Around the World

I just got back to Hanoi from a 3 day, 2 night trip to the breathtaking Halong Bay. It's just 2 hours from Hanoi and is an area with thousands of limestone rocks jutting out of the sea. The pics are in the Part 2 of the snapfish pictures. It was hazy, but sunny all three days, and we swam in beautiful, empty beaches, climbed to the top of the (small) peaks and kayaking under a rock into a cool grotto. There was a huge cavern full of stalactites, but it had colored lights like Disneyland and seemed very fake. The water had quite a bit of trash in it, but the whole area was still really unique. We slept one night in a comfy room on the boat and another at a hotel on Cat Ba island, which looks very small from the dock, but is actually huge and full of tour groups. Next time I want to do a rock climbing and trekking trip that avoids the touristy places. Still I would totally recommend this experience...all for only $49...not including drinks.