Days 14 and 15 - Halong Bay, Goodbye Hanoi!

Waking up on a boat is a great feeling. You feel trapped in your freedom, that though you're confined to the boat, you're free to move anywhere on the water, with or without an agenda. As opposed to the day before, today started out great. We woke up early for breakfast on the boat and then sailed across the bay (the scenery never gets old) to Catbah Island. We went on a somewhat unimpressive hike up a mountain and through a cave. Half of us were wearing flip flops and were ill-prepared for any kind of hiking. Our guide spoke very little English and communicated by writing "mountain top --->" or "cow --->" in a notebook and showing it proudly to us.

We stopped for drinks and a rest and were introduced to the first cool kid I'd met in Vietnam - Korean kids are so much better. He was probably 3 or 4 years old and already proving to be an apt student of the emerging marking economy and tourist trade. His father had just finished selling us (expensive) drinks and gone inside, when the pupil picked up his father's abandoned wallet and started giving out cash to members of our group. He'd obviously seen his father making change and was doing his best to follow suit. This kid has a bright future ahead of him, I do believe.

After settling into our hotel, we had time to do some sightseeing on Catbah Island, and when I say I was sightseeing, I mean that I would occasionally open my eyes and look at the underside of my beach umbrella. That night we found a "hip hop" dance club that played nothing but Beatles songs. There were about 15 locals in the club, but they were all watching a David Copperfield magic show on TV, so we had the dancefloor to ourselves.

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After a too-early breakfast it was back on the boat to Halong City, stopping for another swim en route. From Halong City, it was another bus ride from hell back to Hanoi.

Being back in Hanoi for only a couple of hours was just enough time to get some food and remember why we were so excited to leave in the first place. After the scenic tranquility of Halong Bay, Hanoi is like a kick to the head. Then it was back on a bus for a 24-hour bus ride down to Hoi An.