Dragon descending

The best laid plans and all that! My night out didn't quite happen as I intended. I found the restaurant specialising in a local fish dish but there wasn't a single other person eating in there so I gave it a miss. Goldsworthy rule never to be the only sod in the restaurant!

So I wandered for ages trying to find an alternative. I settled for a crappily touristy restaurant by the lake in the end after getting tired and hungry. Wasn't the best but ho hum. I then couldn't find the jazz club I wanted to go to so those plans got scuppered too. Never mind. I settled for a glass of wine in a bar near my hotel instead.

It was an early start the next morning to head to halong bay (meaning dragon descending). The Vietnamese believe that the limestone rocks that make the area famous were formed by dragons to keep the Chinese from invading. It's a shame halong city is such an eyesore and spoiling things a little but once you get out of the harbour and beyond all the busy boats it really is a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

The weather was very cloudy and foggy but somehow made it more atmospheric with all the thousands of islands in the distance. It didnt make for the best on the photos front though. There were only seven of us on the whole junk, so it was bliss. Met a really nice English couple living in Singapore and an interesting American guy called Steve. We swopped music tips, talked philosophy and laughed about phallic rock formations.

After an hour or two on the boat we got to the 'surprise' cave. It was a bit like a lunar landscape inside and huge. Following that I had the opportunity to redeem myself on the kayaking front (after that poor show in Turkey!). We had a half hour to explore the rocks and sea and steve and I were steaming along, making a good pairing. The calm sea and lack of wind helped this time!

We were late getting back from the trip so it was a quick turnaround then I met steve in a bar for a last-night drink. It was a good finale for my time in Vietnam. A great time was had and I'll miss it. Jen, I still don't understand how you could have possibly hated it so much?!?

Now I'm back in Thailand, staying at dan's condo in Bangkok. I had the place to myself last night and relished the chance to cook myself a meal and have a quiet night in.

Heading back to Koh Tao this evening(overnight bus, that's going to be fun!) to do my scuba diving.