We'd heard that it was quite a bit cheaper to go to the coast via tour than to go it alone so we booked a two day, one night tour that was supposed to include sleeping on a boat for a night, kayaking, BBQ on the beach, etc. What we ended up getting was a night in a hotel, being herded around like cattle with hundreds of other westen tourists, and generally having no idea what we were doing. The highlights were the boat trip across the bay. The limestone jutting straight out of the water was gorgeous and it was one of the few times that our guides just left us alone.
We also toured a natural cave that was discovered in 1993, but that the Vietnamese government quickly turned into a disneyland like tourist trap. The walls were lit in "It's a Small World"-like blues, greens, pinks, and oranges but the natural beauty was allowed to show through a little.
Now we are back in Ha Noi and trying to plan our next move. There is extensive rain and flooding down south, so we aren't quite sure where to head. One of the main goals of this trip was to spend some time on the beach, but all of the beaches look to be rained upon for the month of November. We'll keep you all posted. Talk to you soon.
PS. Oh, the custard apple! It looks kind of like a green pine cone, but the insides are really squishy and filled with black seeds. Eating one is sort of like trying to sift sunflower seds through really thick pudding mixed with a little bit of heaven.
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