VIETNAM - Halong Bay - Part 2

The next morning I had the option to wake up at 5:30 to do some Tai Chi on the roof deck with the sunrise so I did! But sadly when I got up there, no one was there. Not even a teacher. So I went back to my bed and slept some more. A little sad but oh well it was very cold. We then had a small breakfast and headed to go see a very large cave inside on of the islands. This cave was called “Sung Sot” and it was one of the largest in the bay. Inside was beautiful and each section kept getting bigger and bigger until we reached “surprise cave” which was HUGE! Lots of stalactites and crystals. Our guide was very interesting as he told us the history of the cave and the culture around it. Lots of rocks within the cave that looked like animals and had stories behind them. I offered money to the turtle rock and rubbed its head for good luck. After that was over we transferred to a boat that would take us to a private island in the southern part to a big island known as Cat Ba. It was a long boat ride but then we got to Namcat island resort. There we had a brunch which was a lot of seafood and then checked into out rooms. Very nice rooms. I did a little kayaking around the area and then laid in the sun to relax and get warm. Later that day I found a really cute and social kitten that followed me everywhere and fell asleep in my lap and came into my room to stay warm in the bed. Later was a buffet dinner and then a beach bomb fire which was very relaxing. I mostly talked with the Colombian couple and also a couple from Munich Germany which was such a coincidence since I was going to study abroad next year there! I also enjoyed some hot sweetened ginger tea which got me hooked ever since. I went back to my room with the kitten and read till I fell asleep to the waves of the ocean. Next morning I was up and ready to leave and I tried a Vietnamese style pancake with was very interesting. Not sure how to describe it but I liked it. We took the long boat ride back to the big cruise ship where we would watch a funny movie on these three guys that traveled Vietnam on a motor bike. VERY FUNNY! Would definitely suggest watching it. Very accurate too. During his time me and Margarita stole some pastries from the breakfast counter for a little snack. Our “dessert” we finally got. Next was a little short cooking class on how to make spring rolls... mine failed sadly. After that was brunch while we cruise back to the port where we would catch the bus back to either Hanoi or Ninh Binh. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my Columbia friends but I wish them well with there travels! The German couple though actually was going to Ninh Binh with me. And later I would continuously run into them. Such a small world. The bus ride was very nice but long. I sat next to a young French engineer guy that was hungover but was nice to talk too. Once we got to Ninh Binh I split a cab with the French guy and his friend to my hostel because they decided to stay there as well since they had no plans of their own. The taxi drive was long to the hostel from town which was worrying me because it was so isolated from the main center of town and I thought I would have to travel a long distance every day. But I checked in and I could see the towers of rocks in the darkness which was very cool. I had some dinner which was really good Pho and then I went to bed.