When I got to Vietnam I KNEW that I had to get to Halong Bay. Words cannot even begin to describe Halong Bay, it is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There are HUNDREDS of limestones karsts in all sorts of shapes and sizes in the bay. We were really lucky as this is normally a super busy tourist spot and there are normally a shit ton of boats in the bay but it’s low season now so it was virtually deserted.

Halong Bay is an absolute MUST to anyone visiting Vietnam.

I’m not going to lie, I am far from being physically fit. The only things I do are snowboard and skateboard and I haven’t touched either of those in about 8 months. I prefer to spend my days drinking mango shakes and lounging about. While on Cat Ba Island, Kris somehow convinced me it would be a good idea to go trekking so we ended up hiring a local Vietnamese guide to take us off the regular hiking trails and boy did he take us off the regular hiking trail. We ended up at a place called Butterfly Valley and our guide took us up some crazy mountain with a bit of a trail in some spots. This “hike” was essentially a day of rock climbing over jagged sharp rocks, a lot of bleeding from our shins and hands as a result of these sharp rocks and dodging spiders the size of my open fist. Kris, who is a seasoned hiker even found it to be quite challenging. After lounging for the last 8 months then doing this monster trek, I went into what Kris refers to as “shocking the body.” I had some serious aches the next few days. After all the blood, sweat and tears we were rewarded with some magnificent views and I’m glad I did it.

Nap time

I’m not really a city girl. But I’ve known that all along about myself. Serene wrote about how she felt at home in Saigon since she’s used to the hustle and bustle of the metropolis back in the US, but it’s never sat well with me. I come from a town where you can get most places by bicycle and where it’s easy enough to get out of the city to places where you are completely alone, so understandably, living in Saigon has been a bit of a shock for me.

Today, I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. I can’t remember the last time that happened. In the past few months I’ve been opening my eyes to the sounds of traffic, horns, construction, street vendors, etc. I hadn’t realized what an abrupt awakening that was until this morning.

Right now we’re in Sapa, which is just about as far north in Vietnam as you can get, very close to the Chinese border. Prior to that, we were on Cat Ba Island, located in the stunningly beautiful Halong Bay. In addition to a lack of people and noise, it is pretty difficult to find a reliable internet connection (or one at all).  So my apologies for the halt in posts – I’d like to blame it all on the lack of internet but we’ve also been having a blast hiking, kayaking and exploring the area. It’s really refreshing to put the technology away and fully enjoy the natural world around you, even if it’s forced upon you. Regrettably, we will be leaving this pocket of paradise to return to the city tomorrow (this time, it’s Hanoi). While I will be happy to have access to the World Wide Web again, I would give it all up for the beauty and solitude that we have found in the far reaches of Northern Vietnam. Back to the city it is.

Overlooking Butterfly Valley in Cat Ba National Park, in Halong Bay.