We arrived at Hanoi at four in the morning feeling a little bedraggled (inside joke). We all scrambled to find our tickets to exit the train station and boarded the mini-bus which would take us to Ha Long Bay. The journey took four hours and when we arrived at the hotel we were devastated to find out we wouldn’t be able to check in right away! We would have to wait a couple of hours! Breakfast, the net and the football helped us pass the time. Our cruise around Ha Long Bay left at eleven thirty so we wouldn’t have to long to relax beforehand.Ha Long Bay is split in two by a wide channel running north-south: the larger, western portion contains the most dramatic scenery and best caves, while to the east lie’s an attractive area of smaller islands, known as Bai Tu Long. Nearly 2000 bizarrely shaped limestone outcrops jut out of the emerald Bay, its hidden caves and needle-sharp ridges providing the inspiration for dozens of local legends and poems.
The only way to explore it is by boat. Thankfully we had the whole boat to ourselves. The boat had a restaurant and bar on the bottom deck and a sun lounging area on the top deck. It was amazing sight after amazing sight as we made our way to our first stop, the caves. Along the way the crew on boarded pleaded with us to buy a bottle of wine for fifteen dollars, the same bottle we had bought the previous night for two! We were having none of it!
When we reached the caves it was an awesome sight, we proceeded inside and we amazed at the amount of different colour lights inside. It looked very artificial but was still cool to see.
When we got back on the boat we set sail for the beach. Along the way we were treated to a buffet of seafood, meat and vegetarian food. It was a great meal and was hilarious when the waitress said something was rice when it clearly tastes of pork!The beach we arrived at looked incredible. The ocean was infested with the beautiful shaped limestone rocks and locals played beach volleyball and soccer.
It cost 10,000dong to get for the tourists which is only 40cent. We jumped straight in to the water and admired the scenery around us. We were told about a ten minute climb to the top of the mountain which featured over 200 steps and we raced to the top. The views from the top were like no other and many a photo was taken! Back on the beach we played beach soccer and volleyball with the locals, most of which seemed very drunk! On the way back to the hotel we managed to catch a great sunset on the way home which summed up a brilliant day.That night we watched United beat Bolton 2-1 and played an hilarious drinking game which turned cards into a horse race!
Good times!Mike
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