Mithrin Hotel Halong Halong Bay

... through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate.The diversity of the enivironment, climate, geology, geography, and geomorphology in the area have created biodiversity ...

... to such a degree that I thought if I knocked on the stone I would get a hollow sound in return like it was some kind of Disney movie set! Our photo's are a little blurry but I'll try to find some better ones.

As we only got the 2 days 1 night package for $30 but for the poor French girls they found that not only were they banned from staying on the boat rather than the hotel for a night, it was only because the crew wanted an extra $10 from her as a ...

... activities in store!
next morning we got the boat to cat ba again but this time we explored a different part of the island. we visited the hospital cave, a cave that was used during the war as a hospital. of course it was all in secret and there were a few steps to climb to get into it!
then we started our 14km cycle! jeez this was tough! 3 major hills is what the guide described! i walked up the first one after changing my gears so many times and not being able to get up i ...

... again my height is an advantage - but little technique - but just loved diving around in the sand)
Me, Jasper, John and Katie all enjoyed a game with the locals, i even manage to take out one of my own team going for the ball) All good fun - the more active i am the better i feel.

The boat trip around Halong bay was smooth and the seafood good.

Stayed on land overnight - and the local reataurant was 'interesting' the owner was not to messed with ...

... some amazing views over the bay and of
the limestone islands. After we visited another island with a lookout
point on the top and viewed again some spectacular views of the bay.
Later we went kayaking around the bay and through a tunnel to see the
islands close up. We finished the day by swimming and jumping off the
boat it was paradise! We had our evening meal on the boat which
consisted of lots of fresh fish and traditional Vietnamese food ...

... fighting, or their great-aunt Vera. Enjoyed another slap up lunch (all the food on our tour was fantastic, and plentiful) and then spent the afternoon lounging on the beach at 'Monkey Island' before a cruise back through an enormous floating village to re-board our junk for dinner. After dinner as it was the last evening we got a load more beers in from the women ...

... morning we ate an early breakfast then donned life jackets and went kayaking in the bay. We passed through a couple of beautiful caves and into deserted lagoons. It was really beautiful and my personal favorite part of the Halong Bay experience. Once the kayaking portion was finished, we were served yet another huge seafood meal then made our way back to the main boat dock, whereupon we were driven back to Hanoi. Along the way we witnessed ...

... to with 'no, you help us, we PAY you' (little lol here for that). Obviously the company needed us to have lunch, else they would lose money somehow, maybe the restaurant demanded they pay for the food even if we didn't eat it, and the company didn't want to pay, I don't really know! But anyways, he was dead set on us eating, and we were dead set on us not and taking the bus to hanoi. Our bargaining point was that we wouldn't leave the bus, and they obviously needed it for ...

Halong bay, nice boat trip, we splashed out and went luxury on the boat, which was well worth it. Pretty much the same scenery as Mai Chau except the limestone cliffs come out of the water and not the fields. Nice swimming off the side, pleasant company on the boat, and some night time fishing which included trying to make a jellyfish and a crab fight each other. The Jelly was dissinterested and the crab was insane, so the question must be left unanswered for now :-)

... same beach with the boys (who had spent the morning together playing cards and co-sulking about the injustice that was our tour... something we girls greatly wanted to avoid). We finally get on a minibus back across the island late afternoon to meet our junk. Too bad the boat isn't there. We end up waiting several more hours in the company of the persistent sales ladies before our boat shows up. We board, again there are not enough beds so our Frenchman is kicked off without us ...