Halong Bay

We drove three hours from Hanoi to Halong Bay and caught our boat for the overnight cruise. This area, they say, is considered one of the modern day seven wonders of the world. Although it is one of the busiest tourist attractions of Vietnam it was still incredibly mystical and untouched. The boat operators do a great job. Our boat only had about 40 people and everything was spacious. The people we met on the boat were from Scotland, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, England, Germany, France and unbelievably no other Americans. We shared a bottle of wine with Rudy from Switzerland and exchanged addresses with a newlywed couple from Australia - who knows maybe we'll see each other again. The weather was overcast but not too cold. It was kind of misty that added to the ethereal nature of surroundings. We have gotten over the temperature change of the heat in Cambodia to the 50's of Hanoi and Halong. The bay is made up of about 1,000 islands half with names and half unnamed. Only a couple were inhabited. There was a fishing village that we went to as well as some caves. http://www.halongbay-vietnam.com/images/banner/map1.jpg We spent about 20 minutes walking through some caves. About 100 children live in this floating fishing village. They all attend school here until middle school then they go to the mainland. We all got rowed around the fishing village by sanpans. We headed back to shore the next morning.

Location:Halong Bay