The sea and cake

We based ourselves in Hanoi – close to the clinic where Joe could get his numerous rabies injections – for a couple of weeks, dipping out to see what northern Vietnam had to offer.

You can’t visit Vietnam without a trip to Ha Long Bay, so we duly set off on a three-day tour. “Descending Dragon” Bay, as it translates, is stunning, a smattering of limestone karsts jutting casually out of the ocean. It’s like an underwater Laos. We boarded one of many junk boats and set off, munching fresh seafood and peeping out of the shaded cabin to enjoy the view, which got more impressive as the crowds of boats thinned to nothing and the sun sank into the sea. After a sweltering night in a sealed cabin bedroom – we should have slept on the roof, really – we landed on Cat Ba island.

We felt like part of a nasty ant-trail of tourists on Cat Ba. The downside of being on an organized tour is, well, being part of a tour. We were prodded in this and that direction, told who to follow, when to eat, when to sleep. We were granted “free time” in the afternoon so headed to a small beach which was almost empty till abut 4pm when the sun slid behind the rocks and the Vietnamese tourists descended in droves. Instead of baking in the sun like bonkers western tourists would they had the time of their lives, shrieking into the waves and posing for pictures. It was a pretty funny show from the cliff above.

Back in Hanoi, we decided we had sweated enough, so boarded a night train to Sapa during an almighty thunderstorm which soaked our backpacks inside and out. The train was great – padded beds, duvets, darkness, and the Vietnamese are so well behaved, sleeping rather than gaggling around the hallways like on smelly Indian trains.

Sapa, a gleaming green hill-world of paddy fields and chattering Hmong tribeswomen, was foggy and sopping wet nearly the whole time. None of our stuff dried and it was too rainy to venture out for any proper trekking. We were soggy, but enjoyed the fresh air and jumper-temperatures and we ate a lot of cake. Finally the mist cleared and we could appreciate the views – just in time for our return train.