Chilly Willy!

We didn't know that when we left the quaint little town of Hoi An we were also leaving the heat and humidity of Vietnam behind. But that's what happened as we arrived in Hanoi to a strikingly cooler climate. Despite the cold temps, Amy, Laura, Michelle and I spent our first three days in the North on a boat cruising Halong Bay.


The bay is full of karsts, or tall limestone rocks that jut up out of the water. The local legend behind the unique & dramatic vistas of Halong Bay is that mountains once lined the shore, and a dragon lived there. One day the dragon became angry and went crashing down into the sea, crumbling the mountain into thousands of huge rocks that fell into the sea with him where they remain to this day.

On the boat, we enjoyed the fantastic karaoke set up (although not as much as our Vietnamese hosts -- I'm convinced they would have kept singing all night long if the generator had stayed on!). And when we weren't taking turns on the mike, we were playing a fantastic game of charrades - soooo my kind of entertainment!! Plus, our fellow boat-mates were a lot of fun, so the cruise is a definite highlight of my time in Vietnam.

On our last day of cruising the karsts, we stopped on a small island called "Monkey Island." We never saw any monkeys, and the little path our guide suggested we might enjoy a leisurly hike on turned out to be quite the trecherous climb with incredbly sharp & wobbly stones to navigate. So we decided the joke was on us, and we were the monkeys. A fun day nonetheless!

xoxo,
Mere