Vietnam 2008 - Day 5 - Ha Long Bay

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[youtube=IoV3q7yVKH8][youtube=mGaLTN4XtDM][youtube=S9dWYtrEB-I]

Today Ha took us to Halong Bay. It was unbelieveably beautiful. My side still hurt, but I kept popping the ibuprofen I bought at a Hanoi pharmacy - 600 mgs per dose. Who needs stomach lining anyway?. I would have preferred to not have crashed, but I was delighted with the change in our itinerary. Halong Bay is a must-see. There are these funky islands that jut up from the ocean with tall hills covered in foliage. It's unlike anything I have ever seen.

The junk boats were wonderful - in the same style as the historic Asian boats, but with every modern convenience. Our stateroom had a big window view to the sea and a private bathroom. I haven't been on a cruiseship, but I imagine our room was much bigger than you'd typically find on a big ship.

The top of the boat had a sundeck with lounge chairs. It was pure bliss sitting up there as the boat sailed (well, chugged) by the towering islets. We stopped to visit "Surprise Cave." Unfortunately, Paul was experiencing his own "surprise GI" issues, so I went with the rest of the group on my own. The photos of the cave tell the story better than I could in writing. It was enormous and had interesting formations throughout.

We enjoyed dinner on the boat and slept well that evening.

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Photos

Rope thing
Obviously, a tool designed to trip tourists.

Bai Thu
The name of our boat

The sun deck
The poop deck was below (har-har)

Healing fast
The scrape from my spill is healing up quickly thanks to 12% antibiotic cream.

Lunch
We each had the flags of our native country on our table. We were the only US citizens.

Islets
Boating by one of the islets

Close-up
Beautiful rock formations and trees.

Comments

[Maureen]

WOW
Great photos and blogging Molly and Paul!! I feel like I got a flavor of the flavor you got of Vietnam! Loved the diet coke photo of Paul. Mo