Ha Long Bay (Bay of Descending Dragons)

Today was one of the best days I have ever had. We had an early start to the day and a four hour drive from Hanoi to Hal Long. When we arrived in Ha Long Bay we were brought to our boat and showed our amazing cabins. For lunch we had a traditional Vietnamese lunch of sea bass, squid and clams which believe it or not I ate all of and enjoyed.

We spent the day on kayaks and row boats exploring caves and lagoons and saw two Ha Long monkeys which apparently only happens once a month or so. We then went to Ti Top Island, named after the Soviet leader who supported the Ho Chi Minh side during the American war. We hiked up some painfully steep steps for what felt like hours but apparently only took 20 minutes and we got a view of the whole of Ha Long. Afterwards we went swimming in the water which is 23 degrees, so felt like more of a bath. Then came dinner which was a massive meal with nine courses of sharing dishes. This time it included crab , shrimps ,catfish and tofu, definitely a long way from the soup and chicken I used to order in all restaurants.

After dinner the captain was squid fishing and let me and Eva have a turn. I had one on my rod and just out of the water when it let go, much to everyone's amusement; the captain caught two. We also saw a really big jellyfish that glowed in the dark Tomorrow we are getting up at 5.20 to see the sunrise so hopefully I'll have some good pictures.Read more