We arrived at Halong Bay today after a 4 hour drive and it is still raining which is a bit disappointing for our boat trip, we are welcomed by our lovely host Mr Ling and his staff and showed to our cabin which is perfect with a little balcony where we can sit. After a 5 course lunch we have some free time until 3pm and we chat to a lovely couple Kathryn and Simon from Surbiton, then we are taken to the kayaks and bamboo boats for our visit to dark and bright lagoon. I opt for the bamboo boat and Jim does the Kayaking with Mr Ling. The Lagoon is beautiful and so peaceful especially after being in Hanoi. In the evening we have a cookery demonstration on how to make spring rolls and obviously because I am competitive I take part in the spring roll challenge - we are both deemed winners as they omitted to say it was about neatness not speed!!
After another 5 course meal and a happy birthday to Jim we get the opportunity to try squid fishing - after almost 2 hours nobody had caught a thing and then a crew member caught one in bout 20 seconds.
After a lovely nights sleep we get up at 6am for Thai Chi - well to be fair the teacher did Thai Chi and we followed with our own versions. The sun is now shining and the views are wonderful and after a light breakfast we visit surprise cave. Oh my the caves are amazing and the last one is about the size of a cathedral with a ceiling like the Albert Hall it reminds me of something out of Indiana Jones. The caves were only discovered in around the 1900's by 2 French ladies who noticed a hole in the limestone cliff and investigated, absolutely incredible.
Back on board we pack our bags and have a lovely brunch and then we are almost back to the dock. Whilst sitting on deck soaking up the sun we chat to Simon and Kathryn again, they have travelled extensively especially Simon and he has given us some tips about Laos as we may add this on to the end of our trip.
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