Ha Long Bay

Early start today for our trip out to Ha Long Bay! Although we were listed for a 9am pickup time, the bus arrived at about 8:40 and we were the first ones on board - lucky we were ready to go! Drove around Hanoi picking up other passengers before following the new freeway out to Hai Phong.

Straight onto our boat which looked a little old from the outside but was nice and modern on the inside. Our suite was a good size, with a king bed, balcony and even a small jacuzzi. It's not a huge boat either - only 21 cabins and I'd say about 2/3rds were occupied. Had lunch of Vietnamese food (excellent quality) and then spent a bit of time relaxing as we cruised around the islands.

Mid afternoon we stopped and headed over to a small fishing village where we did about an hour of kayaking and then some swimming too. Amusingly, I didn't bring any swimmers as I'd forgotten I would need them! Thankfully both pairs of shorts are polyester type fabric and pretty easy drying, so I could wear those with no issues.

Back to the boat where we chilled out and had a few drinks at happy hour, then another set menu dinner of really well done Vietnamese food. The evening sort of petered out as they set up the karaoke machine and others retreated to the top deck. I tried my hand at squid fishing for a little while but alas no squid were forthcoming.

At least the landscapes here are incredible - limestone karsts jutting directly out of the water, covered in jungle. Very dramatic. The weather wasn't great for filming early on as it was quite hazy, though it got clearer as the afternoon wore on.Read more