Halong Bay

We are back in the world of Internet! Wow!  We left Hanoi on Monday morning, headed for Halong Bay.  It was a lovely drive through the countryside where we saw lots of crops, mostly rice.  It was very interesting to see the farmers out in the field, with their conical hats, doing all of the work manually.
After four hours we arrived at Halong Bay at a beautiful resort.  We were treated to drinks and snacks before being taken to our boat.  When we got to the boat we were pleasantly surprised with the news that our group had the boat to ourselves!! Fantastic!!
We quickly got settled into our cabins and then went up to the dining room for our cruise briefing, followed by an unbelievable lunch.  The food and the presentation were amazing and the service was impeccable!  The boat left the harbour as we ate our lunch.  There were dozens of boats leaving the harbour at the same time but they eventually dispersed so that we weren't all clumped together.  The sky was a bit cloudy but the clouds burned off as the afternoon wore on.
Halong Bay is a Unesco recognized area that is famous for its beautiful and unusual limestone formations.  The scenery is breathtaking and the water is almost always calm.  It is a very peaceful and serene setting.
Our first activity was a visit to the Cua Van Floating Village.  Our tender boat took us to the village where we boarded small boats that were powered by one person rowing.  We were rowed through the floating village, which consisted of small huts linked together.  We even saw a schoolroom.  Apparently teachers from other parts of the country volunteer to teach in these schools.
Upon returning to the boat we had time to relax and watch the scenery.  Happy hour was up on the top deck so the mood got quite festive.  We were treated to a cooking lesson as we enjoyed our cocktails.
For dinner we all dressed as kings and queens (costumes were provided on the boat).  Everyone got in the spirit and we all had a blast!  Once again the dinner was amazing and we ate until we were stuffed, again!!!
After dinner a few people tried fishing for squid but they didn't have any luck!!  After that, everyone was ready to call it a day!!
This morning we had the opportunity to do Tai Chi on the sundeck at 6:15.  Some people made it, I chose to grab a little extra sleep. At 7:30 we stopped to visit a large cave, it was amazing!  We had to walk up over 150 stairs to get there but it was worth it.  We had a young lady to guide us through and talk about the various formations.  Very interesting.
When we returned to the ship our breakfast was waiting for us.  All too soon it was time to pack up and leave the boat.  It was an unforgettable experience and definitely a highlight.  The time was far too short!!

We travelled back to Hanoi and along the way we stopped at a pearl farm and we saw a demonstration of how cultured pearls are made. It was quite fascinating and a few people walked away with some gorgeous baubles!!   We arrived at the airport at 3 pm nand said goodbye to our guide, Chung and got checked in.  At 6 pm we left for Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We arrived in Siem Reap at 7:45 and had to go through the process of getting our Cambodia visas.  Luckily, it all went smoothly and soon we were out of the airport and meeting our new guide, Bunrith.  We headed to our hotel where a lovely dinner was waiting for us, followed by our soft beds!!