Here and there: Seven - Hạ Long Bay, Vietnam

Once we'd decided Vietnam was our next destination we started working on where we would go once there; one particular place was firmly at the top of the list and that place was the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is Hạ Long Bay situated in the Quảng Ninh province.

Its sandstone pillars, 500 million years in the making, are striking to behold and there's other aspects of interest like the fishing villages in which the inhabitants live in floating houses and Song Sot cave complex where one can descend into a cave system full of stalactites and stalagmites which they light up as one walks through. We did some bike riding on one of the islands, sway in the bay and kayaked to some really cool and very secluded spots through caves only accessible when the tide was low enough.

Our cruise was on a Chinese "junk" which sounds shit but was opulent. We secured one of only two cabins up the front so had our own private deck (picture below taken from tat deck) perfect for the evening and early morning, and with only ten or twelve other tourists on board there were something like two crew for every tourist meaning service was spectacular. The food was amazing, I kicked the ass of a Cornishman in a spring roll making competition, we did tai chi early each morning, my girl had massages every day and we generally just enjoyed the total peace and quiet of the bay and the boat.

On the first day we met another couple from Cornwall, UK who we got along really well with and we ate our meals together and pretty much hung around together for the cruise which was nice. We became pretty good friends, and are to this day, and even stayed with them in Cornwall five years later when we went to the UK for the first time. He didn't even hold a grudge that I've beaten his ass in that spring roll making contest although he maintains to this day it was more of a draw than his loss. (I disagree with him of course.)

Unfortunately my photos are rather shite I blame the camera myself but they're good enough for us to look at and fall right back into the memory and feelings of the cruise which we would definitely do once again when we go back to Vietnam.

If you ever get the chance to visit Vietnam I'd suggest you do it because we found the people to be really friendly (mostly) and accommodating and even though their English is pretty bad they don't mind giving it a go and that makes all the difference. It's not overly costly and there's a lot to see and do.

I'll probably do another post down the track as I have some images from Hanoi and surrounds that could prove interesting although they're as equally shite as the ones in this post. For now, if you have any questions or thoughts on this particular post let me know...and if you want to read more about my tai chi experience, go to this post I wrote a while back. You might get a laugh.