Vietnam: Halong Bay then to Hue

The next morning we were off to explore the seventh new wonder of the world--Surprise Cave or Cave of Awe.  This was a series of caverns found deep in the mountain with numerous rock formations.

A view of the Surprise Cave...SURPRISE!?!?!

Another surprise pic of the inside of the cave

A view from the exit of the cave

Still having an incredible time!!!

Part of the group on our boat we hung out with.  Fun times

A local market off the side of the docks.  They lift stuff up to you in a net and you place your money in it.

A picture of our boat on the bay

The boat headed back to the marina, as we had to get back to Hanoi to catch our 17-hour bus ride to Hue.  We got the last two bus tickets available due to the holidays.  There would be no more traveling for two days, so we had to catch this bus.  We happened to have the slowest driver ever.  Several times Erik went up to our tour leader and asked him to have the driver at least match the speed of traffic.  At this point, we were never going to make our bus!  We were told this is his “driving habit and cannot be broken”.  So at the next rest stop, the tour leader had us switch to a different bus and we just barely made it back to our hotel in time to get our gear and head to the next bus station.

Arriving at the questionable bus station, the bus driver stated we were the last to arrive and thus were given the seats right next to the bathroom at the rear.  Erik tried pleading for a better seat due to his size and even tried with a cash incentive to no avail.  We made our way to the back of the bus (where you don’t want to be due to road conditions or the toilet), crouched down and crawled into our “sleeper seats” obviously built for Asian size people.  We couldn’t even sit up because the ceiling was so low, but we made due and snuggled up next to each other for the experience of a lifetime. 

We stopped along the highway 20+ times (no exaggeration) and picked up locals who found a spots on the floor for the 17-hour journey.  Our first and only pit stop was disgusting to say the least.  It was THE worst bathroom I have every experienced, smelled, and seen—downright primitive and disgusting. 

Not too sure about these cramped quarters, at the back of the bus with the bathroom and a guy to my right

We can do this...but never again!!!

This bus ride was the longest, most uncomfortable, smelliest, hottest bus ride ever.  We experienced it and will train or fly it from now on.  Erik kept me calm and reminded me this is not our country and before I knew it….we made it to Hue!