We woke up, fortunantly without any sign of cockroaches in our cabin and had a below average breakfast. After this we had some leisure time before the crew dropped us at a pearl museum. It feautured some monitors, a guided tour about pearls and oysters. But to keep it real I learned more from the elderly singaporian man. He told me that the technique used in articifial breating of the pearls had been developed in Japan and then later on imported to other countries such as Vietnam. It used a crafted pearl that was done from inner fragments of the oyster itself. This was made round and then implanted into the oyster's ovarium to grow larger and into a pearl. Of course the museum also feautured a shop where one might buy pearls or jewelery inlaid with pearls. The prices were outrageous.

After this we yet again had some leisure time before arriving to the harbor where we had set out yesterday. We waited some for the buss to arrive and then drove for four hours to Hanoi. In Hanoi we went to our previous hotel and had a shower and left our bags behind. I also made sure to ask about what kind of messages I had started recieving from the phone company where my internet had been set up. As I guessed it had to do with me and Martin using too much data and therefor the speed had been limited. I ended up asking if they could help me buy more data and the doorboy(doorman?) was assigned this glorious task. As he spoke english only one-three words at a time communication was limited while we waited at the somewhat busy telecom company. When it finaly was our turn he spoke for about 1-2 minutes before taking my phone and wiggling the messages I recieved at the saleswoman. I then got a chart where I guessed I could choose to buy data for different prices and I pointed at what would set me up for more than what we could possible spend in a week(since it was cheap and all). Further discussion was had between the saleswoman and my dear doorsman, he then proceeded to take a amount that was 1/3 of the price that I pointed at and then paid the woman. Me being lost already since the start didn't really bother protesting, but I was not too sure of what had actually been purschued... Back at the hotel I found out that he acutally had found a better deal and set me up for a lower price. Yay I guess. But why am I writing of this? Because sitting around waiting at a Telecom company with a guy dressed in his very fine working clothes while listning to conversation I could not understand at all was a very strange experiance. The kind of random one that only happens when you tread on a path where you don't really know what to expect. And it was super fun.

After that I joined up with Martin, we found a Café and had some coffe before taking a taxi to the trainstation where we took the night train to Sapa. The cabin we had paid for was really nice and the beds large enough for me to lay straight and wide enough to be comfortable. The toilett was also fully working and had a generous suply of toilet paper. We went to sleep and I am happy to say that there were no cockroaches at the train and that I slept the entire ride.

Ha long bay early in the morning.    

Part of the pearl museum  

Guy inserting the articifial pearls into oysters  

Cut up oyster which reavealed a pearl inside  

The waters where the oysters where kept. It can take from 4-8 years to grow a single pearl.      

Back in Hanoi again. I realized too late that I really hadn't taken too many pictures today. But then again, there was not too much action at all...

Tomorrow we will enjoy the mountain village of Sapa