So Long, Halong!

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Never did Mike and I ever consider ourselves boaters, cruisers, or yachtsmen. When we signed up for the Halong Bay gig, we figured the only way to really sed this World Heritage sight, was to buck up, and spend a night on a boat. Fortunately for us, the boat is big, and the ocean is calm. Add to that, we docked for the evening about 5pm, and have not moved since. The Happy Hour at 5 pm was a welcome delight. So, we celebrated our new sea legs with a few bottles of Prosecco. We rather quickly and fortuitously met up with four "old salts", rather some fun and interesting travelers. We soon were six of the rowdier passengers on this church mouse quiet boat. Cocktails soon ran into the dinner hour, as the young crew quickly made a table for six. We always seem to find the party. Or does the party find us? The couple from Mexico were a proverbial hoot, he wearing a Houston Texans jersey, and she quite normal. The others were a British lady, now teaching English to Cambodian soldiers in Pnomh Penh, and her roomate, a shy neophyte on her maiden voyage as a travel agent, age 23. Of note, the couple from Mexico City pleaded with us to one day visit their fine city. A retired physician, he also lived in the US previously as well, and gave me two Dominican cigars for the guys back home. You of course, remember the last time we met a chap in Santiago, Chile? After a six hour dinner, several bottles of Chilean wine, we became best friends, and he begged us to visit him in Cape Town. That bloke is none other than our erstwhile barrister and stand up comic, Barry, the V. Dinner became a rather lively affair, food secondary to the laughter, and conversation. We even had a few bottles of South African pinotage in honor of our Cape Tonian captain of laughter. But the party came to an abrupt end when the staff told us that we must get to our massage appointments. We even had a little wager on which waitress woild soon double as our masseuse. End of evening, but back to this middle aged, but nicely appointed boat. The cabins have a king bed, desk, AC unit, balcony, and wardrobe closet. The bathroom has both a nice enclosed shower, and a separate Jacuzzi bath tub! Perhaps a European river cruise could happen sometime soon? We are hardly the only boat out here on the water. But it is low season, with only 14 of us on this boat of 50 suites. I could start enjoying this, since the water is calm, and the boat just right in size. Food for future thought, at any rate. And as Mike says, "Quite civilized." See you in Hoi An.

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