Halong Bay is usually high on any tourist’s list of things to do and see in Vietnam. Once we’d boarded the boat, it didn’t take long for us to find out why. The limestone that dominates northern Laos’ forested landscape with steep mountains and deep caves is mirrored here, rising majestically from the blue sea. Halong Bay is very similar to Ao Phang-Nga, off Thailand’s Andaman coast, but it covers a far wider area. So despite the huge number of tour boats, the vast size of Halong Bay means that it’s possible to escape to quiet coves. Here, with the sound of the sea lapping the cliffs and infinitesimally slowly eroding the karst, you’re alone. Oh, except everyone you’re sharing a boat with is there too. We’d begun our travels, almost nine months earlier, with a
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