This is a famous bridge in this area of Vietnam. I think it was the first major bridge in the province that Vietnam was able to afford to build for themselves instead of getting a loan from another country or something.
Hai & Holly again! I'm telling ya, this girl LOVES Van's brother! She always wants him to hold her, play with her, carry her, etc. He is a great sport about it. Actually, he will make a great dad one day, but I haven't mentioned this to him! LOL!
We went out on one of these boats today for a tour of Ha Long Bay and the surrounding islands. Most of the time, tourists just pile in to a boat, about a kazillion of them per boat. We had one to ourselves which blew my mind. It was really nice not to have to share our space, though.
Everyone in Vietnam wears stylish hats. :-) We all had them to wear today to keep the sun off our faces and to drench our heads in sweat as much as the rest of our bodies were. I'm sure that's why they really wear hats here...
These were just some really cool buildings that we passed by on the way out into the ocean. The zoom on my camera works phenomemally well because these buildings were way far away.
If you are lost, you can always just follow the other boats.
Ha Long Bay from afar. Some things are just too beautiful for words!
The guys who drive these boats are just as crazy as the drivers on the road. You wouldn't believe how much yelling and bumping into each other there is just to get a "good parking spot" in this tourist trap. And they park 2-4 boats deep so you just walk through all the boats to get to yours if it is toward the back.
Ha Long Bay has a series of caves that the Vietnamese army hid weapons in when they were fighting the Chinese (I think) and also used them to hide in themselves. They would go out in boats, attack the Chinese ships, then "disappear" when they went back into these caves. From the bay you can't even tell that there are caves in the sides of the mountain. There are 100 steps straight up just to get into the first cave. Totally worth it, though! Here are some photos from inside the caves.
This is a famous lion in the second cave that we went through. You'd think after trudging through the first one I would have learned my lesson, but nope, I said yes to going through another one. I thought I would die because its far more humid in the north than the south of the country.
I would never have made it even up the first 100 steps if it hadn't been for Huang offering to carry Holly the entire way! What a Godsend he was! Holly fell asleep halfway through the second cave, so she wasn't just heavy anymore, she was complete deadweight. Hai carried her down once we got out of the caves.
Here he is again back aboard the boat. I tried to talk him into lying Holly behind him on the bench, but he insisted on holding her. One crazy thing I have noticed is that she get a LOT of stares here, even when she is being held by someone who is Vietnamese, like Huang or Lunh. I don't know why exactly.
More beautiful scenery.
After visiting the caves in the bay, we went to a fish farm that is like this one, except bigger. They catch all kinds of fish in the ocean, put them in diffent pens and then the tourists come by and buy fresh fish. We got crab, big shrimp, and a couple of weird, disgusting looking fish. Once we were back on the boat, the crew cooked everything up for us to eat right there on the boat! It was delicious.
There is a little cave in the side of this mountain. Its kind of like the ones we went through, but this one is tiny comparatively speaking.
The whole area is breathtaking. Its got to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world!
A traditional Vietnamese boat. I saw lots of these today.
We stopped at a beach that is another tourist trap here. While Hai & Van went swimming, we sat and had something to drink. Holly drank nearly the entire can of Diet Coke by herself. She was parched! She has had almost nothing but juice and soda since we have been here. She refuses to drink water unless it is icy cold, which just doesn't happen here. I don't know if I'll be able to get her back to drinking water once we get home. I'm sure that she is no longer convinced that water is juice, either...
We went in a little boat through a cave that is over the water. I'm not quite sure I'm explaining that right, but here it is so maybe you can just figure out what I'm trying to say.
The view on the other side.
I don't know if this is some kind of lighthouse or temple or what, but it was sure pretty.
These two rocks are very famous here. They are supposed to represent two roosters in a cock fight. We also saw rocks that represent the Tiger of Singapore (why here I don't know) and a couple other things I forgot already.
