So long Vietnam

Halong Bay

The last few days in Vietnam were likely the highlight of the trip. Halong Bay is an amazingly serene area of approximately 3000 islands surrounded by clear emerald water. Our boat resembled that of a pirate ship, with one major difference - ours had a restaurant onboard. While enjoying our gourmet lunch, we were only briefly interrupted by the locals who paddled over to our ship, climbed aboard, and attempted to sell us pineapple. We entertained ourselves by jumping off the roof of the boat and putting on our own version of a Water Puppet Show (an oddly amusing, yet borderline creepy traditional Vietnamese artform). After spending 16 hot, sweaty days in 'Nam, we have arrived in Vientiane, Laos. We no longer have to breath a collective sigh of relief upon crossing the street safely and by this I mean fulfilling one objective - don't get yourself killed. It is so peacefully quiet and serene here and there is actually semblance on the roads! We are in absolute awe.

It's amazing what you begin to appreciate when you are in a country far different from your own. On our 3 hour boatride back to Hanoi from Halong Bay we tortured ourselves with thoughts of cold milk and Cheerios. So, after wandering around the streets of Vientiane for a few hours, we discovered an amazing cafe, think Lazy Loaf but nicer! We were practically giddy with excitement and have made dinner plans for there later on. We also took in some freshly made sherbet ice cream in exotic fruit flavours and it tastes nothing like the stale ice cream we had in Nha Trang! This looks verrrrry promising...