After a good sleep we enjoyed a very tasty breakfast with fresh fruits, eggs and other necessities. As we started to head back we managed to enjoy a little bit of sun, or at least it was getting warm enough to consider a swim. The guide, Ken, kept pointing out animals and objects that one could see in the rock formations. We dozed off in the lounge chairs and idly watched the landscape, and a few photos were of course taken. After a quick stop at a floating village to look at the fish and seafood they stored it was unfortunately time to have the last meal at the boat and settle our bills before heading back to Hanoi. It was a bit weird, or perhaps more ironic that a kid at the floating village had a jacket decorated by a bird from Angry Birds. A game that become popular on a device that her family most likely never could afford led to merchandise that was copied to clothing for affluent tourists. I wonder if someone will explain the origin of the bird, probably it matters little to the kid anyway.

When we got back to Hanoi Guesthouse they asked about the trip and if we were happy and so on, we explained that the trip was very nice but it was a bit irritating to hear that other passengers had paid as much as 20 USD less per ticket – a few dollars more for service is to be expected but this left a sour taste. The staff quickly explained that yes, they get commission – about 3 USD, and asked us for more information. A few calls later between the hotel and Oriental Sails we are informed that Oriental Sails had given someone a special price etc, but we were given 30USD and the staff explained that they would now get a new price 15USD lower for all customers as well. And there was much rejoicing. While we were waiting for the taxi to the train I bought Civilization Revolution for the iPad and charged it up for the upcoming trail ride.

The train reminded me of my 72 hour trip from Beijing to Lhasa, slightly softer beds and not as good food though. The old classic hole in the floor bathroom but for some reason I found it cozy, almost like building your treehouse as a kid with luggage, blankets and a bed in a cramped space. We, nor the other couple present, found a way to turn off the lights, and agreed it was centrally controlled. As I finished the round of Civ around midnight with full lights I unscrewed the actual bulbs which were accessible. After traveling by boat, bus, taxi and now sleeper train it was time to pay Mr Sandman my respects.

After checking out and having a quick breakfast we were picked up at our hotel and slumbered the better part of the three and a half our drive to Ha Long. Our friendly, but energetic guide seemed rather slow in learning our nationalities I thought since he kept referring to Germans and there were none present. It was only later I realized he was saying Gentlemen, but I digress. We had settled for the medium price option, a company called Oriental Sails which promised good food as well as a safe journey. There were plenty of other boats and some obviously catered to the more adventurous/cost-focused crowd.

Ha Long Bay was beautiful with the many limestone islands but the sky was grayish (most photos will probably end up in b/w). We had a lovely lunch, with the anticipated overly priced drinks and a few hours later we visited some cave where the guides, as usual, have found rock-formations looking similar to half the local fauna and a few mythical beasts as well. I did see one animal not pointed out by the guide though! After the tour through the cave, we went kayaking for one hour which was very nice with the sun appearing briefly as well.

The whole boat had 16 cabins and the average age was probably a decade above ours, returning from the kayaking we saw a group of youngsters ranging between 18 and 25 all having beers and wearing sandals and swimming trunks (it was not by any means warm enough to swim) and felt awfully old as we realized it was well invested money to go for a slighty more expensive option in no small part to avoid partying backpackers.

When we got back it was happy hour and after shaving off that beard of mine we joined the bar to try out their cocktails. They preferred to err on the safe side when mixing the drinks meaning that no one could possibly complain on watered down drinks.The dinner was on par with the lunch, I’d ordered “no meat” and the staff was always paying attention to where I sat and offered alternative dishes – the seafood was very nice and it was a bunch of smaller courses on proper plates. After a few of the drinks it was now time to prove to ourselves that while not young we could still sing Karaoke.

First up was a Vietnamese girl, singing Vietnamese which seemed like a safe bet, but fueled by Margaritas from hell the Spanish lady next to us stepped up and sang with heart and soul – that it was “New York New York” didn’t matter much – we showed those damned kids we were still a force to be reckoned with. From then things spiraled out of control – the up till then rather discreet gay couple explained they were on their honeymoon, which of course required complimentary cake with fireworks. Mona sang “nothing compares to you” for me receiving a round of applause as well as puppy eyes from yours truly. After a healthy amount of laughs, Spanish lady doing Chiciquita and showing dance moves from seventies, and more drinks we went to bed after a great day.

Mona has potentially found a new lover that, alas, I cannot compete with. It started already yesterday, some innocent flirting – perhaps one too many compliments but I’m not the jealous type so I didn’t bother. She maintained the interest though and now takes every moment she can to enjoy her newly found friend’s presence. It’s the hair dryer. Mona has likely racked up an electricity bill which will make our poor hotel owners deeply indebted. Making a small tent at the bed with the covers neatly tucked in and the warm air flowing seems to be the best part of the vacation so far for Mona, but I’m not bitter.

After a long continuous sleep we had breakfast at our hotel and decided we would do some preparations. 45 minutes later we had an itinerary for Ha Long Bay and tickets for the night train to Hoi An after that – very convenient, tip of the hat to Thid who recommended this place, Hanoi Guesthouse. We took a stroll and ended up at a nice red bridge at Hoan Kiem lake, apparently a popular place to get wedding photographs. I had a picture of a guy taking a picture of a guy taking pictures of a couple in the viewfinder but he got up before I could get a good meta shot.

We visited the temple but saw no giant turtles nor legendary sword and decided we’d been cultural enough. We strolled around Old Quarter again, enjoying the atmosphere and looking at locals and tourists alike. On the way back we stopped for lunch at 69 Bar again, and tried their traditional fish soupie-thing. It was really nice, but with spring rolls as an appetizer one meal to share would had been more than enough. We got back to our hotel and were informed that unfortunately the tickets for the famous water puppet show were all sold out. So we took a nap instead.

The evening was spent by walking to a SF Spa (not at the address described in Lonely Planet though), searching dubious areas before giving up. Well back the hotel called the Spa and realized that they had marked the wrong street on our map – we were offered a cab straight there by the spa – nice. After carefully choosing packages we both went for a steam bath followed by an hour of massage, aroma for Mona and Thai for yours truly. It was very pleasant, walking back we grabbed two döner kebabs and an ice tea from a food stall for a tenth of the price of one massage – which was cheap by Swedish standards. One could live a good life for a very low cost here.