Day 163 (Sun 17 Dec) - Halong Bay / Hanoi / Sapa

Had breakfast and then got back onto the boat.

Dozed as the boat meandered through Halong Bay and past the floating villages.

Transferred to the bigger boat and continued to snooze until we arrived into Halong Bay City. Picked up by a mini bus that took us to a place for lunch. The meal was fine but it was a bit of a struggle ordering a bottle of wine. Later we tried to order another one and gave up.

Arrived back in Hanoi at about 5pm. Fortunately we were able to use our hostel's facilities to freshen up and re-arrange our bags ready for our next trip that evening to Sapa.

Met up with Olivier and Joseph at Bia Hoi Junction. Joseph had just been for a massage so looked pretty spaced out. Later we headed back to our hostel and were taken to the train station. Good job we were taken to the train station it was not clear at all where we should be going. Were shown to our cabin and settled down for the overnight journey to Lao Cai. Our cabin was very comfortable - four beds and proper mattresses with pillows and duvets. A bit more plush than the Indian trains.