Rock Hard on Ha Long Bay

We have now left the big city behind for the quiet beauty of Ha Long Bay. Around two thousand bizarrely shaped limestone islands steeply jut out of the emerald waters creating one of the most dramatic sceneries we've come across. In a way it reminded me of Milford Sound, but the number of boats on the water and the sheer scale of the bay was astounding.

We had booked a 2 day liveaboard cruise around the islands through our backpackers hostel and we were not disappointed as we boarded our boat. We had our own en-suite double cabin, the top deck was decorated as a chill out area with comfy seats and sun-loungers and we sat down to an excellent lunch of traditional Vietnamese food.

It took the boys no time at all to get into their swimmers and start jumping into the water from the top deck (about 5m high). I was being the all-important videographer when Mark, who had already jumped off the top twice, dared me to join in. Why do I feel compelled to do these things when I clearly find them distressing. After a long time clawing the rail on the top deck I did jump in. No major damage report other than water in my ears, which meant I was hard of hearing for the rest of that night.

All 30 of us then got into our kayaks and went off for a paddle along the beautiful channels. It was somewhat spoilt by the amount of rubbish on the surface. Plastic bags and polystyrene cups were floating about along with the natural driftwood and it seemed so much less inviting than where we had anchored earlier. We made our way to a natural cave in one of the larger rocks and went off to listen to our guide who explained about the legends of these historic islands. The name Ha Long actually means descending dragon!

As we had booked our tour through the backpackers hostel, the average age was relatively young and the boat was certainly catering to the younger crowd. We joined in the fun, played many card games and enjoyed a few 333s. We met some lovely people and Mark was in his element chatting to a Luftansa pilot and kept him busy till small hours of the morning grilling him about flying.