Complimentary breakfast was supplied by the Ritz Hotel, followed by a 8am pick up for Halong bay!! I’d like to thank David for supplying me the referral for South Pacific Travel. Even with the rain coming down hard, bikers were able to properly prepare and get around without a problem. The ride took three hours to get out to Halong Bay from Hanoi, including the small rest stop at a marketplace. I don’t know if it’s the Commie in me, but I’m utterly attracted to the red and yellow colours! I stumbled across these awesome army-coloured Vietnamese hats that came in all sorts of styles; vietnam flag with “Vietnam” written below, just a single red star, or a star with “Vietnam” written below. I bought all 3, I just had to have them.
I’m going to hold one for you Graham!
Halong Bay aka “Decending Dragon Bay” was more of a rest stop for me, a time to relax and enjoy what Vietnam has to offer in terms of food. The tour did just that, with full courses consisting of 4-5 entrees per meal. What I like most about warmer countries is the variety of fruit with every meal. Instead of ice cream, they finished off with fresh apples or Watermelon! Breakfast came with fruit as well! As we had our first lunch on the junk, I couldn’t help but overhear how rowdy one of the tables was. The noisy table was occupied by a Russian family of 6 (subtle hints gave their nationality away, like the their flag hanging from a stand and the large vodka they somehow managed to smuggle aboard).
Before the sun settled, we did a side trip to see Sung Sot Cave, one of the largest caves in Halong Bay. The immense cave contained large numerous of stalactites and stalagmites which aren’t active anymore. I don’t remember the specific process of how stalactites work anymore, but there wasn’t any water dripping within the cave to form any new or continue building old ones. There wasn’t much else to say about the cave, I’ll let one of the pictures judge the size of it though.
On the boat, the dinner meal only got better. It was a great night to just eat good food and relax in the cabin, where I plugged in my headphones and tried to catch up with the blog posts.
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