We took a mini bus about 4 hours out of Hanoi to catch a boat. The weather was overcast and rainy – as it has been most of the time in Hanoi. We travelled for about 4 hours – hoping to see one of the natural wonders of the world in all it’s splendour and glory!!
We transferred to a boat after we took a short row in a bamboo boat with some locals who fought over our business. On board we ate a nice seafood lunch. We cruised through Bai Tu Long Bay and all the mist and rain. Kayaking was not an option!! We shared the boat with a French couple our guide and her Dutch boyfriend. We went to an island where we cycled to our homestay. It was very rustic! We helped make spring rolls – we are nearly experts now… The island only has electricity between 6-10pm daily so there was some pressure to get organised for our 7am start the following day. We boarded the boat again and cruised back to shore in the mist, rain and wind. Thankfully it was smooth!! Georgia didn’t have a lot of faith in the crew… We transferred to shore and into the minivan and another 2 hour ride to Halong Bay. We boarded the ‘junk’ that we were going to spend the night on. We were joined by 2 older French couples and their guide. We went out to Halong Bay and once again the weather wasn’t kind to us. It would be a beautiful place if the sun was shining and the sky was blue. However we are continually disgusted by the HUGE amount of rubbish around this country. It is just dumped anywhere and the sea is no exception!! It is such a shame and something needs to be done about it. We went for a ride on a bamboo boat around a floating fishing village – and were even provided with life jackets. This was the first serious piece of safety we had seen. (OSH would love this place!!) We anchored for the night in a ‘quiet spot’ in the Bay. We counted 28 other vessels, and apparently the most popular site has at least 100 every night. The lights were really pretty on the boats, and it was quite a peaceful evening. The next morning we went kayaking – even though it was a bit cold. We spent nearly two hours cruising around the rocks and went through a cave. On the other side was a cliff covered in monkeys. So we sat and watched them for quite a while. Brothers and sisters fighting … Reminded us of something!! We then went back to the boat and back to shore. It was then onto the next leg of our tour ……………
Has anyone had the runs yet?? Am I likely to lose any weight over 2 weeks??
Been there done that (x3), Can’t say that we have lost much weight though.