Ha Long Bay and then some

Well, turns out Luke was too lazy to write a blog entry when he was here, or even take any pictures for that matter; he made me carry the camera and snap the shots on our weekend trip out to Ha Long Bay. I consider him the laziest tourist ever, but I think he's kind of proud of it, so I'll let him hold on to that title for a bit. Anywho- the lazy tourist and myself met up with a bunch of friends, boarded a bus at 8AM on a Saturday, and began the 4 hour journey out to the city of Ha Long. Typhoon Megi (and yes, I know it sounds just like my name) was supposed to run smack dab into Ha Long Bay on the day of our arrival, but as luck would have it, the winds changed and blew it towards China. We faced a gorgeously sunny day with only a bit of haze that obstructed some of the views. We had a whole boat to ourselves, with 8 cabins that easily fit all 14 of us. We arrived to lunch on the boat, then sailed out to a pretty major cave that was quite the tourist trap, but interesting nonetheless. After the cave, we enjoyed some swimming, with ample opportunity to jump off the top of the boat into the water. Anneliese and myself boarded a kayak to get some pictures of the sunset (see below) and after some local Ha Long fish and squid for dinner, the weather cooled down to a perfect 75 degrees. The night flaunted a huge, orange moon, and we spent the evening enjoying the views and each other's company. I was glad that Luke got the chance to see the countryside, even if it was from the inside of a bus, and enjoy one of Viet Nam's most famous destinations.

Luke departed with the inspiration to return with friends, so I guess I did a pretty good job of selling him Ha Noi. It's been about 24 hours since he left, so I think he should be arriving back in Phili momentarily. My one relief at his departure is the fact that I don't have to blast my air conditioner anymore. The weather has really cooled down here with the arrival of fall, and the air conditioner is almost useless... to someone who is accustomed to the incredible Hanoian heat. So Luke and I had a bit of an air-con war going on; I would return home from work and instantly turn it off, he would switch it back on 5 minutes later, and so on and so forth. In exchange for his company I will be happy to pay my heavily inflated electric bill, which is usually a cool 25 dollars a month.

This evening, I joined Son and my new Art Club assistant Hong for some duck hot pot. It's the first time I got to enjoy some "street duck", and even though a lot of time was devoted to getting it off the bone, it was incredibly tasty. Half of the duck arrived already cooked and prepared in a honey/soy glaze, while the rest of the duck came in a pot full of bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, tofu, and a bit of curry. I'm always on the lookout for my next Vietnamese food obsession (still can't seem to shake bit tet), and this is definitely up there. Sometimes as I'm sitting there eating this amazing food, I contemplate the best ways to get it back to the USA for those at home to enjoy. Sadly enough, I don't think any street food here can be recreated in an American kitchen, but at least I can bring home my traditional Vietnamese sauce recipe, so that's better than nothing.

Here's a few pictures that I managed to snap of Ha Long Bay when I played the tourist card in lieu of my brother...