Evening on the cruise by Matt

We showered and chilled out in our air con rooms with a view. A couple of enterprising ladies circled the ship in a small motor boat offering beers and snacks, but happy hour was round the corner so we politely ignored them. We headed to the top deck to watch the sunset over beers and cocktails, 3 for 2, whilst Millen joined a spring roll making class with his new friend, Yash.

Utterly relaxed by the serenity of Halong Bay, aided by a few drinks, we admired the view from the top deck as the sun set over the bay. Dinner was a sort of Vietnamese tasting menu, with about 6 courses, including Oysters! The chef then came out of the kitchen carrying a big pan containing shrimps. With great drama he threw in some vodka and set light to the pan, the flames almost touching the ceiling. Then he slammed on the lid, creating clouds of steam that filled the room. Once the culinary performance was over, we each got a shrimp, which was quite nice.

After dinner some of us tried their luck at squid fishing. Eashan managed to get some of the boatmen to teach him Chinese chess, similar to the Western version but with fewer pieces and an even more restricted king. He was more successful than the squid fishermen but I suspected they let him win 😉Read more