Boat tour of Halong Bay

James, Vicky and Charlotte on the boat in Halong Bay.
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Early rise to get on the bus to take us to Halong City.  We bonded with the other people on the bus for the 3 hour trip.  However, once we got to the city, they told James and I to go with another group for the boat tour.  Luckily we met a couple pommie girls who were great fun, Vicky and Charlotte.  Went and toured a cave, had a massive lunch on the boat, and then went kayaking for an hour.  I say kayaking but they were actually these big inflatable, rubbery canoes.  James couldn't steer properly but we did manage to go a fair way, around a lot of limestone, cliff faced islands.  Had another massive meal, and then the crew watched TV and left us to our own devices.  Great entertainment, watching them watching TV.  Luckily we had brought cards, and with the help of some red wine had a great night of poker and blackjack.  We used toothpicks as chips and I was the dealer in blackjack ("Place your bets, Place your bets" - I looked like a pro).  Alex from Sydney joined us and we played until Vicky said "What are the chances?" for the last time as the crew got in their blankets and went to sleep around us. 

The islands of Halong Bay.
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Next day, saw Cat Ba Island from a distance (we wanted to walk on it, but not part of the tour, though that's not what they told us when we booked it!) and saw rocks shaped like animals.  We stopped at a fishing village where the annoying old Australian man's Vietnamese mail order bride bought 6 crabs and shared them all with us. 

What are the chances?

Headed back to shore for lunch and the bus ride back to Hanoi!