Boat/Hanoi

I woke up at 6 hoping for a sunset but the weather was still poor. It was good to feel some sea-air that early in the morning though. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long to be disturbed by the staff for breakfast and the news that an engine had broke so we couldn't go to the beach. So far, so good. We managed to find a small boat to pull up and take us to some caves I know nothing about because a) our guide was tight and didn't want to pay to get in and b) it was full of a heady cocktail of French, Chinese and Australian tourists. It was fun consistently ruining their poorly-lit photos by walking non the background though. 

It had all got a bit confusing, as different groups from the previous night on board had been shipped off on excursions, so when we arrived back on board there was only us and the German couple. We had a decent meal of fish, pork and rice, after the bartender had awkwardly tried to sell us pearls. Apparently genuine pearls can be tested by rubbing them together until a dust comes off. Definitely looking that up. 

And then we were finally off the Albatross. It was a good laugh and there's always the novelty of being at sea but it was good to be back on dry land. Except now I'm on the tiniest/slowest bus imaginable, hunched up like a dog waiting to be cooked. I'm looking forward to being back in Hanoi where I can drink beer, avoid motorbikes and get accosted by prostitutes in peace. 

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Back in Hanoi it was soon back to the good stuff. We are a Vietnamese version of a pizza - rice paper grilled with meat, egg and vegetables. It was a pretty local place so when Robbo and Ben knocked their beers over in quick succession it was pretty funny. We stopped off in Boob for a goodbye beer. I'll never forget the way he made "peanuts" sound like "penis". We then had a wander around the city, and finally had the pho we had been craving. It was incredible. Silly noodles, a wonderful broth, coriander and fresh chilli with beef as well. It was worth the wait. 

Even better was our trip to some more of the Bia Hoi bars, where we were supping a tast microbrew for just over 40p a pint. I need to get that recipe. We stumbled home ready for another city, another adventure, and another panic-stricken airport escapade. But more on that later.