The wonders of Halong Bay

On Saturday we set off on a 2-night trip to iconic Halong Bay. After a 3:30am start to the day (jet lag still plaguing us), we got on a bus to Halong Bay. Once at the dock, we boarded our boat, Imperial Legend, for the rest of the day & night. It was a smallish boat, with about 10 cabin bedrooms on 2 floors, a dining room and a sun deck upstairs - quite homely. We ate lunch on the boat and did some cruising around the bay. We were very lucky with the weather - it is normally cloudy or foggy at this time of year but we had 2 days of clear sunny weather and the views were amazing. Halong Bay is one of those places that you see pictures of in books and think it won't be as good as that in real life - but it really was beautiful, a definite trip highlight. Sorry Mam & Pete - I know you're still gutted that you didn't get to see it last year because of the storm and we feel gutted for you now too... Laura went out kayaking for an hour, then we all went swimming off the boat. The water was pretty cold but lovely once you were in, and very special to be swimming with such fantastic scenery all around. We watched the sunset from the deck - also beautiful. Solana couldn't stay awake long enough for dinner but luckily our cabin was close to the dining room, so she stayed in bed & we were both still able to eat. After dinner we had a go at squid fishing - unsuccessful but enjoyable!Read more