Mixed

02/05/2024

The bus ride: It's unimaginable that something like this is possible. Of course we hardly slept. The bus staff was talking incredibly loudly, the horn was constantly honking... even Oropax and AirPods couldn't save anything. We traveled on the bus without a toilet, much longer than expected and arrived at our destination 3 hours later.

In Halong we took a Grab to our homestay, where we were able to check in independently. We booked the room with bathroom for €6/night and were able to book the other half night for just €3.60. We thought we would arrive at 5 a.m.… well we actually got there at 8 a.m. and everything was uncomplicated. The room is clean and quieter than the hostel from last night. After we freshened up briefly, we thought about where we would go for breakfast, but decided not to leave until later. So we tested the bed - it was relatively good. Ronja still felt like she was on the bus next to Nina because she suddenly had a snoring nose lying next to her. The last few days and nights had probably left Nina unscathed. Nevertheless, we both got a little sleep before we went looking for food at 12 p.m. We visited a restaurant in a hostel and ordered quesadillas. There was also freshly squeezed orange juice with sugar for Ronja and salted cream coffee for Nina (differently delicious!).

After the soothing refreshment, we strutted to the beach. We were amazed at how empty and deserted the city seemed and later found out that due to the Vietnamese New Year (Tet), all residents are currently at home and that is why it is so empty. We had the beach almost to ourselves. The wind was cool, the sky was covered with clouds, the sun was hidden by the fog and the air was somehow humid. An interesting and unusual combination. We had another drink in a beach bar (the only one that was open). On the way back we talked trash and bought snacks again.

“I already packed our mug!”

We met our host at the hotel to check in properly. She also helped us book a trip for the next 2 days in Halong Bay and gave us an unbeatable offer. Much cheaper than online and with all transport included, we were happy to have booked through them. We had to pay in cash, unfortunately we didn't have enough cash left. She accompanied us directly to an ATM where we had to pay relatively few fees. On the way there, a Vietnamese lady offered us a kind of spring roll to try, but since it unfortunately contained meat, we had to decline with a heavy heart. We learned that the Vietnamese are very open people and like to share and are even sad if you refuse their food.

After 3 cash withdrawals we were able to pay our bill and then went to the room to rest. We started the series “ Me and the Walter Boys ”, which we really like right now. Since Ronja's neck is currently causing problems, Nina applied her physio skills and was able to alleviate the pain somewhat. The evening was perfected by a mini meal on the side of the road - baguette with vegetables.

We go to sleep and look forward to our boat trip tomorrow! Maybe we'll be high right away because people are smoking weed outside again and our room is absorbing the smoke :-)

Peace and quiet feels so good right now!

Ronja & Nina