A day summarised by journeys, the journey from Cat Ba back to Hanoi, followed by the journey from Hanoi to Lao Cai (a town bordering the Chinese border of Yunnan), which is on the way to Sapa, where the minority of Vietnam live.
The main incidents of the first journey involved the tour operator losing people in the group without even bothering! Firstly, they almost lost my Israeli friend at Cat Ba, and later, they lost the Polish guy at Halong, though we found him eating happily at the restaurant before us.
For the second, I almost missed the train, if not for the suggestion of my Israeli friend to leave my shopping at the guesthouse! But well, I was in time for the train. I shared a cabin with a friendly French family with an adopted Vietnamese child who couldn’t tear her eyes away from her Gameboy. Not even an offer of Tim Tams from me.
Pseudo Junks for Tourists
Kids Paddling around in Halong Bay