We splurged a bit and went for one of the nicer tours of Halong Bay. We were picked up at our hotel at 7:30 am and did home schooling on the three and a half hour mini bus ride there. We took a tender out to the larger boat and boarded the Victory around lunch time.
We had great cabins with air conditioning. A real plus, because with the humidity it always feels like it is close to 40 degrees Celsius. We had an amazing lunch with several courses including crab, shrimp, spring rolls, fish, rice and more.
We sailed through all the little islands for the early part of the afternoon, and stopped at a little beach in late afternoon. Nadim climbed to the top of the island for the above picture while the girls and I started swimming. Nadim joined us, but by that time Yasmin had been stung by a jellyfish and wasn't in the mood for swimming anymore. It was not a poisonous one, so it was a little painful for a short while, but was fine after a couple of hours.
The picture above was taken from the beach just before we returned to the boat. We anchored near the beach for the night, and once again had a magnificent feast - stuffed crab, prawns, fried squid balls, rice, vegetables and more. The service was really excellent. It was late by the time we finished dinner and the girls headed straight to bed.
In the morning we woke early and went to the top deck to do a little Tai Chi. Mr. Hoa, our host, was doing the moves and we just quietly followed along. It was very serene.
By 8:00 am we were boarding the tender again to visit the caves. Mr. Hoa had told the girls that there were dragons, dinosaurs and crocodiles in the caves. They weren't sure if they should believe him. He guided us through the caves and, sure enough, there were all sorts of animals! Many of the limestone rocks were shaped like animals, or people.
He told us the legend of Halong Bay.... Long ago Vietnam was being invaded and the Vietnamese people were in trouble. A dragon came down from heaven and lay in the bay. She breathed out so many pearls that it formed all the islands and the enemy ships that were rushing the island crashed into them and the people were saved. But the dragon did not go back to heaven. Then he showed us the ceiling of the cave and sure enough there was a formation like a dragon! He whispered to the girls, who were quite taken with Mr. Hoa and his stories, that the dragon is a very lazy dragon because she is always sleeping there!
After the caves we had a buffet brunch and relaxed on the top deck for the sail back into the harbour. The girls had great fun with their Littlest Petshops, while we enjoyed the scenery. We headed back to Hanoi after lunch. More home schooling on the minibus. I guess we have to think about what's for supper now.
CM
1 comment:
That does look beautiful!
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