Halong

The weather was pretty poor whilst we were in Halong... misty, wet and rain showers. Stayed at the 'Light Hotel' which was a great place, spotless and modern, run by a woman and her two daughters. One of them told Matt he looked like a Hollywood actor. He said 'yeh I do don't i?, Brad Pitt'. She said 'no, Robin Hood'. It stuck though and she called him Brad Pitt the next day. He loved that. He thought she looked like the Chicken out of 'Chicken Run'.

We did a day tour around the bay. Met some great people on the boat that day. We went kayaking (Matt was sat behind me and thought it amusing to keep stopping paddling). We visited a cave, which was huge and impressive apart from the coloured lights the Vietnamese had stuck everywhere. Stopped at a beach on one of the islands and went to a floating fish farm. There are lots of these and the people live on them full time, complete with dogs. They had sea snails the size of your head, cuttlefish, Horseshoe crabs, giant clams and lots of other fish for sale. A Vietnamese family bought some crabs and the boat crew barbecued them for them. Lunch aboard was great, apart from Matt dropping fish sauce on his shorts which took 3 washes to get out!

   It was great to see the Karsts up close, but the weather wasn't the best.

   Dog island

    Fish farm, a family live on here with their dogs

                                       

                                

                                                                               

Got a moped and went off on an explore, to the non touristy areas. The roads were really busy and full of big trucks, we were covered in a layer of grime when we got back, I had white circles where my glasses had been!

We found a little fishing village with a port where you could get ferries to little islands. It was a busy quay with fishing boats, boats loading up ice blocks to take out to the islands and floating villages where there is no electricity.

   Loading ice blocks onto a boat for the islands and floating villages

    Greasy workshop

   Posh tour boats

Returned to Hanoi for a few days before flying to Bangkok to meet Matts daughter Kathy and her boyfriend Jim. Got a flight for about £45. Found a great hotel called BB (best bed), in Ram Butri for £13. We took a room on the roof with a terrace overlooking the city near the Grand Palace. 

We went to meet Kathy and Jim at the airport, but missed them, we were gutted, then a man stood on Matts flip flop and broke it. We found a guy under the bridge who glued it and stitched it for about 70p and made our way to 'Shanghai Mansion', China town, where Kathy and Jim were staying (too expensive for us!) but Jims parents had treated them to a few days there. 

Wat Pho (reclining Buddah)..

   

                                      

                 

                                  

                                               N.                    

  Jim and Kathy's monkey

                                   

                                      

        

            

Free massages in the park near the Royal Palace....(part of the princesses birthday celebrations). Matt's guy allegedly had a vice like grip and he whimpered, swore and laughed throughout. The funniest bit was the guy copying Matt's exclamations.

       

   Guards coming into the entrance to the Palace