Cruising in Halong Bay

Alan and I both rank this experience as one of our favorites of the whole trip. Our cruise was a 24-hour overnight stay on a Chinese junk boat, amidst the breath-taking limestone karsts (some 3000 of them) rising out of the bay. We were told two of the creation myths for this area-- one involves the sea god and mountain god fighting over a woman, and the other involves a dragon.

On Sunday morning, we were picked up in Hanoi by the cruise shuttle. Several hours later we had reached the coast, and were taken by shuttle boat out to our ship.

We were welcomed on board with glasses of passion fruit juice, and lunch was served shortly after. I had no idea that our meals would be so incredibly lavish, so it was a surprise to see a parade of 6-7 dishes each meal, including pumpkin soup, grilled mango salad, grilled oysters, chicken curry, grilled bass with mashed potatoes and ratatouille, and fresh fruit for dessert.

In the afternoon, we were taken to the "Surprise" or "Amazing" caves. We were shown around the 3 chambers of the cave, and told about various formations and their names.

Our second activity of the afternoon was visiting Soi Sim beach. The temperature was in the 60s, so instead of taking a dip (with the jellyfish), we climbed the 400 stairs to check the view from the top. Unfortunately, we did not see the monkey.

Once we were back on the ship, we took in a demonstration on the ingredients and assembly of the traditional deep friend Vietnamese spring roll. Alan so impressed our host (in the middle), that he was  challenged to a rolling competition. Alan wants to thank all the burritos he has eaten, which have prepared him for this moment.

I know what you've been thinking. What happened to the beer pictures?? Sadly, beer in Asia all tastes pretty much the same. So while we've been tasting the local beers, like Halong Beer below, we don't feel the need to document their existence.

We anchored for the night amidst many other ships, as this is a popular tourist activity. It was so quiet and serene, a welcome change from the cities and towns.

In the morning, we visited Leon Cave, an entry into a bay contained by a karst. We were very near to golden monkeys swinging, climbing, jumping and playing together.

After a final decadent meal (including chicken soup, vegetable salad, pock ribs with rice and squid, and cantalope) we were back on the shuttle on the way to Hanoi.