Halong Bay

4/24
We survived Halong Bay. It actually wasn't that bad except that we were scammed yet again and given the run around. Like most of our SEA experiences this one was all about the people we met. An American couple living in East Timor and Canadians! We have yet to meet a Canadian we didn't like. We met a brunch of other people too and it was great because most people were on the last leg of their trip and were also very ready to leave Vietnam so we didn't feel so bad about hating it. One couple had already basically given up and didn't see any sights in Hanoi. We had that attitude but figured we should make the most of our time. The cruise was pretty lame but we got to kayak and see some caves. Because of the money hungry Vietnamese way there is a constant flow of people on the boat. They mix one, two and three day tours. Like all cruises we ate well but I don't think anyone we met would go back.
It's been crazy since we got back. We found a different hotel, got some supples, dropped off laundry, exchanged books, went to some museums and just this morning we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Michael got a haircut, we packed and now we are heading to the airport for our flight to Rome!!

Farewell Vietnam!

Pics:
- At the entrance to the Temple of Literature
- on the grounds of the Temple of literature which is a university founded over 1000 years ago, we could learn a thing of two from Confucius
- they took us to an island where we could get a good view of the bay...after climbing 436 steps this is about half way up
- the last day of the cruise they took us to Surprise Cave...this was the surprise! Funny because the rest of SEA is pretty conservative but Vietnam is all about the erection.
- either they can't read or they don't care, I'm going with they don't care
- that's our boat. The government just mandated that all the boats be painted white. It has something to do with a boat sinking and tourists dying a few years ago. They were so much prettier before. We paid the same price for this cruise that we would have paid for a 3 night cruise with Carnival.
- Halong Bay
- At the start of the 400+ steps
- John McCains flight suit at the Hanoi Hilton where according to the government pilots stayed and played basketball, raised chickens, celebrated holidays. Surprisingly there was no mention of water boarding.