Halong Bay

After spending a few days in Hanoi, it was time for Pam and I to head to Halong Bay. We both got our runs in, mine obviously for marathon training, and hers for her exercise streak, which was day 100! Way to go. We enjoyed our runs with fellow runners, walkers, and all the older women dancing. All at 6:30am. Love it. 

After packing, eating breakfast, and checking out, we boarded our bus to Halong Bay. I booked a tour through the hotel and was given several price points to choose from. Essentially the more money you paid, the nicer it would be. I decided on a mid-range point and hoped I made a good decision. If it was only me, I would put up with whatever it ended up being and learn from it. But since my friend was with me, I was a little nervous and hoped it was good. And I have to say, it ended up being great.

After about 4 hours on the bus, which included a rest stop at a massive tourist shop, we got on a small boat which took us to the big boat. We were happy to see that it looked clean and the food was yummy. We ate a very delicious lunch all while enjoying a Halong Bay beer as we made our way into Halong Bay. And it was beautiful. Although the haze and clouds definitely downplayed it a bit. We had 3 days in total, so we hoped it would get nicer. 

Hazy Halong Bay.

Once we had our fill on lunch, we made our first stop on the boat at Hang Sung Sot, a cave on one of the many islands. There were about 15 of us on the boat, which was a very manageable number as we did our various activities. Our guide, Peter, was pretty great and we had him for all 3 days and led us everywhere. Very enthusiastic and even though it took some time to understand him, pretty funny as well. We took the small boat to the caves and made our way through the various chambers, each getting bigger than the last. And each one more impressive than the last. 

One of the cave chambers.

After we had our fill of the cave and got some spectacular views of the area, we officially checked in on the boat. We were happy to find we had clean living arrangements, and I was excited to sleep on a boat. We made our way to where we were docking for the evening and went kayaking for a bit. Pam and I went into one of the coves, hoping to spot a monkey, with no luck. But we enjoyed being out on the water, even though I did want to go swimming. Apparently there were large jellyfish, so we weren't allowed. At least not there. 

Kayaking Luon Cave.

The food continued to be amazing and we chatted with our fellow passengers from Europe and Australia. A lot of boats advertise themselves as party boats, and in my old age, I wasn't interested in staying up all night and getting wasted. So I'm very happy that we found a good mix of people to hang out with and drink with, but also go to bed at a reasonable hour. So there wasn't any karaoke, but maybe another time. 

All about display.

The following morning, we got up early to eat breakfast, and make our way to Ti Top Island. This is where we did a small hike and went for a swim. It was a fairly quick stop, but instead of choosing between the 2, a lot of us chose to do both. Work up a sweat and then go for a swim (where there weren't any jellyfish apparently). 

View from Ti Top Island.

We got back on the boat and got ready to check out. There were 4 of us, including Pam and myself, that were headed to Cat Ba Island. We took the small boat to the island, got on a bus, and joined another group of people. We were glad to see that Peter was joining us. We made our way to Cat Ba National Park where we had a bit more strenuous hike ahead of us. Nothing that Pam and I couldn't handle, but for those who partied too much the night before, it would be a challenge. We climbed all the stairs and were rewarded with some amazing views. We couldn't even see the sea, which was amazing. The island was much bigger than I expected. I also rewarded myself with a post-hike beer. 

Made it to the top. 

The fun wasn't over yet. After lunch and checking into our hotel, Pam and I decided to check out the monkeys on Monkey Island. We read TripAdvisor reviews and had an idea of what to expect. Our expectations were met. The first thing we see when we arrive is a monkey stealing a banana from a small child (who, to the monkey's credit, was bigger than the monkey). And right after that, another monkey took off with a man's pringles. These monkeys weren't nice monkeys. I mean, I guess when humans are antagonizing them all day, they will get aggressive. I swam for a little bit, but I didn't want to leave our stuff unattended. The monkeys would probably run off with my purse. 

Keeping an eye on the monkey (that's not my stuff). 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We watched the sun go down and had another delicious meal. Oh and drank our Vietnamese wine that we bought at the tourist shop. It was ok. I figured I had to try it. 

The following day was probably the best day. Mostly since it was my birthday. I'm now a year older. And it was pretty cool to spend it in Vietnam doing a lot of my favorite things. And to have Pam there. We started off with a run around Cat Ba. Then made our way back to the boat where we had a spring roll lesson and had lunch. And of course had some birthday beverages. 

Concentrating. 

Unfortunately, I did have to spend a few hours on a bus for my birthday. But I decided to nap a bit. We made it back to Hanoi in no time and continued to enjoy our last day in Hanoi. The hostel we stayed at surprised me with a birthday cake, which was so sweet of them. There's absolutely no reason they had to do that, but it just goes to show the hospitality of the country. I first thought Pam put them up to it, but then we figured they had my passport and knew. Regardless, it was so nice, and I got cake on my birthday! 

Birthday cake. 

After devouring the cake (we shared with others), we made our way out to do a little bit of shopping, drinking cocktails, eating bahn mi, and getting ice cream (yes, more dessert). All in all, a pretty great birthday. It would have been nice to celebrate with family and friends, but so thrilled that Pam was able to celebrate with me. And it feels like my birthday every day.