Ha Long Bay

By taxi, we went from Ha Long to the pier where all the cruise ships were waiting to get their tours to see the famous limestone of Ha Long Bay started. Our Ha Long Bay cruise experience started with a ride in a small boat to our main cruise ship called La Casta Cruise. After boarding, we enjoyed a seafood lunch on board and spent some time relaxing in our room, which looked very beautiful. The best thing about the room was that there was a hot tub in our bathroom facing the sea. What amazing views having a bath! Besides the view, each room inadvertently also offered the opportunity to buy beers and snacks from little dinghies, which chased after the cruise ships to sell their items by handing them to you in a net attached to a long stick and taking your money back the same way. After relaxing, we again boarded a smaller ship which brought us to one of the many small but beautiful beaches in the bay for some swimming and kayaking. Back on board the main ship, we enjoyed the sunset ambience in the outdoor Jacuzzi. In the evening, we had dinner and tried our luck at squid fishing. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch anything. The next day, we had an early breakfast and we were picked up by a day tour boat for a trip to Cat Ba Island. There, we explored a small village by bicycle and electric car. This included a visit to a place where we got our feet cleaned by little fishies. There were so many fishes and they literally rushed to your feet as soon as you got them in the water to start going to nibbling-town such that we almost couldn’t take it. Back on the day boat again, we went kayaking in a peaceful lagoon and enjoyed a ride in a traditional coconut boat. In the evening, once we were back on the main ship, we watched the sunset and enjoyed a relaxing bath in our room’s hot tub. Right after dinner, we tried our luck again and voila, Marina caught a squid (stealing it from Matthias who was working that spot first!). She could have had it prepared for breakfast the next day but chose to set it free again (Probably for someone on the next tour to get lucky as well). What a special way to end the day. On our last day on the ship, we had another lovely breakfast buffet, followed by some time enjoying the sun in a deck chair on the top deck. Around lunch time, this unique experience was unfortunately over and we headed to the airport in Hanoi. There, we did not only look forward to our next destination but also to having some visitors from back home.Læs mere