Jess said Yes

After taking a minibus from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay this morning, we hiked up to a viewpoint on Poem Mountain this afternoon. The viewpoint was officially closed by the government a few years ago but after reading some travel blogs, Dan discovered you could still secretly access this through a locals home. To access the viewpoint, we had to find a small but open blue door residing between two small commercial buildings. Just inside the door was a dog on a short lead. Walking past the dog and up a small set of stairs we were greeted by lots more barking dogs. Dan had read if it looks like you’re in the wrong place, you’re in the right place, as we were literally walking through someone's property. Now alerted by the rather loud and intimidating dogs, we met a lady demanding money to allow access through her house and into her garden leading to the closed path. We eventually negotiated a fee of 300,000 VND and she let us through, pointing to a ladder at the end of her garden. In a bit of a rush due to the aggressive barking dogs, we climbed the ladder, scrambled up rocks and pushed through dense vegetation before finally getting onto the clearly overgrown path. 20-25 minutes later and we arrived at the top to see the most amazing views over Ha Long Bay. The weather was glorious with sunshine and clear blues skies as we looked over Ha Long city and the many rocky islets emerging from the sea.

Jess: 'And then the unexpected moment came….Dan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, and of course I said yes! It was the most perfect, beautiful location, made nicer by the fact that we had the whole area to ourselves to enjoy our special moment.'

Dan: 'There I got down on one knee and asked if Jess would marry me, to which Jess said yes! Despite the dramatic start to the viewpoint, we had the most perfect spot to ourselves all afternoon so we could really enjoy our moment together.'

Tomorrow, we're heading on a 5-star luxury cruise for 3 days around Ha Long Bay. This will be an amazing way to celebrate our engagement and we really cannot wait for the next few days.Read more