we are sailing, we are sailing.....

We booked a cruise to Halong Bay for 3 days 2 nights. We weren't sure what to expect but we were very pleased we went. It was stunning. Day one was pretty full on starting with a 4 ½ hr bus journey from Hanoi to the bay where we were transferred to our cruiser, given lunch and straight back out to visit a floating fishing village. We went out on a bamboo boat around the  village, with the imposing rocks all around us – incredible. Next we visited a small beach and  went swimming – our first opportunity on our trip – before returning  to the cruiser for a drinks reception followed by  dinner. We spoke to some interesting people from USA –  Wendel & Marie who, in her 70’s still worked, currently the  for the Obama administration so plenty of discussion around the US elections. We ended up being the last to bed!

Most of the people on our cruiser were only staying 1 night so as we waved them off the the following morning, the 5 of us remaining joined up with 7 others from other boats and taken off for the day. The weather in the morning was lovely as we cruised peacefully around the rocks/islands with no other boats in sight. Then we put down anchor and climbed into kayaks and paddled for about ½ mile to a small bay.  The views around us were stunning. It was so tranquil. At this point I should describe the people. From the other boats 2 Koreans who seemed to have no sense of direction and kept rowing off the wrong way; 3 Brits – our age – nice, middle class; a young brit couple on honeymoon; and from our cruiser us, Adam a twenty-something easy going Aussie and Bill and Pha. Bill – a larger than life and large 59yr old straight Aussie and his travelling companion Pha, a gay 40yr old Thai man who wore quite a bit of make up & spent the whole time taking selfies. An odd combo but they entertained us. As we neared the beach  Bill & Pha’s kayak capsized leaving Bill scrambling for air and for the three beer cans he had brought along for the journey that were floating off. Comedy.

Back on the boat we had lunch on deck and relaxed. Unfortunately Mr L picked up a stomach bug slept for most of the afternoon. We returned to the main cruiser later for dinner when Bill opened the first of three bottles of vodka. Pha took a real shine to me and insisted my shot glass was kept full of vodka at all times.. Meanwhile poor Mr L was sipping water and eating small portions of plain rice. After many vodkas and with the help of a poorly Mr L we managed to escape. By the sounds of things the partying continued until late. The following morning with Mr L still unwell,  we passed on the trip to the caves so he could rest. After a while we heard a lot of noise & went to investigate. Bill & Pha were back on the vodka, singing along to the Stylistics 'you make me feel brand new'  and had roped in a couple of the staff as well as Adam. On seeing me Pha insisted I had one – it was 9.15am! Of course I had one – but purely out of politeness!!

Unfortunately the weather was quite overcast but the grey haze conjured up new views of the rocks which I'm sure our pictures will not do justice to.

The trip back on the bus was subdued as people slept. Thankfully the guide had some little yellow pills to aide Mr L’s recovery and they worked. Back at our hotel we were greeted with the same warmth and friendliness and another upgrade this time with a balcony! Sadly we had very little time to enjoy it as the next morning we were up at 5.45 ready to get the bus to Sapa in the north – a complete contrast to Hanoi.