Ha Long Bay

I'm writing this post from our little cruise balcony, enjoying some instant coffee. Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba are two major regions of limestone cliffs jutting up from the sea. It feels remote out here though it's definitely found its place catering to tourists. Many ships floating about, with varying itineraries.

We chose the "Stellar of the Seas" which is quite stellar but we can't help but wonder if we should have chosen their other boat offering "Elite of the Seas"... Sounds like we missed out!

Boat names aside, our cruise has been lovely. The water is super still so no sea sickness 👍 and it's quite small, only 20 or so cabins, making it feel cozy and personal.

We spent our first afternoon kayaking through the Dark & Light Cave which was beautiful. It was great being up close to the bluffs. The water is very different here than the Maldives - extremely salty, very clear but it looks murky - if you put your hand in you can see it clearly a ways down but the rock/silt must make the bottom of the water muddy (as opposed to the sandy floor of the Maldives).

On board we enjoyed a little bath in our room, pretty fun watching the cliffs go past while enjoying a bubble bath!

We partook in every food offering they provided, all included and you know we can't say no to snacks. Lunch included a cheesy/baked lobster and salmon. Dinner was a BBQ with all sorts of meats - steak, prawns, squid, fish, pork, on and on!

Our night concluded with some not so successful squid fishing, but we did try! Apparently squid season is May to August, so not an ideal time to catch anything but we did see the main fisherman catch one off the back so that feels close enough! Regardless of our lack of squid we had a great time talking with the crew and making a few friends of our fellow passengers, many from the US.

This morning we are enjoying the views from the deck and are about to set sail for the main docking area then back to Hanoi 👋Read more