Extreme bike riding.....

Considering our bed, we slept ok and had to be up for breaky at 7am. We then cruised the bay to a Pearl Farm and got a tour through it showing us how the whole process works, which was really cool. We even watched them put the starter pearl into the overy of the oyster, they then put in some motivation for the oyster (this is made from some meat cut from another oyster). With only a 30% success rate they have to give it some sort of helping hand I guess. The group was split now as some of us are staying another night and we headed to Monkey Island for swimming....we didn't see any monkeys or swim but the relaxation on the boat was nice. On the move again to another part of the bay where we stayed on the boat and had lunch which again was more than enough. We arrived at Cat Ba Island a little while after and Dung told us we would be cycling for 5km to take Zoe to her bungalow and then cycling 5km back to the boat......an easy ride through the jungle...hmmmmm this sounds too good to be true. Dung is a pretty funny guy so we can have a joke with him which is good because what came next was hilarious. We started off on a great path and the scenery is just beautiful, then we come across a road works sign. The cement path turned into a muddy path but was barely passable. Then the muddy path became a boggy bog hole and this is where the fun really started. Alvo was in front of me and we had to get off our bikes at this stage. She was slipping and sliding around trying to wheel her bike....as was I. Her thongs were getting stuck in the mud and she fell out of one and put her foot down in the squelchy bog.....I was laughing out loud by this stage. Alvo had told Dung yesterday the different meaning for thong (being the name for a g-string) so when she called out that her thong had fallen off he was cacking himself. He of course was on a motorbike because he had Zoe's backpack so was sitting back grinning the whole way. We made it through the mud after Alvo's thong fell apart and required repair and took the fork to the left due to there being a sign going the other way saying DANGER STEEP SLOPE. We only got part way down when there was so much water over the path that it was not passable. We washed our bikes here and headed back up to take the other road.....yep, the one that has the sign saying DANGER STEEP SLOPE. We had to walk our bikes because they are no mountain bike I'm telling you, more like the bike that Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz rides with a basket on the front, the only thing missing is Toto the dog although the saying "we are not in Kansas any more" is very relevant at this point. We did however make it to the little village where Zoe's bungalow was and it was definitely more "natural" than a hotel option but looked really cool. It was time to return to our boat as we have a 45 minute journey to our hotel. You guessed it.....only one way out, back the way we came. We were off to a great start through the little village then once out on the road Alvo was more interested in pointing out the cute little goats than watching where she was going so next minute she found out that the edge of the road was the edge of the universe and fell off. Due to the other blokes in our group being behind us I have never seen her get up so fast and call out "It's ok, I'm not hurt and then try to get back on....I emphasise the word TRY because as she was getting back on the Wizard of Oz bike she fell over again, this time worse than before.....I was too upset to even get the camera out but yet again she jumped up roaring with laughter. This time Dung was behind us and he picked up her bike and said "safety is most important" trying to hold back his laughter. Safety.....if he had safety in mind he would never have bought us on this hair raising adventure but hey this is what makes memories right. She was not hurt so off we went to finish our journey. Back on the boat for the journey and it didn't seem long before we arrived in the town part of Cat Ba Island. Dung took us to check in at our hotel which is a fancy one and gave us all the details for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow before bidding us farewell. I must say that there is a bit of a difference between a room priced at $15 per night and one priced at $50 per night.....mainly the size but it is nice to have a little more space for a change, oh, and a view.....of the ocean and everything. I feel about as flash as a rat with a gold tooth and I bet there are some of those in Vietnam. Showers at this point were on the top of our "to do" list as we have mud everywhere and for some reason thought that wearing white today was a nice idea....couldn't have been more wrong. A walk down the street was important too so after a rest we ventured out. This town is similar to the other towns we have seen, probably just a little less crammed in and the ocean is right at our doorstep with beautiful night lights. We found a place to have a pedicure for a couple of bucks as our toenails show the result of our muddy adventure today and then happy hour cost us $5 for two rum and cokes each so we are happy as we head back to the hotel for dinner. Dinner blew our expectations out of the water, it was the best food we have had in Vietnam to date.....not counting the Indian and we were in, fed and finished within half an hour, talk about fast service. Walking to the small market helped the food go down but we are now back in the hotel and ready for some rest.....our room is on the 6th floor and I took the stairs for the extra exercise as I think this little piggy is getting a little porky. Tanya xo