It has been a while since we were in Ha Long Bay, but I have a few more posts to update. I want to make sure I document all of our experiences before I forget the details. Thanks for following along.

June 27 - 29, 2015

The bus to Ha Long Bay picked us up at our Hanoi hotel at 8:00 a.m. We took only what we needed, leaving the remaining luggage to be 'stored' (left out for all to see) at the hotel.

We met a few new people as we traveled about 4 hours on the bus. By 1:00 we were on our boat and cruising. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We were briefed by our guide and served a massive lunch.

Our rooms were hot and we were told that the AC would not go on until after 6 pm. Yikes. The beds were unbelievably hard. I have never experienced anything like it. You quite literally could put bedding on a concrete floor and it would be no different. I am not sure how these passed as beds.

It was immediately obvious why so many people come to Ha Long Bay (it was definitely NOT for the relaxing beds on the boats). There were hundreds of picturesque mini limestone islands scattered throughout the bay (actually there are almost 2,000 in the whole area). I couldn't stop taking pictures. I had to eventually limit what I post for fear they start to look the same, but trust me each one was beautifully unique.

After a bit of cruising through the islands, our boat stopped so we could visit a cave. We had to transfer to a smaller boat to get closer to that feature. I think they called this Surprising Cave. The idea being that there are surprising views when you enter. We took a short tour with a few hundred other folks doing the same thing on different junk tours.

Entrance area to the cave — Entrance area to the cave

Upon our return to our boat, we all went on a kayaking expedition. The Collins crew had a bit of trouble keeping up with the group. It was pretty hot and difficult to stay out of the sun. Despite a few difficulties, it was a lovely experience.

We got back to our boat, showered and got ready for dinner. Another hefty meal followed by a treat for Liam. The staff had surprised him with a special birthday cake and loud birthday song. The other guests were more than happy to have some cake with their fruit for dessert. I think Liam enjoyed the attention. It was certainly a memorable birthday for an 11 year old boy.

After a night of limited sleep I began to wonder why we booked two nights on the boat. The sheets were meant for a twin bed turned sideways...it barely covered our feet. Also, we had to get up and transfer into another dayboat by 7:15 a.m. This was the type of thing I was trying to avoid, but at least we didn't have to pack up all our stuff. The original big boat would be taking the rest of the passengers back as they were on the one night tour. None of this was explained to us in advance.

We had our breakfast on the dayboat. We made a stop along the way to pick up towels for swimming. This delivery was made on the water with a family that conducted their business from a small boat. Their business seemed to be to provide towels and kayaks to larger boats. It seemed like a tough existance. I noticed that the exchange included the remainder of our breakfast....toast and yogurt. I was happy that it did not go to waste.

We stopped at another boat to pick up another family and one other older Italian man. It seemed they would be spending the day with us...again not a lot of information was shared with us.

The nice thing about this particular boat and cruise itinerary was that it took a less popular route around the bay. We did not see many other boats and that is what I wanted. Another feature was day two on the boat was more relaxed. The second day offered swimming and kayaking opportunities with one guided visit to a pearl farm in the afternoon.

The Italian man that entered our boat was in his early 60's. Apparently he was anxious to get some sun, because he quickly dropped his shorts and revealed his skimpy Speedo-type swimsuit. As if that wasn't enough, he rolled up the bottoms exposing his entire bum. Seriously? There were four children on board and this guy is tanning his cheeks. I wish the exposure ended there. After our lovely swim in a secluded area, we all got back on the boat. The Italian man sat with the other family. He had his towel wrapped around him as he ate. When we finished lunch, we went back to the upper deck where we saw swim trunks drying in the sun. Hmmmm. Yep, Mr. Italian decided to dry his suit while he ate with us wearing only his towel. That would be fine, but he wanted to go swimming again after lunch. Why change in the bathroom below when you can just put your suit on from under your towel? Ah, if only it were that simple. Needless to say, we all got a shot of the 'boys' as he bent over then shimmied his suit on. My children will never be the same.

Scarred for life, we managed to continue to swim. It was that or stay on board with the Italian Stallion and inhale his cigarette smoke (he tossed the butts into the bay....arghh). He was a real gem. Since it was high tide, there was no real beach. The captain showed us about a 10 meter strip of land resembling sand and said we could go there. I swam to join the kids who were floating in life preservers. I tried to stand as I got near the land. Bad idea. The rocks were incredibly sharp on one side and I sliced the bottom of my foot. So now I'm bleeding in salt water...so that feels great...and I have to swim back and get on the boat. Maeve and Liam tried to help. They were sweet. It took a while, but eventually we made it only to discover that the boat did not have a first aid kit. Fortunately, we brought one with us. I was done swimming.

Later we went to visit a pearl farm. The Italian guy joined the tour in his Speedos. Sigh. He was completely obnoxious. Despite that, the tour was enlightening and educational. We were able to see how the pearls were cultured. We watched as a skilled technician placed a tiny piece of membrane from a donor oyster and combined it with a bead created from the shell. This becomes the nucleus around which the oyster secretes layer upon layer of nacre-the substance that forms the pearl. Then they implant it into the oyster's ovary. The oyster can only be opened a couple of centimeters during the process or it will reject the nucleus. Very cool.

More of the pearl farm....sectioned off into specific areas which tell the age of the oysters

After the pearl farm tour, we returned to the boat, dropped off the family and the Italian man on another boat and headed back to our bigger junk boat. We met our new guide and got ready for another massive meal.

In the morning we had one more stop to a small fishing village. The village has a unique location that provides protection from bad weather. The villagers live on floating houses and make their modest living from fishing and providing small tours. We got into these small boats in groups of four or five and were paddled around the area.

I definitely recommend a tour of Ha Long Bay! Just make sure to do your research to find the tour and the boat that meets your needs. Hopefully the weather and the other guests will be pleasant too, but you never know.