Today, Alex (France), Melchior (Switzerland) and I (no, not Australia – Austria!) joined a day trip to the world heritage site, Vịnh Hạ Long, covering 775 of the nearly 2000 rocks/islands in the bay.
A bus came to our hostel and picked up tourists from other hotels on the way to the port. There, we had to follow a guide with a flag, I think, first time in my life!
He brought us to the boat and told us something about the first part of the tour. For me, such explanations are difficult to follow in any case, I don’t know exactly why (it is a similar phenomenon like my museum’s fatigue) But in this case, his special pronunciation made it even harder to remember anything later.
on board, they wanted to sell us drinks and pearls 
the table cloths seem to be there since… 
it was important to remember the name and number of the boat when there was more than one to board
For a while, the boat drove through different rock formations, most of them with names related to some phantasies their shape provokes. So, our boat for example had to wait in front of the ““”Fighting Cocks Islet“, because other boats were in front of us and every tourist wants to take the same photos.
the back side is less spectecular 😉
Another iconic rock formation is on the 200.000 dong note.
I didn’t manage to get a good photo
sea eagles… 
…fishermen/women… 
…religion… 
…and not only tourists are around
Our first stop was at the Sung Sot cave, which is interesting because of its very different structures from ceilings and walls, and everything set in scene effectively with light.
don’t like to take but to have some selfies…
Alex (mid), Melchior
On the way to the next stop, we got lunch. Alex, Melchior and I seemed to be similar good eaters with the same preference not to waste food. So we ate up our food (different plates with raw and cooked vegetables, meat, fish and other seafood) and when the staff started to clear the tables, we caught some half full plates from other tables.
At the pearl farm, many chose the optional canoe round, but again we three were in the same way not interested just to sit in a canoe for some minutes. But first we got an introduction in the pearl-production and a tour through a show-room, with pearls priced around 100.000.000 dong.
For the first time since week, I saw the sun, not clear but strong enough to produce clear shadows and for a short time even a blue sky!
Our last stop was the Titop Island
(“named after Russian cosmonaut Gherman Stepanovich Titov, a hero of the former Soviet Union, to mark the historic visit of President Ho Chi Minh and G. Titov to Ti Top Island on November 22nd 1962.“)
It was not only our last stop, but of many boats with many people. So, the place was crowded, the stairs on the hill were crowded and the top of the hill was of course crowded, too. But you had a great view! It was not totally clear but the fog didn’t block the view. I couldn’t enjoy it for long, because it was to loud and busy there. Of course, it was even worse down at the beach where people also could buy something, sit down or go to the water, but there, I had no expectation for peace. It was strange to see some people wearing their masks, 30km away from traffic and pollution (except the boats). Maybe they are addicted to the lack of oxygen or other side-effects of those masks. Btw, they only have side-effects, and no effect…
the girl in the middle wears a mask against what? 
We had to wait for our boat to come back, because only 10 boats could dock at the same time, so they let the tourists on land, waited outside and came back 45min later for 3-4min to take them on board again.
We had been looking forward to the fruits they would serve now, but it was only 3 thin slices of melon and pineapple for each person.
The boat went back to the harbor,
the bus went back to the hotels and we went to the French bakery, because Alex was about to leave one hour later to Hanoi and wanted to get something to eat for the bus. Then we went to the market to show the cut dogs to Melchior. He and I also bought some fruits and 1kg of Cashew nuts.
I went to another shop, because I always look for those small, heavy cakes and don’t know which shop has them. Yesterday, in one shop they said I could get it tomorrow and I was curious about it. It was not the same and it was awfully packed as I later saw, but it reminded me on Iranian halva, named banh dau xanh (=green bean cake)
Originally, Melchior and I wanted to go to the night market, but then we just ate those things we had from bakery, market and “my” shop and Alex left to Hanoi.
Then, I gave my clothes to the reception to bring it to a laundry and get them back on the next day, clean AND dry. Very convenient, because I had to wear wet clothes during the last weeks. It costs 40000 for 1kg, which is ~1,5€ or the price for a better lunch/dinner.
In the room, I started to write diary and select photos, but it was too much for the evening, so I had to finish it in the next morning.