Cruising Halong Bay, Vietnam

After spending a day in Hanoi we were picked up by a cruise company and made the four hour journey to Halong Bay by bus.  The roads are not very well kept so at times the ride was pretty miserable.  When we boarded the boat and headed out the bay we realized it was definitely worth it!  We kayaked, hiked, cruised our way around the bay.  It was an overnight cruise so we got to spend two days enjoying the sights.

Heading out to the bay.  The mist obscured the view a bit.

Our junk boat with the sails up (they are only for show)

Setting Sail!

The islands reminded us a lot of our time in Phuket

Kayak time!

We paddled through this cave to get to a hong.

We found these two monkeys playing around.

The middle of the hong.

Nearing sunset in the crowded bay

When we got to the top of the island we could see all the boats in Halong Bay.  So crowded...

We practically had this little island to ourselves.  That is our boat in the background. 

After enjoying the sunset it was back to the boat for a delicious vietnamese dinner.  We enjoyed talking with the other passengers about their travels.  We sat with a dentist from Chile on a two month tour of Asia and a Tazmanian spending a few months in southeast Asia between jobs.  We were fascinated to hear their stories because they basically purchased tickets to and from Asia but everything in between they just planned the day before.  Real contrast to our 'plan everything down to the hour' style.  Some may think that takes the fun out of it but for us, not having to worry is what lets us have fun.

The next morning we went to Hang Sung Sot to do some cave exploring.

Looking back at the entrance to the cave

Inside the first chamber of the Hang

The third and largest chamber.  They call this the Surprise Cave.  Can you find the surprise or the
man's finger as our guide called it?

This cave was massive!  I love the rippling on the ceiling from where waves washed against it many years ago.

At the exit of the cave we found these women with fresh seafood.
Cuttlefish, crabs, shrimp, oysters, cockles, you name it.

When we got back to our boat, we ate lunch as we sailed back to the harbor.  From there it was another bouncy four hours back to Hanoi. So glad that we made the long trip out there!