Calm waters and cool rocks - Halong Bay

And what do you think they call this cave formation?
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I booked a trip through my accomodations in Hanoi to see Halong Bay.  A two day and one night trip to this world heritage site.  With 13 other people I rode the minibus to 3 hours through a countryside made up of half rice paddies and half new industrial plants built as joint ventures between international companies and the Vietnam government.  Massive amounts of construction.  Homes and industries right next to the water buffalo plowers.  Once we reached Halong we boarded a good sized boat with viewing deck and cabins beneath.  The 14 of us on the bus made up the visitors.  Our guide was Henry who spoke a form of English that gave our group something to bond over - as in "What the hell did he just say" interpretations.  The group was about 7 50+ and 7 under 30.  But we managed to mix it up pretty well.  The biggest deterant was language.  The majority were Aussies and Brits with a Canadian, and Irish thrown in to the mix.  I seem to be the only person from the US.  We sailed out through these fascinating rock formations eventually stopping on a small beach where there was a climb to a view.  We also went through this impressive cave with Stalagmites and tites.  Some with some very interesting interpretations of what they are.  At night we anchored out surounded by other boats and had a really nice dinner that included small crabs, shrimp, squid, fish, rice, veggies.  I sat with a woman I had met at the hostel, and a couple from OZ who I later found out are Hugh Jackman's Father and step mom.  They had ordered a bottle of Vietnamese wine which was such swill.  Oh My God.  The nose was like some agricultural product from the behind of a bovine.  We cleaned our palates with a nice Chilean white that improved dinner tremendously.  That night Ijoined the younger crowd up at the top drinking some vodka and fantas.  Later after most of us had gone to bed two guys got a little rowdy and threw a kayak from the top of the boat.  This did not go over well with the crew.  Our morning after breakfast was kayaking.  The water was exceptionally calm and you could see the bottom in places so not too polluted.  We then headed back to Hanoi.

Sunset and junk
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