Heritage Halong Hotel Halong Bay

... of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km², incuding 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km² with a high density of 775 islets. he limestone in this bay has ...

... to take them all the way to the island off the coast, were suitably ****** off to find that all their ticket entitled them to was the coach journey alone and were forced to pay again for the boat ride!
The journey out to the cave was lovely with a big (if very simple) lunch being laid on, watching these giant rocky outcroppings slowly go past was really nice!
We were then taken through some natural limestone caves on foot, these were really ...

... was waiting for us when we got back to the village and then we had our 6 km walk back to tthe ipier to get back on the boat. again the sun was beating down on the way back to hte resort so we all had a little nap!!
after a little rest back at our beach hut, we again were served a top notch meal, tasty pork and beef dishes and lots of different sauces to dip! we were so well fed in comparison to what we've been eating!! early ish to bed that night as day 3 had more fun and ...

This place is simply beautiful, words can not do this place justice - stunning rocks outs of the sea all around (formed at the same time as the Himalayas)
I will not try to explain it - will upload pictures a let you see for yourself.
But this is must visit for anyone going to Vietnam.

Docked the boat at one of the rocks and visited caves, docked at a beach, swam in the sea, jumped off the boat in to warm water ans played volleyball on the beach with the ...

We arrived in Halong dock and boarded our nice ship which they call a
"junk", its a wooden ship with sails and we had a nice lunch before we
set sail. Our room was really nice and completely wooden and we only
had to share the boat with 6 other people. We cruised around the bay in
the afternoon and took lots of photos on the top deck in the glorious
sunshine. We visited the "surprising" cave which was really impressive
and climbed to the top to ...

... as they could only steer to the right, but even so, following Jie and Carolyn's example they managed to navigate through a tunnel and out into a beautiful lagoon surrounded 360 degrees by high cliffs.


The next day of the tour we landed on Cat Ba island and saw another cave with more strange rock features that the Vietnamese have convinced themselves look like ...

... made from beautiful, darkly varnished wood. The bed was large and floor space minimal. There was no door to the bathroom, just a really pretty curtain, and the mattress on the bed appeared to be fashioned from dense, hard foam. No top sheet, but we each had a personal-sized comforter to roll up in. We retired early and, with our rinsed-out underwear gently swaying from the light fixtures, we were out when our heads hit the pillows.

9/2 ...

... Lie #1). At this point, good old British blitz spirit kicked in and we all dug our heels in, and refused to get off the bus. Our guide's smile at this point faded a little, but he attempted to convince us with another song and dance set. No sale unfortunately for him, and we demanded that he drive the sodding bus back to sodding Hanoi. The smile faded further, and he began to plead with us, repeating 'you help me I help you' about 50 million times, which someone helpfully ...

... Monkey Island. It was absolutely amazing there... The sand was really soft and clean and the sea was warm. Plus, we saw monkeys! We had a long chat in the sea with an Ozzie couple for most of the time so the day was just lovely and relaxing! We were gutted when we had to go...

We leave Cat Ba Island tomorrow for a final cruise round Halong Bay and then back to Hanoi. It's been a blast and we're disappointed it'll have to end!

... we didn't even know we would be doing... when we now have nowhere to wash up and nothing to do until 4 pm. Crazy. A girl in our group Emily and I head out to the local beach... we drew many stares from the men in the crowds of Vietnamese tourists....and aren't even in our swimsuits. The water is really rough so we are happy to just sit in the sun (which has now come out) and read. We head back for lunch... eat more dismal food and for lack of anything better to do.... head back to ...