DAY 17
Took an overnight train to Halong Bay and were upgraded along the way- NICE!
Bought some bottles of red wine (local of course!) for the journey and got as close as any of us will ever probably get to wining and dining on the orient express (with our takeaway sarnies!). On the matter of train food, let me take this opportunity to warn you NEVER EVER to eat on a Vietnamese train. Firstly we spent all of 5 mins in the dining cabin because the smell of deepfried meat on the meat trolley was just horrendous. god only knows how long it had been sat there, fly ridden, and stale. the deadly pair of scissors perched on top used to cut it up would have put off even the most starved of people (ok maybe not the MOST starved!!)The locals happily chomped it down but i couldnt hack the iew so i returned to my cabin. so, im back in my cabin safe and clean and away from bacterial infection/e-coli in first class darling...or so i thought. Turns out, our private porter who has been serving other passengers their food, is guilty of a bit of the ol' 3-second rule action1! for those of you that are unfamiliar with this absolutely disgusting mantra- it basically excuses filthy students from eating food off the floor- yes, the floor!- so long as it has only been in contact with the surface for 3seonds. if you pick it up within that time you're supposedly safe to eat it?!? TUrns out our Vietnamese buddy was caught by my feloow tour member to be picking up dirty sausage off the floor and kindly popping it into passengers noodle soups-- YUK! i guess it just shows, no matter how much you pay for service, you just dont know what goes on behind closed doors. Luckily we did know and happily gobbled up our cheese and salad baguettes safe in the knowledge that we wouldnt be struck down by some god forsaken illness.
Back to Halong Bay...
got in early in the morning -5am- and spent yet another morning in a hotel lobby waiting for our rrooms to be cleaned and beds made. at 11, we headed to the port to take a junk boat to the stalagtite caves and titop beach- the highlights of this destination.
HAlong Bay is Vietnam's most developed resort with a picturesque backdrop of the wooden hills. sadly, undoubtedly Vietnam';s greatest natural wonder, is ruined by the overflow of japanese and chinese tourists that visit this part of the world regularly and for whom the city has been transformed into a mickeymouse disneyland esque destination. it resembles a tacky holiday resort boasting casinos, amusement parks and the like- bleurgh!
anyway that morning we set off on a boat trip to visit the caves for which Halong bay is world renowned. more than 3000 islands and rocks rise fromm the crystal clear waters. in 1962, ha long bay was recongnised as a national protection area and you could definitely see why on the boat. we were treated to a seafood feast on board for lunch. white linen clad tables and silver service- felt like kings and queens as we savoured the local seafood delicacies- stuffed crabs, calamari, prawns and more.
The cave were gorgeous with the most incredible stalagtites dropping frm the ceilings. but they were however ruined by the cheap,coloured lighting inside. you will see this in my pictures that it's still impressive however. Just needs a revamp that's all- where's Lawrence Llewelyn bowen when you need him eh?! Even he could have done a better job! NExt stop was Titop beach on Titop island. Ho Chi Minh or "uncle Ho" as the locals call him visited here in 1962 in honour of the Russian astronomer -Titop- after whom the island is named. Here we played or attempted to play volleyball with quite enthusiastic (aka drunk) locals,swam in lovely waters and best of all, cimbed to the top of a mini mountain and admired a stunning view of the bay. my pictures just cant do it justice. after soaking in the splendour of the natural beauty surrounding us, we headed back to shore on the boat and experienced an amazing sunset. it was idyllic- you just had to be there.
that evening there was a football match on so the boys eagerly watched and the girls had a few drinks in one room and made a night of it too! THe next morning it was off to Hanoi- VIetnam's capital city
