Ha Long Bay

Tuesday morning, we got up early to meet our transfer that was taking us to Hai Phong pier to go to Ha Long Bay!! Ha Long Bay is a beautiful spot located in Northeastern Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin and is comprised of nearly 2000 small limestone karsts  that come out of the water. Some are large enough to have their own beaches and some are just rocks covered with trees and vegetation. It is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world to visit.

 The transfer picked us up at the hotel and we made the 2.5 hour trip to the pier. Our van had six people altogether and we became friends with our travelling buddies.

Our group consisted of 2 Israeli ladies-Nili and Ya-el, an Australian lady, Alex, and us!
We chatted quite a bit on the long ride and soon were at the pier. Next, we were led to a small boat that was to take us to the Sapphire cruise ship. We pulled up alongside and soon were on the ship having lunch.

Next, we checked into our cabin...

Soon, it was time for some fun excursions. We took the smaller boat out to a quiet spot for kayaking and swimming. The three of us took the kayaks out for some fun. I went with Alex and Iyla and Michael headed off in their own kayak. We had so much fun learning how to paddle the small boat around the gorgeous bay. Breathtaking experience.

After an hour, we were back on the boat ready for another stop. The boat stopped, a ladder was attached to the side, and it was time to go swimming. Iyla and I swam in the warm, green water. The temperature was perfect and there were no waves at all. Everyone all splashed around together. There were friendly people from all over the world- Thailand, France, Israel, Australia, and the US.  Incredible. Iyla even jumped off the front  of the boat with Ya-el!

Next, it was back to the ship for showers and dinner. We were served an array of Vietnamese foods and had fun eating with our friends. After dinner, we went squid fishing! No one caught any but it was still a fun experience. Bedtime soon followed and all of us slept quite well after our amazing day swimming and kayaking.

This morning, we woke up and were served breakfast before taking the small boat to some row boats to visit Bright Cave and Duck Cave. We enjoyed our peaceful ride through the cave.

All was well until it started to drizzle. Then rain. Our row boat driver took us to edge of the cave and attempted a couple of times to get us through to the other side where our boat was parked. Due to the rain and wind, the current picked up and it became nearly impossible to make the boat go against it. Became a little reminiscent of the Gilligan's island theme. And yes, we did sing a few bars. Perfect as the rain was really coming down in the bay which was sunny when we arrived.

After a few interesting minutes of realizing we were stuck on the other side of the cave with the tide due to come in at some point...
Problem-solving time!!

The rowboat driver steered us to the entrance of the cave and hopped out. Next, Alex grabbed the stick end of the fishing pole and used it to push us along the side. Nili and I held the oars until the driver could hop back on the boat.
We were making progress. Next we had another boat throw us a rope that Michael, Iyla, and Nili used to literally pull us out.
Everyone encouraged them to keep pulling. We got a nice rhythm down with the driver rowing in the back. Then, we ran out of rope. Thankfully, we were able to row back to the dock and make it on to the small boat to take us back to board our cruise again.

Next it was time to check-out of our cabin and head to the dining room for a cooking demonstration. We learned to make spring rolls! Iyla, Michael, Nili, and Alex created some good-looking spring rolls.

The ship also provided us an early lunch buffet before returning us to the pier. From there, we boarded a van for the ride back to Hanoi. What an amazing experience!