Halong Bay Highlights

Through the mist and rain
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Up early to get away for a day on Halong Bay.  Big thunderstorms overnight and its still raining as we have breakfast.Our guide wants to leave later but we all vote to leave after breakfast which we do.

The boat is quite roomy and plenty of space, it drizzles for quite a time but the scenery is stunning. Every turn another view, boats, islands and beaches, its all we thought it would be and more. Go if you can. After a couple of hours we pull up at an island and visit a series of limestone caves which are quite good, unfortunately the ends of most of the stalactites and stalagmites have been broken off which detracts from the caves. The most interesting thing is the scalloping in the roof caused by the sea when it was at a much higher level. Back to the boat and on to lunch.

Up early to get away for a day on Halong Bay.

Underground scenery
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We have lunch on the boat which consists of chips dipped in a mix of lime juice, pepper and salt, grilled fish with ginger,cuttlefish with vegetables, battered prawns and a steamed green vegetable all conjured up by the crew and as good as you could ask for anywhere.

After lunch most elected to jump off the side of the boat for a swim in the warm waters of Ha Long Bay.  Then it's on to Cat Ba Island enjoying magnificent views until we reach the island.  We elected to walk the 2 kms to our hotel - the Entity Hotel - others took a motor bike.  We lucked in again with the first floor room.  The only downside is the powerlines running directly in front of our balcony!  We had a short walk aroumd town, a cup of coffee, then it's dinner time. Another great meal in one of the restaurants we found in the town.

Seafood from the bay
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Breakfast the next day is a bit bizzare, an unsmiling waiter, only allowed one drink, pay for the other, we didn't in the end and no bananas, although we can see bunches on the stall right outside the Hotel door. We opt to go for a long walk in the morning as the plans have changed and we don't need to leave until 2:15pm.  The weather was bad on the mainland and the hydrofoil couldn't make it until then.

Lunch at a nearby restaurant is pretty average by what we have had to date, then onto the ferry and off to Haiphong. Lots of industrial activity and shipping along the way before we disembark across another boat and hop into our bus for the two hour trip back to Hanoi and Hang Noc 2 our hotel. The day room is a bit of a joke, one tiny room for everybody to repack, change and use the bathroom. We zip out to the ATM, grab some money and a bite to eat then we are off again for the overnight train to Lao Cai and Sapa.