We ended up booking a 2 night, 3 day cruise on a 5 star cruise through Ha Long Bay, by the end of the trip we were really really glad we did. To be honest we didn't want to get off the boat at the end!
We were picked up pretty early that first morning, it was a 4 hour drive to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi, only broken up by a brief stop. The bus ride was fine, apart from the last 90 mins, which, holy hell was AWFUL. I never get car sick but i was so close to throwing up, the roads were just that bad...We had a couple from Melbourne and a couple from New York on the bus whom with we instantly connected at ended up being great friends for the whole trip!
From the moment you arrive at Ha Long the treatment is amazing, the staff are so friendly and helpful, didn't take long and we were off into the bay. The boat we were on is simply amazing, so much space and area for relaxing, our rooms were fantastic with a balcony for watching the world go by & with only about 30 people on board there was always plenty of space. Lunch was served not long after we left, 5 courses of the tastiest meals, nom nom nom!
Afterwards we moved back to the boat, freshened up and our 'group', i guess you could call it all met up on the deck for happy our and chatting. Having them on the cruise really made it even more amazing and just the whole three days such a great experience! We had a cooking class learning how to make the traditional Vietnamese spring roll, dinner followed, another 5 course meal...ohhh the torment, all that tasty food! Our table was the last to leave, we all had so much in common it was a fantastic evening, one of the waiters would give us little riddles to solve, we had all had a few drinks so we all gave up after a while!
After dinner we stocked up on a few drinks and went down to bottom deck to go squid fishing with the crew of the boat! We only caught one squid between all of us, but it was fantastic just spending time with the crew and getting to know them better, such a great start to the cruise.
I was up early the next morning & there was a spectacular sunrise, the orange glow of the sun over the water and haze throughout the islands in the bay is just so peaceful, all you can hear is a little fishing boat occasionally puttering around. After breakfast we visited a local floating village called Vung Vieng. They have built their village in a little cove, with schools, medical centre and all. Their main exports are fish and other ocean animals, as to be expected, but it was great seeing how they live day to day life, it's so different to what I'm used to and how I live back home!
Afterwards was yet another 5 course meal, the food is fantastic but I can barely finish, I feel like a need a nap after each meal!
Once I had a food baby after lunch we moved onwards to Cat Ba island, there we mountain biked through to one of the small villages and hiked through the jungle to a small cave that was used during the Vietnam War, the whole visit to the island was amazing!
When we arrived back at the wharf most of us decided to swim back to the big boat, the weather was perfect and so was the water, swimming and being surrounded by these huge islands is just so surreal, I loved it!
As soon as we arrived back it was time to go out kayaking! Now as most of you know I'm a big guy, I had to go in a two person kayak by myself as there were no single person kayaks! Made for some funny photos of the kayak as you'll see! Anywho it was such a great time, when all you hear around you is yourself paddling and the occasional echo of birds chirping, its relaxing and breathtaking!
We all freshened up and met on the deck for happy hour and group hang outs again. Dinner was a massive bbq with so, so many types of meat, a plethora of meats I've never tried! Once again we were the last table to leave (damn boozers) & afterwards we joined the staff squid fishing, we had a lot more luck this time, caught 3!
The last day came way way to fast, all 6 of us were sad to be leaving! After breakfast the staff had a 'tea ceremony' where they showed us the best way to brew your tea & also a variety of different tea's, it was all so tasty! We disembarked mid morning and began the horrible 4 hour drive back to Hanoi!
That afternoon we all met up again and went to a bar that was playing the Collingwood vs Geelong AFL match, we had lunch, drank to many beers (well the guys did) and the girls yarned, once my poor Magpies lost, we headed out and wandered the streets exploring, wandered the markets and went to a place for dinner. The name of the place was called Newday Restaurant, it was amazing, I thought there was only seats out the front and inside on the ground, nope, we went inside, through the kitchen,up some very small stairs, past a small room and into a room at the back! The food was amazing! I had some Pho Bo, Pepper and Garlic ribs and a long neck Tiger beer, that all only cost $5 AUD, simply ridiculously cheap.
We all had to part ways after that (must be summer love), we were all sad to be separating and going our own ways, but that's how it goes, we had exchanged details so at least we can keep in touch!
We headed back to the hotel for a lot of sleep, the trip was actually pretty tiring and the trip up to Sapa was coming up!
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