Halong Bay

Donovan Writes: After arriving back in Hanoi in the morning, we boarded a small bus for the 3.5 hour ride to Halong Bay for a two-day boat trip. There are literally hundreds of Oriental "Junk" boats providing tours throughout Halong Bay. We boarded one of the nicer ones along with about 14 other travelers. The scenery was amazing. We visited caves and fishing villages, and just traveled throughout the bay. We had a very nice room on the boat with large windows, which was fortunate because I spent nearly the entire trip in bed, still with a fever and feeling very weak. The seafood they served on the boat was fantastic, and luckily, even the flu couldn't kill my appetite.

We returned to Hanoi the following evening, and I headed to the doctor to be sure I didn't have anything worse. That night my fever broke for the first time since Sa Pa. Finally starting to feel better.

We decided not to stay very long in Hanoi. It is an interesting city and we did spend some time walking around, but the streets are crazy, noisy, and dirty. Great food, but not a good place to relax. On the evening of the 15th, we boarded a plane for Vientiane, Laos.