Halong way from home...

There was no time for a lie-in as we had to meet for 8.30 in order to get the bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay so it was just a quick turnaround to get ready, have breakfast and meet everyone in reception.

The journey itself took about 4 hours. I caught up on some sleep and listened to some music on my phone whilst watching the world go by. Dad was on my mind an awful lot during the journey and it didn't help that a lot of the songs that came on were either relatable or reminded me of him in some way so I was rather tearful and glad to have a distraction when we stopped for a toilet break. 

There were plenty of things to buy at the stop-off and we could see the woven portraits being created which was really interesting - some of them were absolutely stunning!

Another couple of hours later, we'd reached the Halong Bay Marina and could see hundreds of boats lined up - was so exciting! There was a varying class of boat and we weren't sure what we were going to get. I'd presumed we would be having a very traditional brown junk boat with some form of sleeping facility but was pleasantly surprised when we boarded ours - it was a cabin room befitting that of a hotel and was much nicer than the one in Sapa!

We were warmly greeted by the cabin crew who welcomed us in the dining area with a damp hand towel to freshen up and a refreshing passion fruit drink. 

After checking into our cabins and having a look around the top deck of the cabin, we were summoned for a seafood lunch with king prawns to start, squid, fish and tofu dishes with rice and watermelon for dessert.

Later in the afternoon, the boat anchored and the smaller boat was used to ferry us across to the Hang Suon Soc caves. They call these the surprising caves and that they certainly do - it was pretty breathtaking!

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing on the top deck and dining area in between light downpours and then showering and filling in my journal before dinner at 7.

More seafood but this time, we started with king prawns and oysters (I'd not tried them before!) crab koftas on sugar cane sticks with a tomato candle for effect, chicken curry and more fish with a decorative carrot net over the top - all washed down with a Ha Long lager. When we'd fibished, one of the crew came to show us how to make the carrot flowers and fishing net decorations - he made it look so easy!

We retired again to the top deck to relax and I did a bit of fishing with the boys using a makeshift bamboo cane rod. Sadly none of us were successful as we had no bait but were told the green piece of the hook usually attracts things in the water like fish and squid; the most we caught was a leaf (Nathan) and a cigarette butt (me)!!

After giving up, the three of us returned to the others and played heads up which was hysterical. The first couple of rounds were celebrities and Hollywood stars where you had to describe the person whose name is on the screen. Following that, we played the acting route which is effectively like charades but instead of describing the thing to the player with the scene over their head, you have to act it out so they can guess - absolutely priceless! The three of us had a right laugh trying to guess and act everything out and were still playing when everyone had gone to bed. We called it a night not long after half 10 as we were going kayaking in the morning and needed to be upstairs for breakfast at 7!

Considering we were on the water, I slept quite well and didn't feel like we were moving - it must have rocked me to sleep! 

Breakfast at 7 was a simple eggs, toast and bananas with tea or coffee to get us set for the trip out! I was sharing a kayak with Stephanie and it was really hard work as it had become so windy and we were heading against the current which made it so much trickier. Despite it being tough and our arms feeling like they would fall off, it was a great way to see part of the bay and we got to go through a cave into a secluded cove which was stunning. There were loads of monkeys there too and one of the lads had brought a banana from breakfast so chucked it to them and it was funny to watch them tussling over! After that, we headed back to the boat as our hour was up and got showered and packed up to check out of the cabins. 

At about 10ish whilst we were laying on the top deck, one of the cabin crew came up to tell us that food was ready. I was like whaaaaat, we've not long eaten! When we got downstairs, Huyen told us that our sleeper train from Hanoi to Hue was cancelled as there was flooding and it couldn't get through so we would have to fly - absolute result! No 13hr train with no sleep, only an hour's plane journey with the bonus of a proper meal and a hotel to sleep in - winning!

Everything was then meticulously planned as our flight was at 16.30 and we still had a 4 hour drive back to Hanoi first! Luckily we pulled into the Marina not long after tucking into another feast of noodles, fish, beef and pork dishes with rice, papaya salad and melon for dessert. The bus was waiting for us when we jumped off the boat and we quickly set off for Hanoi to the Church Boutique Hotel to collect our bags and laundry and get the bus straight to the airport for our flight to Hue.

It was a breeze on the flight and went so quickly! Once we landed, our bus driver collected us and dropped us at the Asia Hotel in Hue. It looked rather upmarket so I was excited at that point to get in and have a nose around. We checked into our rooms - absolute result! Spacious, air con, balcony, good size beds and bathroom! 

Huyen took us to a restaurant next door which was owned by a Vietnamese/French couple which was ok but pricier and not as nice as the other places we'd eaten. After that, we headed back to the room and got ourselves ready for an early start to do the moped tour of the city for the day with our individual tour guides!

Quote to leave you on for the day (great one from Dr. Seuss) "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

Until next time! Xxx