Ha Long Bay: small paradise

As I promised, here continue my story about Vietnam trip. If you enjoyed the first stage en Hanoi and the second one in Sa Pa, Halong was an oasis.

From Hanoi to Halong Bay, it takes about 3 and a half hours by car. Our excursion included spending a night on the boat, food tasting and a couple of activities. It's well worth it, it's a wonderful place.

When you get there, you see the type of "cruises" that stroll the bay. In general they are not usually very large. Ours was very cute, wooden, with rooms like a hotel, but few. The first thing they do is assign us our table and offer us a small tasting menu while the ship goes into the bay.

When we want to finish eating and go outside the boat, the shock is enormous. We had gone from pollution and traffic noise to complete silence. You hardly hear the noise of the boat as it moves through the rocky ledges that adorn the waters.

In the afternoon, we do the first excursion. In a smaller boat they take us to a lake formed in a kind of cave formed by the rocks. You can do the ride by boat, in a group, or by kayak on your own. We took the kayak because we had never tried it, it's a lot of fun! The landscape once past the cave is amazing. All green, with the only background noise from the monkeys and animals that live in this small mini forest between the rocks.

Tip: if you have never kayaked before, get ready to work your biceps well.

The excursion ended in a cove where we could bathe for a while on the beach and rest.

Spending the night in the boat

In the evening, after showering and preparing for dinner, we had the opportunity to have a few drinks and chat with other travelers on the ship. It was very interesting to meet people from other countries and other cultures, without a doubt the most enriching. An entire Indian family spent their holidays like us, making a route through the country. Other Argentine girls, who lived in Germany, told us what it was like to adapt to the language there and the lifestyle.

I have to say that dinner was no big deal either. Neither good nor bad, no special dish stood out. What was remarkable: the cocktails that we could have and how good we had.

I thought that sleeping was going to cost me more, because the boat being small, you can see the movement. But no, we slept well. In the morning you could get up early and go to a Taichi class, but the truth is that the cocktails from the night before didn't let me get up. Breakfast was delicious, I love breakfast buffets!

That morning they took us to visit a cave inside one of the rock formations in the area. It was very hard to climb the entire stretch until entering the cave, and then descend inside it. It was definitely worth it, the formations that the water had made inside the rock were spectacular.

Back on the boat, the last experience was a show cooking of Vietnamese rolls. I love! They are my favorite dishes and preparing them was a lot of fun. This meal was worth it compared to the previous ones. Everything taste better if you do it yourself, didn't it?

After checkout, we return to the port and get on the bus that takes us to our next destination.

Do you want to know what it's? I will tell you in the next Story. Thanks for reading me!