Vietnam Day 4

Halong Bay Day 2

Woke up with Vietnam Belly. Luckily I had brought some tablets along with me, because we had a lot of travel today. Started the day with some Tai Chi on the top deck as the sun kept "rising" behind the karsts.

Sunrise over the karsts

Then came decision time - can I take a squidgy tummy on a boat ride to see the Surprise Cave? I took the risk, and am glad that I did (thank you, pharmaceuticals!) The cave is in the middle of one of the karsts, 100 steps up.

Cave opening in the side of the hill

There were SO MANY TOURISTS. There was actually boats lined up in a queue to drop people off.

It was worth it though, they have everything running as a fairly well oiled machine, so everyone was nicely spaced out and it wasn't too crowded. We were actually meant to go to Titop Island, but some American and French girls had the cave as part of their package, so we managed to tag along.

The view from the top

It was then back to the boat for brunch, packing, and cruising back to port. Originally, we were to go on the mini-bus for 4 hours back to Hanoi, but we arranged with a travel company to change to a private car half way, to take us directly to the airport. When we got off the boat to get on the minibus, we asked about the transfer, to be met with blank looks. They agreed to call the company, and about 3 people conferred for 15 minutes before telling us that the driver would contact the car. We began travelling, and at the half way stopover, which is where we were to be picked up, we asked the driver where the car would be. He said that there wouldn't be one! We then re-iterated that all of this was arranged back at port, so he hopped on the phone, and they arranged an unscheduled stop-off at a petrol station about another hour on, to hand us over. It was funny, because on both days the drivers of the minivans had stopped on the highways to pass packages to each other. One would stop on the side of the road, then the next van coming in the opposite direction just pulls across to the wrong side of the road, stops, and they exchange things though their driver's windows!

At the airport we got talking to a young Vietnamese guy who had studied his MBA in the US, and now runs his own company bringing whiskey and wine to Vietnam. He is the sole distributor for Beckham (as in David) whiskey for Vietnam, and showed us a photograph of him meeting the man himself. We had a really long and interesting conversation about Vietnam, Australia and the USA. Later in the airport bus we had a quick talk with a couple from South Africa.

Our new Hotel (Brilliant Hotel) in Da Nang is gorgeous (we are getting used to the 5 star lifestyle).

Luckily there was a blind on the window into the bathroom!

Gorgeous pool - too perfect to swim in...

 The service in Vietnam matches the 5 star label. You simply cannot carry your own bags for love nor money, and when waiting for a transfer, you WILL wait in the comfort of the hotel lobby - waiting outside is too shocking.