Day 160 – Ha Long Bay Cruise

 After breakfast we checked out of our Hanoi hotel so we could be on the bus by 8 a.m. We were on our way to Ha Long Bay.  It is about a four-hour trip, so they wanted to make sure we had an early start. 

 

Rice patties that we passed along the way.

This is a graveyard.  During the Spring Festival, they honor their ancestors and visit the graves to make promises to those that have died.

We stopped for a break at a pearl shop.  They do it for the tourist.  Here the girl is demonstrating how to plant a seed in the oyster to create a pearl.

These are oyster beds in the bay.

When we arrived at Ha Long Bay, we got on a boat that had been chartered for just our group.  After we left the dock, we were served a wonderful lunch with all different kinds of seafood.  I had calamari for the first time and I rather like it. There were also shrimp, a crab cake served on a crab shell, and a wonderfully cooked fish fillet.

Lunch on the boat with the Clarke's and the Bjorkman's.

Karst formations in the bay.

More formations.

They were all sizes and shapes and it went on for along time.

It was all so green and warm and beautiful.

 With the meal out of the way, I made my way to the top deck and got in a lounge chair and took my shoes and socks off.  That is where I was for the next hour visiting with the others and enjoying the warm sun and cooling breeze.  We cruised around the bay that is filled with the karst formations and eventually landed at a place where they let us off and we went to explore a cave they have named, “The Cave of Heaven.”  There was a pretty steep climb with lots of stairs to get to the entrance and then there were a lot of stairs inside the cave.

Lounging on the top deck.

More karst.

One more...

This is a floating village of either oyster farmers or fisherman.

They told the story of how the cave was found.  One day a fisherman saw a monkey on this island and decided he wanted to catch it.  He followed the monkey up the side of the island and then it disappeared.  What he found was this cave.  He started charging people to take them to the cave and made a lot of money.  Then the government took over…

 

Part of the climb to the cave.

In the cave. 

This one was almost as good as Reed Flute Cave in China.

We got back on the boat and finished the cruise around the bay.  They took us to the hotel after and we are all pleased with the accommodations here.  We are in a villa that overlooks the bay!  It is gorgeous!  David and I spent the next hour before we went to dinner, just relaxing in the breeze from the bay.

 

We became millionaires today!!  A million Vietnamese dong, equal to about $50 US.

Our villa, second floor, ocean view!

On the deck looking our to the bay.

Be jealous!!  It is wonderful!

After dinner, some of the group went to explore the night market and the rest of us went to a place that our guide had arranged for us to get foot massages at.  We were all looking forward to this and it was worth it!  They worked on our backs first, and then our faces.  Then they laid us back to work on our feet, but before they did that, they put cucumber strips on our faces.  We were worked on for an hour and a half.  After we were done, they served us watermelon and ginger tea.  It cost 840,000 Vietnam dong, or about $40 US.  Aaaaahhhhhhhh……

My first selfie...  cucumber strips on my face.