Three Days in Halong Bay

On Sunday morning we were picked up by the tour company at a rather early 8 am, then drove the 160km to Halong City where we joined the massed hordes waiting for their trip. Our guide Huan pointed us in the direction of a small boat which ferried us through the chaotic harbour to our home for the trip, the Halong Phoenix Cruiser.

After checking in to our rather nice cabin we sailed into the Gulf of Tonkin, with it's three thousand limestone karsts surrounding us. First up was lunch on the boat, a multi-course feast, before time on the sun deck while we cruised the bay.

In the afternoon we were back in the small boat to visit 'Surprising Cave' with it's three huge chambers. We then picked up kayaks and, after eventually remembering how to steer we headed into a lagoon where we watched a family of monkeys on the cliffs. Back on the junk we had a glass of wine before free time for swimming, where Ben joined in jumping off the side of the boat.

Dinner was another feast with even more dishes, before beer and karaoke before retiring to our cabin. In our absence a pair of rather large cockroaches had taken residence in our bathroom, but luckily we had bought the bug spray so they were swiftly despatched and we enjoyed a peaceful nights sleep.

Up at 6:30 the next morning we admired the views of the bay shrouded in mist before breakfast, then checked out and boarded a smaller boat for the journey to Cat Ba Island, our base for the second night. En route we stopped at Monkey Island, where we were accosted by the rather aggressive residents who seemed to take exception to us being there ! On Cat Ba we checked in to the hotel for an afternoon nap, before heading out for drinks and dinner.

The next day involved a full day of travelling via boat and bus, before arriving back in Hanoi late afternoon.