We were collected at 12 and taken to the harbour. Then we were picked up by bus with our fellow passengers who had all come from Hanoi. We were both glad we had actually come down the day before, even if the journey was crap. The guide (Maggie) was really friendly and her English was really good. She embarrassed us by asking us to introduce ourselves on the bus in front of everyone. Brilliant! We caught a small boat over to our boat, I mean cruise ship, and were given a welcome drink. The ship was lovely. Cabins on the bottom and middle floor. A restaurant on the middle floor and a seating area on the top deck. The room was so cool. Big double bed with a private bathroom. It was like being in a hotel. I kept thinking about the boat trip I did back in Indonesia and it couldn't have been more different! (and it wasn't much more expensive!). But anyway back to the cruise (I'm calling it a cruise from now on ok!!).
There were about 18 of us on the cruise. A mixture of people from all over Europe. After lunch we went to visit a cave and went kayaking and swimming. Anthony was in his element as he'd always wanted to do kayaking. Later we had a 'rainy party' on the top deck, as it had decided to rain that evening. We met a nice couple from Leeds/Preston. Tried some Vietnamese cocktails (mine was bright green looking - and tasting - like mouthwash, Anthony's bright blue!), had some B52's & beer's and went to bed. I didn't feel like I was on a boat. Nothing to do with the amount we drank I hasten to add!!
Next day we were up early and went on the day boat as we had chosen to do kayaking. We were with an English couple, a French couple, 3 Spanish friends and an Aussie girl. We had breakfast on the boat and then went kayaking. It was pretty awesome kayaking around the massive rock formations in Halong Bay. Something I will never forget. We had lunch on the boat, then did some more kayaking over to a small beach. Then later we visited a Pearl Farm where we learned about how pearl's are made. I was very kindly treated to a pair of earrings from my lovely boyfriend. Lucky lady that I am :) We did some sunbathing on the boat and then went back to our cruise ship. Didn't have such a late night that night and we were both a bit sunburnt! We did attempt to do some squid fishing but to no avail.
The final day on the cruise we were both pretty tired but we were up early to visit a small fishing village. It was chucking it down and I could have quite easily stayed in bed. Once I was there we were transfered to a small fishing boat, just myself, Anthony, the English couple and a local lady. She gave us some Vietnamese hats to wear whilst she rowed us around the fishing village for about an hour. The trip was actually really nice and not what I had expected. It was calm and peaceful and the views were lovely. Back on the cruise ship we did a cooking class... well, we learned how to make fresh spring rolls which was quite fun! We had lunch and then before we knew it we were back in Halong Bay. The trip was amazing, such a great experience and you never know, you may find me on a cruise ship in the future... I said maybe!!!
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