Halong Bay - Day 2

The day started early. 0600 early. Too early. But this was when Tai Chi on the top deck started, and we wanted to be there to give it a go. What better setting to do Tai Chi, than in the breaking dawn, while surrounded by the stone pinnacles of Ha Long Bay. It would have been easier to get up if not for the fact that we had been up too late the night before drinking malibu with Beth and Liz. It was too late to do anything about when the alarm went off though.

The tai chi was not strenuous, but was surprising harder than anticipated. Holding your limbs outstretched for extended periods can certainly cause some strain. Also, we are hopeless at tai chi. We couldn't get the flowing movements right. It will take some more time than one go at this to get it right. Fortunately we have plenty of time left in life to pick up those skills.

The next appointment of the day, was a small breakfast at 0700. Things start earlier in Vietnam than they do at home. Perhaps that should read South-East Asia in general. Breakfast consisted of some Vietnamese breakfast soup (the name escapes me), and french pastries. The soup was good, the pastries, not so much.

Following breakfast we had a few minutes to have a quick shower, before disembarking the big boat, and heading to a cave system on one of the many islands. Once there we were joined by 100's of people from other boats, doing much the same thing. We had travelled to Surprise Cave, which was the last of a three chamber system. The name Surprise comes from the fact that of the three chambers, the last is about 100 times bigger than the first two, and was hence a real surprise to the first people to enter the cave.

The cave system was also reasonably unique in that it had developed above sea-level, then been plunged underwater once upon a time, before being raised high and dry out the water once more as sea-levels changed. The effect of being underwater has meant that the roof of the cave was a beautiful smooth appearance. It looks artificial, but is instead the effect of waves on the soft limestone roof of the cave system. After about 45 minutes in the cave, it was time to head back to the mothership, for brunch, and to make our way back to dry land.

Once back on the boat, we had our brunch, which was really a five course lunch. After the mountain of food we had eaten the day before, and the earlier breakfast, it was difficult to swallow the food, inspite of how delicious it was. The conversation across the table was a good way to slow down our consumption of food, and the topics ranged from the New Zealand property market, to the life of a caterer, to the pride of the French when it comes to their food.

And before we knew it, we were back at the harbour, hoping off the boat, and hopping on a bus to get us back to Hanoi. We had the obligatory stop at some awful tourist shop built around a nice block of toilets, and got back to Hanoi, at the height of rush hour. Navigating the streets in a bus was both exciting and terrifying. It was exciting in that we could relax and watch the world around us, safe in the knowledge, that in any collision we would come off uninjured. It was terrifying in that the driver knew he was invincible, and drove through the sea of moped and scooter drivers on the assumption that his vehicle was bigger, and if you were on a bike, and didn't get out the way, then it was your own fault for becoming a red stain on his bus and/or the road.

Arriving back at the hotel. We were pretty tired, and fancied getting a good night's sleep. If we ever catch up on our sleep, we seem to ruin it the very next night by staying out late. But we are on holiday, and sometimes that means getting up early, and some times it means staying out late. Either way, we enjoy ourselves, though we may need a holiday once we get home to recover.

And so the day ended with a quick walk across the Old Town to get dinner at an Indian restaurant - we fancied something different - and a quick walk back, before a shower and sleep. Courtneys ex boss - Angela, from Lloyds was also in town with her family, but unfortunately due to limited wifi access while out and about, an attempt to meet up didnt go as hoped with communication only being made later on in the evening once we arrived back at the hotel. We then discovered we were on opposite sides of town from each other and they had to be on a train to Sapa at 9pm so there was no time for even a quick hello. Courtney, feeling a wee bit sad about not seeing Angela, fell asleep being consoled by Teemu who continues to eat honey even though we are in Vietnam. It appears he has no interest in rice noodles or Bun Cha. And with that another day in Vietnam was over, I believe that KISS wrote a song about this. I think the title is 'Crazy Nights'Read more