted to come home to Spain. I will find a job again once we run out of money."
All of these world travelers just blew my mind. Three weeks in a row was plenty for me, I was looking forward to returning back to my world. I admired them for how adventurous they were. I could never continue on a trip for that long, living out of a suitcase and transferring country to country. I had to take a two day break after only two weeks in Cambodia. I imagine when I land in San Diego, I'll need another break from Vietnam.
The boat came to a stop in the bay just a few hundred meters from the harbor and a transporter boat came to take us over to the dock. We loaded the boat, put on our life jackets and drove away from Halong Bay. I took one last long view of the dream like bay and then stepped back on to the dock and back to the bus.
We had another four hour bus ride to Hanoi. I slept and grew very anxious along the drive. In less than twenty-four hours, I would be flying home to America. I would no longer be the only American, I would be eating food I was accustomed to, sleeping in my own bed and no longer moving from destination to destination.
One by one, they dropped off each traveler at their hotel and like saying goodbye to friends at summer camp, I grew sad to see Sanne, Tristan, Christina, Miguel and Oliver go. I had never met anyone from The Netherlands before and found Sanne so interesting and just loved her beautiful accent. I don't think I'm a very good candidate for traveling because I grow to fond of people I'm learning from and in close quarters with. Sanne was so warm and inviting, always smiling and her and her husband for two days always looked out for me, included me and I wasn't even traveling with them. I felt like many travelers I met did. Even when I ran back into Miguel and Christina, they sat down with me at lunch and asked me all about Monkey Bay. I don't know why people were so nice to me, but they all left such a positive impression on me. I felt like the entire trip I was so lucky to be placed with such wonderful people, as if it were strategically lined up for me.
The bus pulled up in front of the familiar sign, "Little Hanoi Diamond Hostel." Treng shouted, "Julie! Your stop!" I climbed up the stairs to the lobby and was greeted by the same host. "Hello Julie! You return?" I handed in my passport and he asked how long I would be staying. "I leave tomorrow for America, can I reserve a taxi?" "Yes! of course!" He replied as he arranged the details. "Your taxi will pick you up at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Here is your key, you are in bed four on the sixth floor." I frowned. I knew what that meant, I did however just hike a mountain so should be in much better shape.
Being it was my last night in Asia, I asked for a recommendation for dinner and where the nearest nail salon was. I was going to give Hanoi one more whirl since last time I had a spam pizza. He told me where I went wrong last week. He said I should have turned right out of the hostel and not left. "Left is the shopping district," he explained. He asked if I would like my bags taken to my room and I answered "yes" with no hesitation.
I wandered down the street and found a nail salon just a few doors down. Two young Vietnamese girls handed me a menu and it was only eleven dollars for a pedicure and gel manicure. I sat back to get pampered before heading home and the girls asked if they could take a picture with me. I was confused but agreed, they grew very excited and then each took their turn while my hands still in the manicure bowl. They spoke in Vietnamese to each other while working on my nails. "My sister say you are beautiful. Very beautiful." The younger girl blushed. I looked down at my clothes from my tour, my hair pulled back and still had not even showered. I was flattered but felt such a mess.
After the girls cleaned me up, I headed down the street and settled on a nice little Vietnamese restaurant. It was very modern and the servers wore formal gold uniforms. This was the nicest restaurant I had seen on the trip. I ordered sea bass wrapped in banana leaves and rice. It was so delicious. I was so happy I had found a nice Vietnamese meal before I left, I wouldn't be going home hungry.
After dinner I did a little shopping buying a few more souvenirs along the street before heading home. This was a much nicer district then the place I walked around my first time in Hanoi. I climbed the six flights of stairs and immediately passed out as soon as my face hit the pillow. I was wiped out from the excursion and the staircase.
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