Day 4 (2 nd Feb 2013)

We all slept very well, though Rajoo's torch decided to switch on all by itself 3 times through the night :-)) 7.30 was breakfast time, we barely managed it as we all got up late. As the breakfast was served, lots of eggs and limited amount of bread.... 

The boat was taken out from the place where it was anchored for the night. By the time we finished our breakfast it reached another island. We got down to visit Hang Sung Sot cave formed by weathering due to sea waves. All these island outcrops are formed by sediments and there are many large caves. This must be the biggest cave that I ( Kedar) have visited so far. 

After visiting the cave we set sail for Hallong at a very moderate pace. The weather, the pace, the surroundings, the quietness around was so peaceful that I wished the time would stop there, Kedar played the bansuri on deck and it was very lovely to hear..... but alas we had to leave this all behind and reached Hallong City harbor at sharp 12 & our bus was waiting there for us to take us back to the hustle and bustle of crowded Hanoi.

We reached Hanoi at 4.30pm ,checked out from the hotel & cycled to bus stop to catch a night bus to Dong Ha. Miss. Dung ( pronounced as Zung) very kindly came to drop us off on her scooter to the bus stop, we followed her on our cycles through the evening crowds of Hannoi. That was some experience....

Outside Hang Sung Sot cave

Our bus was two tier and there were three rows (sleeper coach) with an attached bathroom... ONE for all the passengers... It was very crowded with people and luggage.We some how managed to keep our cycles in the boot ( paid $20 per cycle extra) and squeezed our selves in our seats/beds/coffins Rajoo just could not fit in and had to spend the night half sitting half sleeping, Kedar slept as usual like a baby :-) there were seat-belts to tie ourselves in while sleeping and we find out that since we were on the last row it was very necessary to keep us in our seats.. Bus started sharp at 6.30pm & did not stop ANYWHERE except to drop off or pick-up passengers, not even for dinner or snacks or a short break.... We tried sleeping 'HUNGRY'...