Halong Bay

Our last day cycling was the hottest one yet, but also one of the best scenic rides. We rode out of the port of Haiphong on Saturday morning to a ferry and then onto a private boat which took us to Cat Ba Island. From there we road 25kms the town of Cat Ba which has a mediteranean style beach town feel and nice beaches and coves to swim in. The next morning we hopped back on the boat with our bikes for a scenic tour of Halong Bay where we saw more karst scenery and explored a cave that rivals that of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico -- very impressive. Halong Bay has more than 3000 islands and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The photos above are from Halong Bay today.

We arrived in Hanoi this evening where we headed off to a Water Puppet show. Normally meant for children's entertainment, tourists like to attend these as well even though they can't understand the Vietnamese dialogue. The music itself made it worthwhile and I think I'm going to try to obtain a CD of traditional Vietnamese music -- something to shop for tomorrow :)

I met a girl from Portland Oregon at the ATM today and we went to grab a beer and chat before the water puppet show. Tamara is from the Cedar Hills area and has been travelling since late October as well. So funny meeting someone who is practically a next door neighbor from home here in Hanoi -- very random indeed.

Will spend the next 3 nights here in Hanoi while I rest up and figure out my next move -- the cycling tour is over and it's time to do some touring on my own. General plans are to head to Sapa in Northwest Vietnam for a few days and then down to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the ruins of Angkor Wat before heading back to Saigon.

More later.....