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From Hanoi we went to Halong Bay for two nights, on the way there we met three guys from England on the bus, so we travelled with them for a few days, Alex, Lee and Tom if you are reading this I hope the rest of your travels are fantastic and it was great meeting you. Halong City is pretty s*** so we got a boat to Cat Ba island which is the biggest island in Halong, along the way we stopped at a stalagmite cave It was really amazing and Halong Bay is just breath taking, there are around three thousand islands dotted around, and it is so beautiful, the islands are lush and green and its so amazing going through corridors of these island, when you up close to one of them there is an insane noise of bats.
When we got to Cat Ba we had to get a bus to the town so the guide that was on the bus thought he would make a nice profit from us, the cheeky little s*** said to us that the bus is 50 000 Dong each, we managed to get him down to 30 000 Dong and thought it was pretty good but when we got on the bus we found out it was only 10 000, I know to us its nothing but its just the principle of getting ripped off, they do try their luck all the time and he definitely saw us five Muppets coming.
The first night we stayed on the beach called Cat Co 2, it was so beautiful, our little hut consisted of a mattress and a fan, and we almost died that night is was so bloody hot, none of us got any sleep, and the annoying thing about it was, it has been the most expensive accommodation yet. So the next day we checked out and did the big trek into town to look for more accommodation with air con. We then decided to hire some bikes and explore the island which turned out to be a great day. The 'hospital cave' was our first stop and it was such a nice surprise, in the war they used this cave as a hospital and from the outside it just looks like a tiny cave, but inside was massive, it had three levels and loads of different rooms including a swimming pool and a cinema, it was just mad.
Along the way we almost collided into goats and cows and people and dogs and any other living thing that decided to cross the road the moment we were driving towards it. It was so hectic and pretty scary, we all just used the hooter way too much. We then found this little restaurant that had a fish farm and the guests could fish for their own meal, the boys were so happy and they all had a go at fishing with a bamboo rod and a piece of rubber as a float, and they all caught!! Happy days, The family that ran the restaurant were so friendly and it was just a great setting, the only thing that is a bit sad to see is the land being demolished for farming, it's a big eye sore, but this is only in some areas I just hope they don't destroy the whole island. The day we arrived while sitting on the bus i was happily looking out the window at a puppy and as I leaned further out a truck had hit a dog and it was lying there dead, the puppy was just sitting next to it, shame I was so upset, but there are so many stray dogs and the roads are so narrow and when you throw in a crazed truck driver its no wonder. L
My smart idea was to climb up a mountain to see the views, 416 stairs later and I was almost dying, I honestly thought I was a little bit fitter than that but obviously not, by the time I got to the top all the boys had been there for a few minutes and were getting ready to go down, but the view was stunning and made it worth it, that day was cloudy but it was still amazing, a setting of the sea, mountains and the rice fields. Beautiful. That night we went for a few drinks and because I have not really had anything to drink in nearly two months the bottle of wine I was drinking went straight to my head, it was a really fun evening, we just played pool and foosball and of course I won! The next day complete with a hangover we all got up early for our boat trip, we were going back to Hanoi that night but decided to do some kayaking and see Halong Bay. Kayaking was so fun, we went right into the caves and crevices in the rocks, and then finding some deserted beaches, because Halong Bay is so big it felt like we were the only people around and it was as if we were the first people to go onto the deserted beaches, we weren't of course but it was nice to think it.
We left Halong early as it was pretty expensive and it has messed our plans a bit so now we are back in Hanoi and will be here for a total of 6 nights, its not so bad but its a lot more expensive than anywhere else we have been in Vietnam, but we have been spending ours days lazing around in a nice hotel watching movies and getting up late, because after this we will be going to Chiang Mai to do some trekking in the mountains so I am taking full advantage of the situation. I don't really like being in the city but I actually don't mind Hanoi, its really crazy but it has character too.
Vietnam has been great, every place we stopped at was different to the last which made it so exciting, because of the cultural difference it is very tiring travelling here but over all we have had an AMAZING time and would not have changed it for the world….ok maybe a few things but I will let those slide.
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