This is pretty much the only thing we did today, but it was so great! We were out on the boat for about 5-6 hours, I think. Afterward, we got cleaned up and packed, then headed back to Hanoi, where we are now. We will be here until Sunday and then will go to the town where Van's dad manages the garment factory. I can't remember the name of it. We will be there until Friday, then go back to Ho Chi Minh City for a few days. Tomorrow we will go to Ho Chi Minh's tomb.
Everyone in Vietnam wears stylish hats. :-) We all had them to wear today to keep the sun off our faces and to drench our heads in sweat as much as the rest of our bodies were. I'm sure that's why they really wear hats here...These were just some really cool buildings that we passed by on the way out into the ocean. The zoom on my camera works phenomemally well because these buildings were way far away.If you are lost, you can always just follow the other boats.
Ha Long Bay from afar. Some things are just too beautiful for words!
The guys who drive these boats are just as crazy as the drivers on the road. You wouldn't believe how much yelling and bumping into each other there is just to get a "good parking spot" in this tourist trap. And they park 2-4 boats deep so you just walk through all the boats to get to yours if it is toward the back.
Ha Long Bay has a series of caves that the Vietnamese army hid weapons in when they were fighting the Chinese (I think) and also used them to hide in themselves. They would go out in boats, attack the Chinese ships, then "disappear" when they went back into these caves. From the bay you can't even tell that there are caves in the sides of the mountain. There are 100 steps straight up just to get into the first cave. Totally worth it, though! Here are some photos from inside the caves.
This is a famous lion in the second cave that we went through. You'd think after trudging through the first one I would have learned my lesson, but nope, I said yes to going through another one. I thought I would die because its far more humid in the north than the south of the country. 
I would never have made it even up the first 100 steps if it hadn't been for Huang offering to carry Holly the entire way! What a Godsend he was! Holly fell asleep halfway through the second cave, so she wasn't just heavy anymore, she was complete deadweight. Hai carried her down once we got out of the caves.
Here he is again back aboard the boat. I tried to talk him into lying Holly behind him on the bench, but he insisted on holding her. One crazy thing I have noticed is that she get a LOT of stares here, even when she is being held by someone who is Vietnamese, like Huang or Lunh. I don't know why exactly.
More beautiful scenery.
After visiting the caves in the bay, we went to a fish farm that is like this one, except bigger. They catch all kinds of fish in the ocean, put them in diffent pens and then the tourists come by and buy fresh fish. We got crab, big shrimp, and a couple of weird, disgusting looking fish. Once we were back on the boat, the crew cooked everything up for us to eat right there on the boat! It was delicious.
There is a little cave in the side of this mountain. Its kind of like the ones we went through, but this one is tiny comparatively speaking.
The whole area is breathtaking. Its got to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world!
A traditional Vietnamese boat. I saw lots of these today.
We stopped at a beach that is another tourist trap here. While Hai & Van went swimming, we sat and had something to drink. Holly drank nearly the entire can of Diet Coke by herself. She was parched! She has had almost nothing but juice and soda since we have been here. She refuses to drink water unless it is icy cold, which just doesn't happen here. I don't know if I'll be able to get her back to drinking water once we get home. I'm sure that she is no longer convinced that water is juice, either...
We went in a little boat through a cave that is over the water. I'm not quite sure I'm explaining that right, but here it is so maybe you can just figure out what I'm trying to say.
The view on the other side.
I don't know if this is some kind of lighthouse or temple or what, but it was sure pretty.
These two rocks are very famous here. They are supposed to represent two roosters in a cock fight. We also saw rocks that represent the Tiger of Singapore (why here I don't know) and a couple other things I forgot already.
This is pretty much the only thing we did today, but it was so great! We were out on the boat for about 5-6 hours, I think. Afterward, we got cleaned up and packed, then headed back to Hanoi, where we are now. We will be here until Sunday and then will go to the town where Van's dad manages the garment factory. I can't remember the name of it. We will be there until Friday, then go back to Ho Chi Minh City for a few days. Tomorrow we will go to Ho Chi Minh's tomb.
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