the imperial junk.

it's so much fun to be able to shout out, "hey, how's it going?" when you see someone on the street. we've met quite a few people throughout our few months on the road, quite a few who are travelling a similar route. and so we have random run-ins throughout the towns and cities as we catch up and leave behind. familiar faces are quite the commodity around here..

we've just got back from a 2 day 1 night boat trip in ha long bay. the sky was looking rather grey heading out, but we had nothing but clear skies and sunshine! boarding the "imperial junk" (junk being the type of boat, not just a humorous name) we had a blast.. they fed us well (around 10 dishes per meal..) went to the biggest cave of the islands for a tour.. swam on the beach.. relaxed on the upper deck.. checked out the beautiful scenery, and the clear starry night.. boats anchored all around us, lights in the windows, a bottle of wine.. celebrating with a couple who had just got engaged that evening! (yes, we probably rained on their parade.. we like to think they cherished our company, however).. woke up, some taking a quick dip before breakfast.. kayaked around the islands.. (there are almost 2000 in ha long bay alone, another 1000 in the surrounding area..) christine and i were paired up, and had quite a time getting away from the dock itself.. never mind maneuvering around islands and rocks.. although, we surprised ourselves as well as everyone else with the skills that followed.. (we're thinking of going pro). and poor stacy, having lost a competitive rock-paper-scissors match, found herself paired up with a french-man who didn't speak english, and as it happens, didn't like to paddle either! he was just there for the ride.. we came back to shore for lunch before returning to ha noi..

so here we are. an unfortunate series of events has me sitting here with a bum foot.. i neglected to see the rather steep gutter on the road as i was stepping to get into our bus, and rolled my ankle.. little difficult to get around at present, but i'm hoping that with a good days rest i'll be back to 100%! the girls have just left to pick up some supper (they are so good to me) and we have 2 more days here in the vietnam capital. on friday evening we board a 55 hour train to beijing!