Hanging out in Halong Bay

Trip Start Jun 11, 2008
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Trip End May 14, 2009


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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

This morning we got a bus to the docks so that we could board our boat for our trip around Halong Bay. The boat was pretty cool. There was only our group on there which was good, but there were absolutely loads of other boats which took away a little of the enigma of the bay really. We didn't get too close to any other boats, but it was still a bit sad to see so many boats around the islands.

There are about 3000 islands in Halong Bay and the whole area is absolutely beautiful. After we set sail, the on board chefs brought us a seafood lunch of pork spring rolls, fish, squid, prawns and octopus. It was really good food and it was pretty cool eating lunch as the boat slowly sailed through the different islands.

After a couple of hours sailing we moored up at a floating rig and got ourselves some kayak canoes Panoramic Halong Bay
Panoramic Halong Bay
 . We all set off in two to a boat for a canoe around some of the islands. We found a low tide cave that allowed us through into a crater like area where the scenery was breathtaking. There was a little bit if cloud cover as well, so that was good to keep us all from burning whilst we were canoeing. We were in the kayaks for a good couple of hours and I could feel the arms acheing by the time we were done. Strangely, Lorna's arms didn't ache that much, but I suppose they would have done if she had actually put the oars in the water a couple of times!!!

When we got back to the boat, we set sail again, stopping off at a floating market to pick up some more fresh seafood for dinner.

Before we had dinner, the boat weighed anchor and we did some jumping, diving and bombing off the boat and a bit more swimming to build up our appetite. The waters weren't so calm after a Vickers bomb hit the velvet like surface. The ripples were felt as far away as France!!! Following the swim we watched the sun set over the bay turning the islands into a majestic sight of silhouettes. As there was a full moon only a couple of days ago, this was an awesome sight.

The dinner consisted of chicken & veggie soup followed by prawns, stuffed crab, fresh salmon and rice. It was yet another fantastic meal. Following the grub, we all played card games which required everybody to get pretty drunk really. I think the only rule in some of these games is that you must drink rice wine!! Washed down with a few bottles of brew, the night became more and more hazy as it went on.

We finally retired to our 2 berth cabin in the early hours and got a small amount of kip before our boat takes us to the caves in the morning.
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