21st May 2005

21st May.. and back in Hanoi tonight after 3 days sailing in Halong Bay (scenic limestone karsts) and staying on a remote island in eco resort for 6 pounds a night with a french woman called Sandrine from Marseille I met in hanoi .. had the resort and consequently the 1km beach to ourselves! with the exception of the local goat herder and his flock passing us at lunchtime across the sand!

With 1 km of sand, gorgeous views and no tourists! how could I fail to have a good time! and watching the local goat herder with his flock crossing the sand from my hammock was a great sight too!

oops almost forgot.. when we arrived on the first day, we went for a dusk swim...ok until I noticed something brush beside my leg... a jelly fish the size of a football!!! .. I have never moved so fast in my life and was hyperventilating when i reached the sand! I now know that it was already dead! The fishermen catch them, cut of the bit they can sell and throw the rest back in the water..... but didnt know that at the time!

We had a guide with us, 24 year old female who was really nice and really made the whole 3 days easy and interesting, lots of conversations with locals and helped improve my vietmanese a little.

Have come off my larium tablets (making me miserable, intolerant and irriatable - more than usual LOL) and embarked on alternative pills - doxycycline (advice sort from pharmacist friends!) which should be better.. need to take as the mosquitos obviously like the taste of me! have four bites from last night! Last few days I have felt much better... with the exception of yesterday morning when I took doxcycline on an empty stomach before heading for breakfast at the eco resort.. one nescafe later and 3 mouthfuls of spicy noodles with fried egg (only option!) I was feeling sick and was heading back to the beach hut.. but didnt make it!!! throwing up four times on the way onto the sand with the staff watching me! (I will wait for you to stop laughing!) Glad we were the only guests!

I then had to lie in my hammock for at least three hours before finding some american chocolate covered marshmallow and biscuit cookies and a packet of shrimp crisps (there goes the diet!) to regain enough energy for a walk along the beach.

After a day swinging in my hammock on the beach, watching the boats fish in the bay for jellyfish we went off on motorbikes to the other side of the island to visit the jellyfish processing plant.. sounds grand.. collection of huts and jellyfish being cut up on the floor. Apparently just for the chinese as the vietmanese dont eat them.

Would love to share some photos with you, but the memory stick was damaged in a "kodak" shop today and not sure it was a "kodak" shop!!! the joys of being in asia! ..not having too much luck with my photos! but have posted some of the ones I do have.

S x