Tuesday: Ha Long Bay to Hue

The captain of our boat, Mr. Tam (= eight in Vietnamese) led us in Tai Chi class on the top deck of our boat as dawn was breaking. Then breakfast, after which most of our group took a small shuttle boat to another island with a man-made beach and a viewing spot at the top, a steep 400 steps up. We climbed up for better views, and then returned to our boat for the return trip, during which we watched one of the chefs demonstrate how he made some of the food art presented with our dinner last night: flowers out of cucumbers and a tomato, and a fish net from a huge carrot.
The remainder of the day was mostly transportation, getting to Hue in central Vietnam - several hours of driving and an hour’s flight away. There was a full lunar eclipse visible in Vietnam tonight and those on the left of the airplane witnessed it - alas, I was on the other side and saw nothing.Read more