Part of traveling is the transport leg to what you really want to do, g
etting to know your group of travelers on the road. The bus to Halong Bay included some rather anonymous individuals scattered inbetween a bunch of hung-over guys with pen markings all over themselves; one of which I had met the night before as he ventured into the female dorm to find a toilet in his rather drunken state. As the morning unfolded, his name-brother and friend kept feeding the bus with never-ending random facts. My plan to sleep a bit on the way was made even more difficult by our guide; a British-sounding, Italian-looking beach bum kind of guy--called Stacey. No kidding, a boy named Stacey. He demanded that everyone to tell their name and something about themselves so we could get to know eachother and have fun... That plan stumbled at the second seat already, as people wondered what sort of a name "Tiril" was? Evidently, everyone else had normal names, like Charles, Jenny and Simon. And Stacey. And they thought my name was weirder still. In the end I found myself absolutely squashed between Simon and Stacey as I tried to doze off in my seat, and despite the name-barrier we got to know each other anyway.
Arriving in Halong Bay was breathtakingly beautiful--and the place was lovelier the farther away we got from the city. The rugged karst formations seemed to be dotting the water endlessly, with scattered floating houses and fish farms inbetween; small mourings, fancy houses and even more floating homes.
I had booked a three-day trip, and
the first day was a relaxing one; enjoying the scenery, spotting the kite birds that soared above us every now and then, kayaking, swimming and drinking beer. As the night arrived I got to feel some of the Vietnamese winter, though; freezing in my cabin on the junk (i.e. boat) and huddling up in my woolen long-sleeve!
The
second day arrived with more lovely, sunny weather--and a total of 5 amazing climbs up the karsts...absolutely amazing! The climbs were easy enought to start with, making it easy to enjoy the view--as the afternoon progressed I felt my fear of heights kick in a bit more as I traversed narrow ridges and lunged for the safe hold I could not see. In the end I fell down enough times to give up the last top, but it was still great fun.
The night was spent on Cat Ba Island, before we slowly made our way back to Halong City and the bus to Hanoi the next morning. Feeling somewhat battered most people seemed to head for a bed or a beer--myself, Holly, Jenny and Kirsty found tickets for the sleeper train leaving for Lao Cai (Sapa) the very same night, and hit one of the lovely local reastaurants before catching our sleeping ride up in the mountains.
As the train pulled in to the station in Lao Cai, I realised that a few months of being tanned and wearing flip-flops had made me forget how cold the world can be. Freezing! The weather was treacherous like a Norwegian spring; warm and sweating in the sun, cold and pleasant in the shade, and then, all of a sudden, chilling you to your bones as the shades turned into evening. The sun rose as the minibus took myself, Holly, Jenny, Kirsty and Emma to the mountain city of Sapa; revealing a stunningly beautiful scenery of rice terraces along the sloped mountain sides.Stumbling into the first decent looking place for breakfast it turned out we were all set if we wanted to; the manager could organise a local guide for a home stay, with profits going back into the community. We decided to go for it--and had two amazing days with Chi, a woman of the Black H'mong tribe, originally from the Lao Chai village (not to be mistaken for the city with train station). 
We walked there with some of her friends and family, meeting the rest of her family along the way; or at least the women. I saw men every now and then, but in general Vietnam--both in the cities and in the mountains--is a country where I've found myself swarmed by women in most situations. Having a female guide was a pleasant change, and during the trip she answered questions we did not know we should ask, cooked amazing food and had the local hosts (of the Dzao tribe, in another village) serve us multiple shots of "happy water" to keep the the general mood happy. And it was! (Despite the cold...) 
I had booked a three-day trip, and the first day was a relaxing one; enjoying the scenery, spotting the kite birds that soared above us every now and then, kayaking, swimming and drinking beer. As the night arrived I got to feel some of the Vietnamese winter, though; freezing in my cabin on the junk (i.e. boat) and huddling up in my woolen long-sleeve! 
The second day arrived with more lovely, sunny weather--and a total of 5 amazing climbs up the karsts...absolutely amazing! The climbs were easy enought to start with, making it easy to enjoy the view--as the afternoon progressed I felt my fear of heights kick in a bit more as I traversed narrow ridges and lunged for the safe hold I could not see. In the end I fell down enough times to give up the last top, but it was still great fun. 
The night was spent on Cat Ba Island, before we slowly made our way back to Halong City and the bus to Hanoi the next morning. Feeling somewhat battered most people seemed to head for a bed or a beer--myself, Holly, Jenny and Kirsty found tickets for the sleeper train leaving for Lao Cai (Sapa) the very same night, and hit one of the lovely local reastaurants before catching our sleeping ride up in the mountains.