Halong Bay

Just got back to Hanoi from our boat tour in the Halong Bay. It was a vision of breathtaking beauty, consisting of thousands of islands rising from the emerald waters. The pictures (some of which are included below) do not do a justice. It was a drastic change in climate and culture from our stay in Sapa. Instead of cold and rainy weather, we were delighted with clear skies and warm winds.

After our tour from hell in Nha Trang, we are very skeptical of all tours and expecting the worse. Granted the bar was set very low, we were pleasantly surprised by this one. The bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay took about 3.5 hours and once we arrived, we were greeted by a crew of five that catered to our meager tour group of six.

We immediately set sail towards the islands and soon arrived at the "Surprise Cave." Appropriately named because it is a series of three caves with each one growing exponentially in size. SURPRISE!!

The sundeck of our boat

A few islands

Lo, taking in the view with her awesome sunglasses

Next, we hiked to the top of another island for some breataking views. Check out my glamour shot:

Finally, we kayaked into a cove that had sparsely bonsai-forested slopes ringing with birdsong. We paddled back to the boat very hungry and expecting to be left unsatisfied with whatever to the crew managed to cook up in the kitchen. It turned out to be quite the feast: seven courses, one of which included the largest shrimp I've seen in my life. The gluttony continued into the night as the crew invited me to sample some of the food they prepared for themselves (couldn't figure out what it was but still was delicious) and special rice wine that had been fermenting for 15 years underground. The night ended with squid fishing and green tea, a perfect nightcap.

Tomorrow we head to Bali. We plan to take in the sun on the beach, sharpen our skills on the surfboard and maybe even play some gamelan, if I can remember back to my Indonesian studies gut class that I took senior year....