I left Hanoi in search of peace, booked a hotel by the water and found myself wondering what to do next. This is Part 2 of 3 Check out Part 1

Monday morning, a guy showed up at my hotel to walk me to a bus waiting outside. Three hours later, I arrived in Ha Long Bay. I checked into my hotel and booked a cruise at the front desk for the following day. I walked down to the beach for a while then came back and mostly laid low for the rest of the day. There was a lady outside my building with a cart and this was my first introduction to ‘Banh Mi‘, which is a delicious sandwich that is a fusion of French and Vietnamese Cuisine.

The next morning, a shuttle bus picked me up at 8 am and drove around collecting passengers. I was very impressed with how organized everything was. We made it to the port, boarded a boat and set off into the green waters of Ha Long.

There were only a few other westerners on the boat: two German couples, a Dutch guy, a Chinese family and a couple from Mongolia. The rest were Vietnamese people and everyone was cool. We all had a great time.

We walked through maybe 300 meters of an underground cavern with other tour groups drifting in and out. At the far end, our boat was waiting to pick us up. The cave was spectacular.

We paddled through a small cave and came out into a wide, open lagoon surrounded by limestone cliffs. Quiet, still and truly magnificent. It looked like something out of a movie.

When we arrived here we had a choice. You could hike to the top of the island or swim in the lagoon. I did the hike and it was straight upward and reasonably challenging. The view was unreal and totally worth the effort. One of those “yep, I’m really here” moments. You must visit this place because the pictures don’t do it justice.

When I booked six nights in Ha Long Bay, it felt like a steal: $84 total. But after that first big day, I realized something. There’s not much else going on here unless you book more tours. In hindsight: I should have ventured out into the main part of town to explore, but I was still a bit of a shy traveler at the time.

I walked around a bit, checked out the beach and ended up finding a music shop. I bought a great guitar and spent most of my time back in the room just playing guitar and searching where to go next. It was also rain season — Check out this video from my hotel room. I stayed so long that the owner of the hotel asked me if I wanted to just stay there and run her bar next door. To be honest, i was tempted by the offer but i wanted to see more of Vietnam. Apparently, the average stay for tourists in Ha Long Bay is about 3 days, but how was I to know? I was flying by the seat of my pants, as it were.

Eventually, I booked a bus to Ninh Binh and I felt kind of sad leaving Ha Long Bay.

I arrived on a Sunday and took it easy that first day. The next morning, I went to the Cafe across the street and had my first Vietnamese coffee which was amazing. Next, I rented a scooter and ran out of gas down the street. A younger Vietnamese guy stopped to help and pushed my scooter with his foot while he drove me to the gas station. I was very grateful and must say that the Vietnamese people are very kind and hospitable. I drove around the city and into the country, eventually ending up at Tràng An, a stunning river and mountain landscape where I took a boat tour.

It felt like I was gliding through a scene from Avatar. Jagged cliffs, narrow caves, long tunnels and still water. Peaceful and epic at the same time.

Afterward, I rode all through the country side and felt a real sense of freedom. Ninh Binh is another place I would like to return to one day. It’s one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.

That night, I caught an 8 pm sleeper bus headed south to Hoi An and it was a grind. The driver kept stopping to let people on and off and we didn’t arrive until noon the next day. That’s 16 hours of bumpy, stop-and-go transit. The bunks were kind of short, so you had to keep your knees bent to fit in it and i’m not that tall.

I took a cab to the homestay I had booked through Booking.com and it was awesome — right across the street from the beach. The man that owns the house is a retired police officer and he was super cool. He rented one of his scooters to me for the duration of my stay. I went to the beach and had a couple beers, then came back and went to sleep.

The next morning, I got up early, did some yoga and worked out to reset my system. After that, I rented a scooter and just rode around, soaking in the town. Hoi An was quiet and relaxed. Colorful buildings, lanterns and a slower pace. This is another place I need to come back to one day and spend a little more time. I had a blast just riding through the city. Both, Ninh Binh and Hoi An are pretty safe places to ride motor bikes because there isn’t crazy traffic. Later that afternoon, I went to the beach and floated around in the swimming area for a few hours. There were lots of people there in the water and at the beach restaurants and bars. The ocean water was magical.

I didn’t stay long and started to feel that itch again. I was ready to move on, but I wasn’t sure how yet.

The train and bus to Ho Chi Minh City would take 18 hours. The flight? Just 90 minutes and I didn’t feel like grinding through another marathon bus ride.

So I booked the flight and was heading to Saigon.

Part 3 picks up in Ho Chi Minh City, where I found myself jamming in the park, playing guitar with strangers, dodging weird street food and living in a yoga shala on the 23rd floor.