Swing and a miss

So, I had considered going to Ha Long Bay, but, for whatever reason, was kind of turned off by the tours my hostel was offering--namely, they were basically booze cruises, and I tend to get bored pretty quickly of sitting around in the sun with nothing to do--they are also relatively expensive (by vietnam standards). Besides, I take two medicines that work on my liver, which means that my liver can't keep up (nor do I really want to keep up) with these gap year brits, and aussies and kiwis that can drink like fish anyway. The other options I was looking at didn't really have the same appeal to me, namely because I was afraid that I was going to be stuck with a bunch of old geezers. Of course, I change my mind when tonight I happen to meet a bunch of people who I actually like and who are going on the tour, but, of course, the tour is all booked up. Oh well--to be fair, while the scenery looks amazing, if I had really wanted to do it, I would have had it booked well in advance, and I was kind of mixed on it. I'm not much of a beach/bay person, and I'd probably increase my skin cancer risk tenfold.

What does that mean? That means that I have an unexpected day with nothing to do, depending on how much Vietnam Airlines charges to fly to Hue (considering how far the Hanoi airport is from Hanoi, I'm really not so sure I want to take that haul out there again). Instead, what I will do is probably find a good day trip, and do that, and come back in time to take the night train to Hue. Day tripping to Halong bay is not really much of an option, considering it is a 3.5 hour bus ride there, one way.

To be honest, I might have to "kill a day" but I'd also gain a day, and from what I've been hearing, as great as Ha Long bay might be, Hue, and specifically Hoi An, is much more of my "style" and what I would rather be doing anyway--wandering around and exploring, instead of being stuck on a boat. Those of you who know me know that I have somewhat limited patience and can be restless at times, and I'm pretty sure that the boat thing would probably get old after a couple of hours.

The other alternative, though, is to take a ten hour bus to Hue, and get to see the countryside in the daytime. I can book a hostel in advance, and have that arranged. Whatever happens, as usual, I will keep you posted.