Well that was Hanoi-ing, but now we're on Cat Ba island.

Today my name is Brian Neville. At least according to the agency that came to pick us up this morning at our hotel. The man showed me the reservation for Brian Neville and while we explained that we were in fact going to Ha Long Bay, the names were different. Later on, after several frantic phone calls, he said the names were very similar. After all there are many Herschers coming to Halong Bay - always Nevilles.

Both Greg and I have our reservations about anything tour group related, but today was pretty exceptional. After the initial chaos of departing, we got to relax and take in the formations while downing some Vietnamese beer.

We also had the best dinner of the trip thusfar at a small restaurant down the street from our hotel on CatBa island. I had the best squid in my life there. Normally it's quite chewy, but this was absolutely delightful. I think I ate like 14 pieces. We also ate it family-style with a group of Vietnamese. Two of these things were not like the others... We had no clue what they were saying, but it was a great experience being thrown into that. They kept telling Greg to eat more.

Surprisingly this is the fastest internet connection we've had - and we're on an island off the coast of Vietnam. That figures. Also, I think facebook might be online again. Things are good. Tomorrow we go around HaLong some more and then hop on an overnight train to Hue. Next update will be from there. Until then, enjoy the timelapse below.