The boat.
Dutch people together.
Crowded boat trip.
The cave.
drukte met boten.
Sunset.
We slept reasonably well, but less well than yesterday, in
Le Clos de Fil in Ninh Binh.
Today we will visit Halong Bay
where we will spend the night on a boat.
We have to leave on time, and that means getting up at six, packing, showering, having breakfast and leaving at eight.
Just like yesterday, breakfast is well taken care of, fortunately it is less busy.
Everything is going well, we leave on time.
It's more than 4 hours drive, mainly on good highways.
Near Halong, the city, we are
briefly guided through a pearl farm, that is to say the shop that belongs to it.
Pia buys some creams that are made with mother of pearl.
The boats to Halong Bay leave from an island, which we reach via a bridge.
It is busy, a little later it turns out that all boats leave at almost the same time and
return the next day.
It is cold and windy.
We are the last to arrive, we have to board a small boat with which we are taken together
with the other participants and the luggage to the cruise ship, a fifteen year old wooden
boat.
After arrival, the participants have to go to the third deck, where the food is also served,
the luggage is unloaded by the crew.
The reception is neat and friendly, the program is explained and it is emphasized that this
is a group event and that being late means a delay for the entire group.
Also that food is on time, being late means that the food is cold or maybe even finished.
And they tell us when something, especially drinks, is free and when not.
The cabin we get is simple, a double bed and a single bed, but also a very large bathroom
with a bath.
There is also an inverter air conditioner so we get the cabin to a reasonable temperature.
Today there is a lunch buffet on the program, everyone gets a fixed place on the deck where
they food is served, nationalities together, we are the only Dutch.
The lunch is good and abundant, just like all the following meals will be.
Then follows a boat trip through a cave, a tour of the lagoon behind it and then back
through the cave, which is perhaps only 10 meters long.
It is busy here, extremely busy.
Finally we visit an island with a nice beach and the possibility to climb a mountain via a
constructed staircase.
Here too it is extremely busy, Tom has trouble breathing and only climbs a short distance,
Pia continues but returns quickly because of the crowd, waiting after every step.
Back on the boat it is time for happy hour, two drinks for the price of one, from five to
seven.
During happy hour we see a beautiful sunset, the first sunset we see since we have been in
Vietnam.
There is also a cooking class, where the men have to make spring rolls.
After an explanation and a demonstration, 8 men are appointed, Tom is one of them, who have
to participate in a spring roll making competition.
Tom comes second.
We have been drinking heavily, tomorrow when we pay the bill we will see the damage.
We are going to sleep.
Written on: 2025-02-23
Disclaimer
We tell what we have done and experienced during a trip and we also tell what we think about it; no more and no less.
This is not a travel guide, nor is it advice to visit a place or not.
There are other sites for that.
Our opinion about places where we have eaten, drunk or slept is not intended as a (positive or negative) assessment,
there are other sites for that.
It is our view of the situation at a certain moment and that view is influenced by our mood,
the weather and many other factors.