Day 3 Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

Another day of adventure in Vietnam. We left Hanoi by mini bus at 8 30 heading for Ha Long Bay. The three hour drive (punctuated by the usual auto grill stop) was very interesting with a mix of slum dwellings, market gardens, rice fields, shrines and burial grounds and more luxurious homes. The amount of rubbish however in this country is incredible and there are many uninhabited and derilect buildings everywhere. We arrived at a marina to board a tender boat which took us out to our cruise boat which is truly luxurious. We were greeted by all the crew bowing to us and a some singing and flute playing. We sailed further on to where the boat parked up while enjoying an amazing buffet lunch before being taken to the area where we went kyaking. There were hundreds of boats there from the numerous cruise ships parked in the bay. It was a beautiful spot complete with caves to row under. A glorious way to spend a couple of hours. Back at the boat we relaxed before a drink in the bar and a beautiful 7 course Vietnamese dinner accompanied by a traditional musician on a variety of instruments. The night ended with poor attempts at squid fishing from the back of the boat. The area is simply beautiful, but the water pollution is dreadful with all sorts of rubbish present floating on the top of the green water. We have never seen pollution like it.Read more