Harried, Harrassed and Hurried

We have been on the go for the past few days and it has been difficult to get into an Internet cafe for any length of time. We are currently between the Junk cruise of Halong Bay and the overnight train trip to Sapa. So just a few highlights - there are pictures to come, honestly!

• It's been bloody cold here and unfortunately overcast and frankly the constant honking his driving me crazy!
• The good part of the drive to Halong Bay is through a deeply depressing coal mining area - the soot coats everything and dulls even the normal vivid green of the rice paddies.
• Halong Bay is truly a World Heritage Site
• Being very ecologically inclined I chastised two Korean women for climbing over the limestone formations in the caves - I was then gently told by our guide Hih that before the area became a World Heritage Site, the local fisherman used explosives to catch their fish!
• We had more shrimp in three meals on the Bai Tho Junk cruise than I've had in the past four months in Ottawa.