Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

As much as we both loved Luang Prabang (and Laos in general), our 30-day visa for Vietnam started on the 20th of April, so it was time to head to Hanoi. We heard horror stories about the 28 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang to Hanoi (for one girl it turned out being a 48 hour journey), so we decided to shell out the extra money and fly Lao Airlines instead. The flight was painless, and we arrived at the Hanoi airport stress free--at least until we stepped out into the city. The second biggest city in Vietnam, Hanoi can give even the most experienced traveler a run for their money. A perfect example is crossing the street; with 6 million people, and over 4.5 million motorbikes, what would be a simple feat in the U.S. is more like a video game in which you have to avoid getting hit by a motorbike/car/bus 30 times before you reach the other side safely. We've found that if you keep to your path, and don't hesitate, you can usually cross without confrontation.

The street our hostel was on. April 30th is Vietnamese independence day, so their flag was flying wherever we looked.

.000001% of the motorbikes in Hanoi

Preston LOVES Pho (and Bia Ha Noi).

Local Vietnamese girls either mistook Preston for a celebrity or found him exceedingly handsome (neither would surprise him) and clambered for the opportunity to take pictures with him.

Jessica experiences the Temple of Literature (the oldest universtiy in Vietnam).

Conicidentaly, we were in Hanoi at the same time as one of Preston's childhood friends, Kelsey Mesher, and her boyfried, Stuart Jenkins. We spent our first day in Hanoi with them, and quickly decided that it was time to go to Ha Long Bay. We booked our 2 day-1 night boat tour through the (real) Sinh Cafe (there aren't copyright laws in Vietnam, so companies with reputable names are copied 100 times over), then headed out the next day. Although we booked our tour on the "regular" boat, we were (excitingly!) bumped up to the "luxury" boat, as not enough people were signed up for the cheaper option. Lucky us! We headed out the very next day, and although our fist morning was really misty, when the sun finally broke through, we realized we truly were in one of the most beautiful places on earth (it's in the running for one of the 7 wonders of the world). Our tour guide wasn't really sure on the details, but from what we hear, the 3,000 limestone islands of Ha Long Bay were once the ocean floor, and have since been erroded by wind and water, creating islands of all shapes and sizes.

A view of Ha Long Bay 

(we stayed in a ship very similar to those below)

We spent the afternoon kayaking with Stuart and Kelsey.

Pres jumping from the 4th floor of our boat (called "Junks" in Vietnamese). We all jumped a few times!

After dinner the crew got a Karaoke party started; even Preston and Stuart joined in.

Gooooooood morning, Vietnam! The sunrise as seen from the top deck of our boat.

Cat Ba island is the only inhabited island in Ha Long Bay, and Pres and I decided that we wanted to check it out. We left our tour, Kelsey, and Stuart, and headed off on our own to Cat Ba. It was difficult to actually find the local ferry, but we did, and at 30,000 Dong/ticket (about $1.50) we made it to Cat Ba the true backpacker way: as cheaply as possible. Cat Ba City itself isn't much to look at; a bay filled with what can only be described as a floating shanty town, and a coastline chock-full of cheap hotels. We stayed in the city our first night, but the next day we wandered upon the best accomidation we've had to date; just outside of Cat Ba City on the other side of a point is Cat Co 2, a beach that somehow eluded everyone but us and a few other lucky travelers. We rented a little cabana on the beach for U.S. $12/night, and we ended up being the ONLY guests the first night, and two of 8 guests the second night.

We found the ferry!!

On Cat Co 2, our private beach for the day.

Our bungalow.

Yet another beautiful sunset. 

We tried convincing ourselves to stay a few more nights on Cat Co 2, but we quickly realized that we only have a limited number of days on our visa, and we need to continue south. We organized a "Jump-on, Jump-off" bus ticket to Saigon, which essentially allows us to stop at 6 cities along the way, and stay for as long as we like, so we're heading to Ninh Binh this afternoon. Goodbye, Hanoi!