I'm writing this entry from the train. I've had a wonderful two days in Halong Bay - it actually felt much longer than two days. I met a great group of people on the trip to Halong Bay; 2 Aussies & 4 Americans. I think I may have been the youngest in the group, but it didn't make a bit of difference. Alaster & Sierna were from Oz, while Kerry, Monica, Mark, and Susan were from San Francisco. I started talking to them on our bus to Halong Bay, and we just hung out for the remainder of the trip.

I was excited once I saw Dragon's Pearl; our home on the water for the next two days. The woodwork was warm and beautiful, with a great layer of laquer. The boat had 4 decks, and about 20 rooms. It had an engine, but also had bright saffron-colored sails. We were immediately led into the dining room where we were served a huge lunch. The food wasn't the greatest, and I would begin to understand that even though Vietnam wasn't rich, it wasn't a great place for vegetarians.

After lunch, we went to visit The Amazing Cave. I was expecting something less than amazing, but this cave was enormous! Kerry and I were theorizing on the geological explanation for all of the limestone formations, so we decided to ask Duong, our friendly guide. She launched into this fantastical tale from years ago. The Vietnamese were being invaded, so a dragon swooped down from the sky and breathed fire on the invaders ship. The dragon was not satisfied with the short-term solution, so it breathed more fire which turned into limestone, which would protect Hanoi from future invaders.

After milling around Amazing Cave for a while, we boarded the Dragon's Pearl and drove out to a quiet area. It was time for some swimming! The water was warm, but it was hard to stay near the boat. The boat's engines were expelling water out of the back of the boat, which was pushing all of us away from the boat. I quickly tired of swimming against the current, so I finished the evening by sipping a Tiger beer and watching the sun turn Halong Bay several colors of orange, blue, and finally gray.

After a terrible dinner of fried corn (think of canned corn dumped into batter and then fried), we met a few Aussie's who joined us on the boat. They were trekking on Cat Ba island earlier in the day. I've decided that it may be in my best interest to move to Oz; the majority of the Aussies that I've met have been carefree and happy. I don't think that I've ever met an unfriendly Aussie.