Halong Bay

We were picked up from our hotel in Hanoi and set off for the four hour drive to Halong Bay with one stop at a ceramic/embroidery workshop. We arrived at the marina and after a short wait we boarded the boat (nearly without our bags) to be greeted by a welcome cocktail. We then had lunch whilst the boat headed out into the bay. The food was great and they have kindly adapted the menu so Kerry doesn’t have to suffer through three days of seafood.
The first stop was a pearl farm where we had a tour round, unfortunately due to poor English we’re still not sure how they culture new pearls. Next we went kayaking as the sun set over the limestone peaks, Kerry particularly enjoyed David’s ability to kayak us around in circles. As we got back on the boat happy hour started (buy two get one free). We enjoyed some cocktails and got to know another English couple (Cat and Reece). There was a chance to go swimming but with the high risk of jellyfish stings we passed, one girl unfortunately took the chance but got stung. Dinner was then served - a seafood BBQ (pork for Kerry).
We later tried our luck at some squid fishing but during our hour long attempt only Cat was successful! We gave up and went to sit on the top deck instead. There was a big party boat nearby, so we spent most the night listening to old English pop remixes as we try to get to sleep (feeling very old).Read more