Sorry guys that its been a while since I've written. It is a little tricky since I don't have a computer. So lots of things have happened since last time I wrote and I will try to summarize to the best of my abilities, but Im afraid it will be brief since its 2 am and I have class at 8 tomorrow morning!

Last weekend we had Saturday and Sunday off, so some of us decided to take a little weekend trip mainly to get out of the city. First we went to Tam Coc about two hours from Hanoi where we went on a 2 hour boat-ride through an amazing scenery of mountains, caves and rice paddies.

After that we went to the old capital of Vietnam, Hoa Lu, during the Dinh and Le dynasty of Vietnam which is famous for its temples honoring the the Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang and the monarch Le Dai Hanh. Then we drove for about 4 hours to Mai Chau, a little charming mountain village, home of the White Thai people.

This weekend we went to Halong Bay where we stayed on a boat for one night. Halong Bay is one of the World Heritage sites and is known for its beautiful lime stone mountains coming up from the water!

Picture from the boat through the lime stone mountains at Halong Bay
My roommate Tham and I on the boat at Halong Bay
Myles and our boat at Halong Bay ready to take off!
The second day in Mai Chau, a little mountain village about 4 hours from Hanoi we rented bikes and biked all around the Valley. Later that day we had a very bizarre experience. After biking around for a while we came to another little valley. From some bamboo houses a little ways off we heard really loud clubbing music. Myles, Cody, Tham and I decided to check it out while the others went back. When we got closer we saw a bunch of kids dancing around drinking this really strong rice liquor. As soon as they saw us they told us to join them. It was so crazy. They where all really drunk and dancing to this really loud techno music. As soon as we got inside the house we each had about 5 people on us almost forcing us to take shots of whatever they were drinking. After taking 3 shots in 3 minutes we were all pretty much done. But when we declined their offer, they all of a sudden started pouring it all over the crowd. When we tried to leave they would let us leave before we took more shots! It was full chaos!! When we finally managed to push our bikes through the crowd and bike off, we all smelt of rise wine and was sweating from head to foot. It was a fun bike ride back, let me tell you that!
The White Thai, indigenous people of Mai Chau, are known for their intricate weaving and broidery.
The first night at Mai Chau we went to this field full bond-fires, techno music and young people out to party!
The people of Mai Chau perform their traditional dance in our bed room!
Alissa and I in traditional White Thai skirts
Neil, Cody, Myles and I climbed to the top of the mountain where the King of the old Dinh dynasty was berried. There we had an amazing view of the surrounding landscape
Cody and Neil enjoying the view from in top of the mountain
Tham, Alissa, Nguyen and I outside the temple in the old capital
On hour way through the caves at Tam Coc. The water is brown because it is the time when the farmers plow the rice patties and sow crops

Lots of women were selling fruits and beverages along the way