If The Boats A Rockin.....

Hanoi
April 10, 2009
4:00pm

So we just made it back from Halong Bay. It was a great night. Halong Bay, which means descending dragon, is part of UNESCO's world heritage sites. It was pretty amazing. Basically it is this massive area that is filled with about 1600 limestone rocks that jet out of the water, some hundreds of feet. When we arrived at Halong bay we boarded our boat which would be our personal boat for the rest of the night. The upstairs area was a tiny dining room which served us breakfast lunch and dinner. Underneath that were our cabins with beds and full bathroom. We traveled into the bay and began to take in the beauty of our surroundings. As we ventured further and further in the bay we saw floating fishing villages and a creepy mist that blanketed the whole area. Our first stop was a cave that was in one of these rock formations. We climbed about a hundreds steps and explored. After that we jumped into our swim trunks and went kayaking through the area to this hidden bay that could only be accessed through a small cave. When we got there I hopped out of the boat and went swimming. The water was cool, the rocks were covered by lush greenery and jetted into the sky, and you could hear birds in the distance singing the day out. I was in heaven and totally at peace. When I do things like this, it just reminds me how amazing the world really is and how much our problems are really nothing. We create chaos in our lives and we jsut dont realize how simple it can be. This makes not ever want to stop traveling. Im sad that I have to go home in a few months and start working.

When we finally returned to the boat I decided that I was still in the swimming mood and began jumping and diving off of our boat while everyone else simply watched. They dont know what they missed. I had so much fun. For the rest of the night we ate and drank for hours. I love my group and I feel so lucky that I was able to meet these people who share my interests from all around the globe.

When morning came took the boat to this beach and swam for about an hour in the foggy bay. It was a perfect close to the trip. One thing I must add though is how touristy this place was. After seeing it I think it is a shame that this beautiful place may be at risk because of people like me.

For the rest of the day we are having some free time. We will go later on tonight and do some Karaoke. Tomorrow we check out of our hotel and leave Hanoi on the reunification express for a 12 hour train ride to Hue. Now we start making our way down Vietnam.

Here are some photos of Halong bay so you can get an idea of the place. They are not mine. I am working on getting mine together for this. My friend Charly on this trip is also a great photographer with an amazing camera. I will post some of his pics later. Peace