Goooooooood Morning Vietnam!

After maybe 2 or 3 hours of sleep due to spending the night on the phone with a friend, I arrived at MCO 5:45 am to depart for Seoul, South Korea. My flight was due to take off at 7:30am Sunday morning and land at 9:30pm Monday night. My flight to LA was delayed. Not good, as that meant I could miss my two remaining connections, as well as my flight to Vietnam the following morning. Before I knew it, I was changed to a new flight. As the woman behind the counter handed me my tickets, she said I better hurry, as they're boarding now. :O I look at my parents, we walk to security, and see a line with at least a 10 minute wait. In 15 minutes, my plane was taking off from the ground. I hugged my parents, said good bye, and walked to a security guard. Explaining my situation, and even though I hate it when others do this, I asked if I could skip to the front of the line. He let me, and I literally walked straight from security on to my plane. Plus side? I landed at 4 pm instead of 9:30 pm. Monday morning, I made the 45 min trek back to Incheon and flew out to Vietnam at 10:30am. I'll admit, I was nervous at first, being one of 2 Non-Asian people on the plane. Before I knew it, I was whisked away to my hotel in Hanoi. After dropping my things off, I grabbed my little back pack and good camera to explore the capital of this forbidden and hotly disputed country. -- Hanoi This capital is just like any capital- big, loud, crowded and dirty. There are scooters Everywhere! I'll admit, it did not strike a huge hit with me, and I was not sorry that we were leaving the next morning for Halong Bay. Granted, I didn't land in time to go to any museums or cool sites, so that biases my view a little. Yeah, that's all I have to say about the city. Oh, the one cool thing is that Hanoi has the longest mosaic wall in the world. That night we had our orientation meeting. There was a brother and sister with their wife and husband from Canada. Two brothers with their wives from Australia, a married couple from Britain, an engaged couple from Britain, a solo girl from Britain, a solo woman from Australia. It was interesting, and I really enjoyed meeting the Aussies during the tour. I also loved the british married couple, as they were exactly like me, low key, quiet, enjoyed the local life of towns we went to, etc. We all had dinner together that night, and after grabbing food for the boat trip in Halong Bay, I grabbed coffee/tea with the Aussies while the others went our for drinks. And thus, the beginning of what was to be the style of the trip, began! I didn't fit in with the younger 3 at all. Couldn't connect. Really disliked the fact that they would go out drinking almost every night. Nothing crazy where they were drunk, but all the same. I'm just not much of a drinker, don't see the point in it. Anyways. The second day we hopped in a van and made the 4 hour drive to the mysterious and beautiful Halong Bay. Me, being the ditz that I am, forgot my wallet in my suitcase (we all left our big bags, as we were only going to be on the boat for one night) Thankfully I didn't need it, as this part of the tour was all included. Whew! It was misty, crowded with boats, and just a touch cool- but I loved it! The boat was amazing, perfect sized bedrooms, and the most delicious food I've had in a while. We were served 9 or 10 course meals full of seafood that were just scrumptious! And we just slowly made our way through the beautiful area. The mist made it hard to see far way, and the small mountain islands loomed overhead at us, and the numerous other boats. We explored some of the largest caves in the world, and were granted the most magnificent overlook after climbing to the top. We lounged on the boat the evening after dinner, and just enjoyed a quiet night of relaxtion on the water. In the morning, we hiked to the top of Tree Top Mountain. It's supposed to offer a gorgeous view of the surrounding islands, but alas, our dear friend the mist was in the way again. I didn't mind, and it got me a workout too. :) We slowly motored back to the town before leaving our beautiful boat. I was sorry to say goodbye, as Halong Bay was my favorite part of the trip I think. That night, we were to embark on our third, but not last, form of transportation while traveling in Vietnam: the train. But! More to come later! For now, I must be off to do actual work for my job. ;) Love, Rita