I'm only slightly getting ahead of myself. When we started walking in the pre-dawn streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter we had essentially no idea where we were or where we were going. With only 1 hotel in mind we set off... magically we found our way! But it was closed. So was everything else. Fortunately, in the same alley as our hotel, a small noodle bar was setting its first bowls for the day and we snagged a few seats. Hot noodles have never been so good for two guys wearing shorts on a cold, dark morning. It hit the spot and gave us a spot to wait out the sunrise and the opening of the hotels.We checked in, spent most of the day napping and buying food. We were leaving the next morning for Halong Bay and that was about all we could think about.
Fast forward to Monday and we were off! The pick up and ride out were uneventful except that Leighton correctly answered a trivia question (What is the favorite hobby of Vietnamese people? Riding their motorbikes and honking, he answered correctly). He won a map of Vietnam, a beer, and a toy. We got the port and onto a small ferry boat that took us to our ship: the Elizabeth Sails.
She was a medium to large ship for the harbor with 2 main decks and a top-deck open to the elements with loungers and tables. We checked into our room and were very happy to find the promised "luxury, very VIP for you" was not a lie. The beds were just singles, but the sheets felt like God himself made them soft. I guess the guest house accommodations have made us appreciative of the little things in life, like a clean shower.
We had lunch and then cruised to a cave, the "Surprising Cave." See picture below for the spoiler. Lunch was yummy and took a long time to eat. For 6 people at a table they brought out plate after plate of various dishes including fried chicken, french fries, clams, rice, and more.
The cave from the outside.
The cave was REALLY big.
The "surprise" turned out to be a rock that looked (vaguely) like a penis pointing at a hole in the ceiling. Gross.
It was an epically large cave. The bay has its beauty. Then we kayaked around a bit before getting back onto the "small boat" which took us to the Elizabeth Sails.
Then we got back on board and had some hot showers before setting off for our sleeping area, the "VIP area, for luxury." It was the spot where about 6 boats park versus 100. Thankful for that!
We met some other people including a wonderful lady doctor from South Africa who travels with her MD. Smart lady and very fun! We really liked her! We also met a couple from Quebec who spoke excellent English. I ended up playing cards with him and Ms. Doctor for a while, then our tour guide, Tony, sat with us and taught us a Vietnamese game. It was a little confusing, but fun.
Then dinner and drinks and karaoke. No more details. Or pictures. Sorry. Okay, okay. Dinner was yummy. Crab cakes, squid stirfry, beef with bean sprouts, rice, soup, and more! We were happy to stuff our faces.
Next morning after breakfast Leighton and I hitched a ride to Cat Ba island (everyone else only chose to take a 2 day journey, we did 3) and met up with a new group of people. We bussed to the national park and then, instead of going inside, rode bikes around the perimeter and then back. It was okay, somewhat scenic...
Then the other people got checked into their hotels (we were sleeping on the boat again) and then lunched before heading for Monkey Island. Lunch was pretty good. We had our own table, so we didn't have to share. It was different from what was on the boat but much of a muchness.
Yay for monkeys on the beach! One tried to steal Leighton's water bottle while he wasn't looking. Jerks!We kayaked here as well before heading back to Cat Ba where we waited in a hotel lobby for an hour before getting driven back to the port and our boat, now waiting in the same spot as the night before.
We had just enough time to shower before dinner (exactly the same menu as night 1), where we met another group of people. This one included some Germans, a couple of Austrians, and a bunch of others we never actually talked to. After dinner we passed out... at 9.
The next morning we woke up, ate the same breakfast again (fried eggs, toast, SPAM, and fruit), and headed back to port. We had a quick lunch at a hotel there before bussing back to Hanoi.
When we arrived were wrecked but still had to deal with a hotel room. We hadn't wanted to pay the place we stayed the first time to hold our room because, well, that's shady. So she didn't have a room for us. She tried to scheme and scam but eventually we just left and found another place where we've been staying and been very happy.
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