Halong Bay

Vietnam 011
Originally uploaded by timelgar.

Please note: we're having trouble accessing the blog from Vietnam due to censorship. Presumably blogs are a dangerous medium for expressing opinions! Tim found a way to get around the blocks but we can't do our usual colour scheme.
(This one's by me, Laura. Try to imagine the purple font).

December 7, 2006

We headed off for a 3 day boat tour of Halong Bay looking forward to some great suntanning and snorkeling, thanks to Dave’s slideshow of his trip earlier this year. It was quickly apparent that our experience would be a bit different since December is winter in the north of Vietnam! Oops. But the scenery was amazing despite the chill and drizzling rain for the first few days. Tim even went for a swim off the boat and claims it was warmer in the water. We slept in a cabin on board the boat for the first night, and then in a hotel on Cat Ba Island the second night (perfectly nice and normal other than the rather odd painting of a nude woman on the bathroom tiles – see the link to our photos if you are over 18).

We stopped at Monkey Island where one of the cute little primates made it quite clear he was no fan of my husband. Quite reminiscent of the wildlife reserve in Barbados. Must be the Panther cologne or something.

We also hiked up a mountain which Tim says was good practice for tackling Kilimanjaro later. Um, yeah. Right behind you...
We were decked out in our best performance travel gear, sweating like mad, gasping for air and trying desperately to keep up with the guide. The guide himself was dressed in jeans, a dress shirt and plastic sandals and behaved as though we were taking a leisurely stroll in the park. Mountain Equipment Coop should take note for the 2007 catalogue.

Next stop is Sapa for some more hiking! Hmm. I had rather envisioned our time in Vietnam as lying in the sun, with a Daiquiri in one hand and a good book in the other. Are we at the beach yet? At least we’re working off all the calories from all the food.