Sitting in the middle of the bay

Sad news on the night train front - we didn't have the luxury we were hoping for. Our cabin shared with two Russians was much the same as the others and the air con was blasted in at 3am. So we arrived back in Hanoi to our previous hotel a tad bleary eyed. It's been like having a home away from home in Hanoi despite only staying in our hotel one night they (the Hanoi Topaz) have given us a room to shower in, breakfast, coordinated our trips, picked us up, dropped us off and let us leave our luggage with them. So after catching up with the staff there we were back in transit on a three hour drive to Halong Bay.

Prior to coming to Vietnam I was most looking forward to this part of the trip. I saw myself lounging on the deck in the sun and watching the scenery unfold. It has been that and much more. We've been on a two night/three day cruise, our boat v'spirit is small but luxurious, with yummy food, beautifully decorated cabins and happy staff. We've cruised around the karsts of Halong and Lan Ha Bays. Halong Bay is busy with tourist boats, so it was a treat to also go to the less visited but just as inspiring Lan Ha Bay - we were one of only two boats on the bay at the time, so it was very peaceful. We swam, kayaked, visited floating villages, a pearl farm, ample caves, seen jelly fish, fished for squid, risen early for tai chi and it was all finished off with a cookery lesson on board.

There are 1969 islands in Halong Bay alone (and there are four bays!!!) So there is lots of incredible scenes to see. But these views aren't that dissimilar to those we saw in Thailand or central Vietnam. For this reason Halong Bay hasn't quite made it to my top spot in Vietnam (that award remains with Sapa - which was just that bit more jaw dropping in my opinion). However we've had a few chilled days in the sunshine, enjoying yet another natural wonder (world heritage site), so it's been more than worthwhile. We've been very lucky with the weather for sure - just as we were on our way back to the harbour a heavy storm started and people arriving today hoping for a trip might be disappointed as their tour may be cancelled.

Now we are making our way back to our second home (the Topaz in Hanoi) where the helpful staff will give us our tickets for our final night train (in Nam). And tonight we make our way back down South to a town called Hue where we'll spend a couple of nights before crossing into Laos.