MONKEYS!

Had an early breakfast this morning at the hotel and took a bus & a boat to Monkey Island. Got some great shots of the floating fishing villages, boats & rock formations.

We were the only group at Monkey Island. Light rain the whole time. The beach was pretty with lots of coral & fairly clear water (no trash like Do Son!). We hiked up a steep rocky trail to get to the monkeys, which came out to greet us. One jumped on Marci's back and she totally freaked out. :)  The monkeys were extremely social and not afraid of us. Keith especially had a good time egging them on. I got some great photos, including one of Marci which I have a feeling will be a Facebook favorite, haha

After Monkey Island, we headed back to Hanoi. Our original trip to Cat Ba involved two ferries; the way back to Hanoi, just one. We stopped at a center that sold all kinds of products and souvenirs, the proceeds of which go to support programs for the disabled kids that live and work at the center. I bought a few things there.

When we got back to Hanoi, we immediately went to the hotel, dropped off our bags and went to the hotel where Diane [Wolf] is staying -- Bic's sister works at the restaurant there, so we met up with people from the Northwood, TX group for dinner at Jaspas. Tomorrow is Bic's sister's birthday, so we sang to her. :) Jaspas has American food (and other western food) on the menu, which was a nice change! I had carbonara and a glass of pinot grigio.

Went to Fanny's after for ice cream -- had "Lotus" -- the array of sorbets was decorated with a real lotus flower. Very beautiful AND delicious!

Tomorrow a.m. we go to SS3 to say goodbye to the kids. It's going to be sad.