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Published: February 8th 2009
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There are soooooo many tour shops in Hanoi each offering 'exclusive' cruises for peanuts, and so many stories on the net of bad experiences. Some people had encountered rats on board, overcrowded boats, crazy tour guides and lots of other bad experiences.
We opted for a cruise with a company called Handspan, who promised a luxury boat (called the Lagoon Explorer 2) with a maximum of 8 passengers, a la carte meals, English speaking guide, and a really good itinerary, ... and they didn't disappoint!!
Our journey began on an air conditioned mini bus that took 4 hours to reach the bay. On arrival we were told that there was only one other couple who had booked to go on our boat, so it turned out to be rather 'exclusive' after all!! The other couple were Arne and Annika from Germany, who were really cool.
Upon arrival we were offered (by the tour company) to join another boat (they had 2 boats running with 4pax each, but we opted to stay on our original boat as a group 4!)
Once on deck we were shown to our antique cabin with its wooden walls and spectacular view out
on to the ocean. Lunch was served shortly after on top deck. This was really special, the boat started cruising and the views of the bay became visible, just as the AMAZING food was served. (it turned out that we had 5 crew members on board - serving all four of us!!)
We sailed along the emerald ocean trying to take in the amazing scenery of limestone formations which were all different shapes and sizes, it all seemed kind of surreal. We cruised along to Bai tu long bay (a quieter route that not many boats sail) and hopped on to a traditional boat where a local girl rowed us both around the floating village of Vong Vieng. This is were we met the locals and visited a pearl farm to see the whole process of pearl farming!
Back on the boat and after some more cruising and relaxing on deck we visited an old fisherman's cave which we found captivating and both really enjoyed (considering we are both not really into caves)
Our evening meal was a feast of seafood!! We were again served hand on foot by the crew and lapped up the various dishes.
King Prawns, Langastines, talapia, shellfish, and just about everything else in the ocean (all freshly caught that same day) One of the last dishes served also came along with a little treat and was hand made by one of the crew. It was a boat made from carrots and pumpkin. Some major handcraft had been used and even the tables (including table clothes) had been carved out!!
It was all so romantic that Lee decided to propose!! Michelle was in total shock and couldn't speak for a few minutes, but said 'yes'!! after the German couple started to look a little worried about the delay in Michelle's answer and began leaving the table!!
That evening we ordered a bottle of wine and sat on the top deck trying to take some of the day in. It was such an eventful day, and was eventually finished off with some interesting conversations between the four of us. Topics covered were, the credit card system in Germany and the UK, why Vauxhall cars are also called Opel, the current global financial climate (Arne I am sure you started that one!!) and the transportation of Organic food.
The next morning we
woke up to the sound of the ocean outside and suddenly realised we were on a boat! (weird at first). After a hearty breakfast (Michelle had mistakenly put chilly sauce on her egg!!) we headed out for some Kayaking around one of the larger rock formations. It was a bit of a struggle at first, Michelle rowing with her left, Lee with his right and vice a versa, until we suddenly got the hang of it and are considering entering the Oxford and Cambridge boat race next year.
Sailing back late morning and having ANOTHER meal on board was rather sad, and felt like a mini holiday was coming to an end. All in all we had a great time and really enjoyed the cruise, its definitely something we will never forget.
We headed back to Hanoi for one night before booking our FOURTEEN hour bus ride to Hue (our next stop). Lee had a local haircut, and a shave (at last!!.. sorry guys at home who Lee had promised he would not shave for a year!)
Catch up soon,
Mr and Mrs Booth (to be!)
Congratulations to Natalie and Paul on the safe arrival
of baby Jacob.
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Marie O'Brien
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Congratulations
Congratulations! What a lovely surprise, you make a great couple. Love Mariexxx