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I have never seen so many scooters and motorbikes on the road as I have in Hanoi, the traffic is absolutly crazy and everyone toots their horns, I think alot of the time just for the fun of it so its very noisey on the roads. Also something we havn't had for a while is sunny weather and it was unbelievably hot in Hanoi. We went to visit the Ho Chi Min Museum but realised when we got there it closed at 11:30am so instead we went to Hoa Lo Prison, part of the prison still remains and we could look round it as it was when it was built in 1896. The conditions of how the prisoners were kept were quite scary to think about. Then we went to a small lake in the middle of the town to where a B52 had crashed into the lake during the war with the Americans and left for everyone to see. Then we went to the much bigger lake for something to eat and then watched the sunsetting over the city skyline by the lake which was beautiful.
The next day we wanted to visit the history museum we got in a taxi and tried to tell the driver but he had no idea or understanding of English and so we ended up at the conventianal museum which was not great. Afterwards back at the Hanoi Backpacker hostel where we are staying we booked onto their Halong Bay 2 nights, 3 days trip.
We got up early the next day to head off on the 4 hour minibus journey to Halong bay. We got there and boarded our boat, the boat had 15 girls and two lads on it, one of which was with his girlfriend so abit unlucky for the other guy. We sailed out into the bay which is dotted with over 3,000 limestone caves, the scenery was unbelieavable and slightly overwhelming. When the boat stopped we could all jump of the side of the top deck into the water which took some encouragement from the others but I did it and enjoyed it. Afterwards we got to go out in the water in kayaks and kayak to the caves, this was a little tougher on the arms than I thought it would be. We got to the caves and was given a tour it was very dark inside and we had to climb through them to the end. When we kayaked back it was getting dark and we could see the sillohuettes of the rocks and look up at the stars. Then back on the boat we got tea and started the nights entertainment of drinking games, the night ended with 15 girls dancing on the top deck under the moonlight to Bwitched and other classics from back in the day.
Up again early the next day and joined the other boat for our 2nd night which would be spent on a small island. Accomodation for the night was basic, a mattress with mosquito net and a roof made of bamboo over our heads. The day on the island was spent relaxing listening to music and then we could choose a watersport activity. I chose high speed tubing. It was great fun lying on a rubber thing and getting dragged around the sea by a speedboat holding on for dear life. I did well to only get thrown off twice. In the evening it was time for more drinking and social activities. The next day we had to leave the island pretty quick as there was news of a typhoon coming so we sailed back and then got the mini bus back to the hostel. After this trip I was nackered and had another night to recover while jess and andrea have less time than me and had to rush off to the next place. The next day I got the bus to Hoi an, a nice little place next to the river, the streets are filled with tailor shops and part of the experince is to get something made. I went on the topshop website choose a dress and showed the tailor, they took my measurements and the next day I went to pick it up. I was alot like what I had chosen and so was pleased with it. One day I rented a bicycle and had a cycle around the old quarter.
After a few days in Hoi an I got the overnight bus to Nha Trang. I got there fairly early and decided to hit the beach, the weather is beautiful and the beach was gorgeous. I was on the beach and got approached by a vietnamese lady wearing a lampshade on her head. She threaded my legs for me which I thought would be fine, actually it was very painfull but my legs were very smooth afterwards. In the sea they had giant inflatable slides and a giant trampoline that looked like fun so I paid 40,000 dong and went for a play on them with some others.
The next day we did a snorkelling trip which was okay but I wasn't very impressed and fell asleep on the top of the boat in the afternoon.
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