Go rent the movie Indochine.

It is a French movie (yes, subtitles) with the always wonderful Catherine Deneuve (sp?).

It is also the reason I am in SEA. Seriously, the cinematography is spectacular. I saw that movie and thought, "I must go there someday."

Well, here I am.

One of the more beatiful scenes that sparked my interest was filmed in Halong Bay and I had the pleasure of going there and staying on a boat overnight.

The silohuette of the limestone karsts against the evening sky was gave me a very peaceful feeling.

I also had a chance to go kayaking under a natural tunnel an into a pool of water completely surrounded by rock. I was smart enough to choose a german white water kayaker as my kayak buddy so it wasn't too hard.

My second day/night I spent on Cat Ba island and went hiking and visited an island with wild monkeys. Unfortunately, our guide fed them which is not good for wild monkeys but it was really interested because you could totally see the social dynamics between the different monkeys.

We did not get the best whether on the trip but we also didn't get the worst. I would imagine that it is absolutely breathtaking during its best season.