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Ok fine. Day 2 at Hanoi. Blasted Handphone alarm. =( I am so not done with sleeping yet!! Hanoi time: 6.45am

Time for breakfast. Shuttle bus that brings us to Halong Bay will arrive at 8am.

The floor was freaking cold. USD 25 didn’t allow for bathroom mats. I did what I always do. I let the tap run with hot water to heat the room up.

Well, the only thing is, I forgot the simple fact that hot water could run out. Uh. Stupid me. I had to shower in water that must have been 15 degrees. T_T I remember fondly of a similar experience in Rome where my travel partner cursed me vehemently for what I did. :P Poor Roman, my current room mate, he probably showered shivering. =/

OOOOOOO Breakfast! It wasn’t a buffet but it was filling! I finally met Manager Trung and he is so nice! =) We had chicken Pho, baguettes (Super soft and crispy), coffee and omelettes. I wanted a sunny side up and the guy didn’t understand me. My other travelling companions nagged me to order something simpler like omelette but I was determined. I thought for awhile and came up with “Fried Egg”. He got it immediately! I thought that was rather clever of me :P

I tried on the new earrings I bought at Dong Xuan Night Market the day before and I’m mighty pleased with them. Korean style one wor! 75,000 Dong for 2 pairs – too damn expensive if you ask me.

Gah! Bad hair day.

Our shuttle bus to Halong Port arrived! I saw the bus, I got to say it looks like we’re in for a great 3D2N Halong Bay trip! There were too many horror stories about tourists packed like sardines in small, uncomfortable buses but nope, we were okay! We were on a 15 man tour and our guide, Duc, spoke decent English and was quite friendly and professional.

The ride to Halong takes 3 hours. Omg. On the way we passed by acres and acres of paddy fields. Always a pleasure to see them rice growing so happily.

Do cows eat ALL grass? ANY grass? I just passed a cow and he didn’t look too choosey about his lunch! Oh yea and cows that lie to rest are so endearing. Funny how I never saw one doing that before.

There were 3 Iranians, 2 Germans, 2 French, 4 Australians and Us 4 (2 Singaporeans and 2 Malaysians) on the tour. Interesting mix though I am quite disappointed there aren’t any young people onboard looking like they are wild. Ah well. Looks can be deceiving.



ALS is a pig. How can he sleep after a cup of coffee?? Nvm the fact that I'm biased against all regular coffee drinkers since 1 drop is all it takes to make me spring off walls.