Boat Cruise down Halong Bay

After joining forcing with the Griffiths sisters in Bangkok, we made our way to Hanoi, a busy, fast-paced city in Northern Vietnam. It took us only minutes in our taxi to realize that the roads really have no rules. I knew this already about Asia but had never experienced it on such busy streets. I definitely held my breath a few times, expecting a head on collision or running into the little moped ahead of us, but somehow, they are able to communicate well enough through all the honking to avoid such accidents. Crossing the streets is no easy feat either. Our tour guide told us "you want to cross street in Hanoi? Close your eyes and start walking." As ridiculous as it sounds, this advice has helped. The more you look and think about what COULD happen, the less consistent your pace is, the more likely you are to get hit. I have heard Jenn mutter under her breath "just be confident, just be confident..." while weaving between the mopeds, cars and busses. I even got escorted across a busy street by a kind Vietnamese man, who clearly felt sorry for the blonde girl terrified to step out into the madness. Hanoi is the gateway to Halong Bay, which is visited by most tourists passing through the city. We opted for the 3 day, 2 night tour, which included one night on board the ship and one night in a bungalow on the tour company's island. There was no way we could have been disappointed with this decision. Our boat was beautiful, the food was great, and our group was a lot of fun. We went kayaking around the islands, hiked up a mountain to find only a better view of the bay, visited monkey island (full of monkeys!), sand Vietnamese karaoke, and played beach volleyball in front of our adorable bungalow on a secluded island. Next stop: Hoi An