Halong Bay

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The Jewel of Vietnam - Halong Bay. After doing some research, I decided to cruise through Halong Bay to Cat Bay Island, instead of spending a night or two on the boat in the bay. I got a bus ticket to the pier in Halong City in one of the tourist buses. They pack those like sardines, but the ride was about 2 hours, so it wasn't terrible. I spent the whole time chatting with a guy from Seattle, who is of Jordanian ancestry and went to college in Jordan. Upon getting to the pier, they found me a boat and of course grossly overcharged me for it. But I was determined not to let anything ruin my Halong Bay experience.
We cruised through Halong Bay for about 5 hours, stopping on one of the islands to visit 2 caves. The caves were OK, but Halong Bay itself was simply majestic. Fantastic limestone cliffs jetting out of the water. Simply amazing.
There was a Vietnamese family on the boat with us with a bunch of kids. The kids in Vietnam are simply adorable. They didn't speak any English, but we played with them nonetheless. They loved posing for pictures as well. Every time I would get up from my seat, they occupy it 😊 It was really cute. Then as I returned, they would all run away screaming 😊 The parents over here seam to let the kids do what ever they want. But if they misbehave, a quick smack gets them back in line 😊 Seams to be very effective.
Anyways, really enjoyed Halong Bay. It's one of the most beautiful places on Earth and the pictures really don't do it justice.

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