March 5

We were up early for the bus pickup at 7:00. We left our luggage at the hotel for storage and took only a small bag. The bus was a smaller one and it took 4 hrs to get to Halong Bay. One of the ladies on the bus was quite sick. We had to make several stops on the side of the road for her. She spent a good deal of the time lying on the floor between the seats. The roads in Vietnam are quite rough so we know she was glad to get to the harbour. Everyone on the bus was sympathetic and helpful. Our guides name was Tom and he provided us with information as we travelled. He came on the ship with us also, which was good because the crew had little English.  The ship was small, which we wanted. We only had 14 guests. There were 3 levels, lower had cabins with windows no balcony; middle had cabins with balconies and the bar and dining area; the top level was a covered section with a bar and an open area with loungers. Once we were on board we were directed to our cabins to check a list given to us.  Our cabin was deluxe with a balcony with chairs.  The guests ... Lars and Britt from Denmark on vacation Stephanie 27 from San Francisco, backpacking Marine and Marius a young couple from Monaco and Nice, she owns a 100% French ingredients only cosmetic store and he had just completed his degree in environmental studies and was passionate about saving the environment. They were a great and we had a good time with them.  Ellis and Dawn from Michigan, strong Trump supporters, his 3rd marriage. He was difficult to talk to about anything.  Fabien and his wife from Germany...2 teachers on sabbatical travelling for 5 months,  a single 34 year old from the Philippines who lives in Du Bai,  a young Dr and his new wife from India. He owns and runs a hospital. They live in a "small" town in central India. The town was 12 sq. kms. and population was 4 million. 😊 They were on their honeymoon, had an arranged marriage and wed 3 days after they met.  First we had lunch... it was amazing....the best soup I have ever had. The courses kept coming and coming. We couldn't eat all of it by a long way. Even though it was a very grey day the scenery was spectacular. I kept thinking how unbelievable it would have been with sunshine.  Next was kayaking. We took the tender that was attached to our boat to pick up the kayaks. It was a cloudy day but still around 20 degrees. It was a lot of fun with laughter from those who had never kayaked before.  Back to the boat to dry off then back on the tender to head to the beach. Not the best weather for swimming so the other option was a hill climb above the beach. It was over 400 steps !!!!  But the view from the top was fantastic. Our legs and glutes were sore.

Back to the boat for a shower and 32 minutes rest time...Tom was very exact ..lol There was a rice wine "party" on the top deck for happy hour. We were served a "splash" of wine. So most guests ordered a cocktail after. We had an 18th anniversary drink ❤️ Dinner was at 7:30 and once again it was amazing.... 9 courses plus fruit for desert.  Most people went back up to the top deck to relax.   

The last event of the day was squid fishing. They turn on a bright light at the edge of the boat and that attracts the squid. The rod is a bamboo pole with a 4 needled heads for a hook. You move the hook up and down in the water and when you see a squid you try to snag it. We were surprised how fast the squid travelled in the water.  Many guests tried, some for a long time but only 3 were caught. Ron got one. Once again ... lots of laughter.