HaLong Bay to Dong Hoi

        Today is Tuesday, December 16.  Our last posting ended abruptly due to lack of space about December 11.  Obviously we are too verbose.  Anyway, the 2 days on HaLong Bay were wonderful.  The second day was the best because it was the most relaxed.  We bicycled along the coast and through a small village of Cat Ba Island, hiked to a hidden cave, returned to the boat for lunch, then kayaked around the islands in the afternoon.  Very relaxing and fun.  We even saw the rare Langor monkeys, about 12 of the 60 individuals remaining on the coastal islands.  We have been beset by cloudy weather since our arrival in Vietnam.  All of our sight-seeing--especially HaLong Bay--would have been better with sunny weather.  Still, Vietnam is a beautiful country.  We are loving it.

         After HaLong Bay, we returned briefly to Hanoi to catch the train to Dong Hoi.  We chose the sleeper train, 4 berths to a cabin just for the experience.  We boarded at 7:30pm and got off the next morning at 6am.  It was a challenge for me (Kathy) who likes to be in my nightie and bathrobe because I had to remain dressed.  We were joined by 2 Vietnamese men in their mid-20s who took the upper berths.  We had debated about upper, lower or a combination of berths when we booked our reservations.  We were glad to have reserved the lower berths because there were no ladders (or other means) to the upper.  The boys used upper arms to hoist themselves up...certainly not something I could have done.  I slept pretty well to the gentle rocking of the train.  Roger read a lot, slept a little.

          We were picked up at Dong Hoi by the hotel staff and taken directly to our hotel, the Nam Long.  Our friends, Kyle and Mark, had flown in from Hanoi and were already there when we arrived.  Our first day there, we walked around the city of 100,000, the smallest city we will be visiting in Vietnam.  Traffic was much slower than in Hanoi and the people more relaxed.  Our hotel was near the river and a beautiful green river walk.  This community has yet to be hit by tourism, so it was thoroughly unjaded.  We took the paths to an outdoor market and several great restaurants featuring Banh Kwoai, a shrimp pancake to die for.  The second day, we took a tour to Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO site famous for its biodiversity and caves.  First we saw, Paradise Cave, aptly named.  It is the longest dry cave in Asia, about 18 miles long and absolutely stunning.  We walked the first 3/4 mile on beautifully designed wood pathway.  The ceilings, as much as 250 ft above us, gave the feeling of the Cistine Chapel, with a soft mosaic of swirling whites, greys and some blues.  The cave was huge and dramatically lit with LEDs.  I wish I could figure out how to move pix from my camera to this blog.  But so far, no luck.  Anyone out there know?  More on next post.