After lunch I bought some breakfast groceries and then we rested before heading out for dinner. We found a good place and had Pumpkin Soup, Bun Cha and Cha Cha again. It may seem odd to be having soup and stews in 90 degree weather but somehow its ok and what you do. Finn sought to find some clubs but instead we seemed to find the street with all the coffin shops, yes coffins. Weary from the long travel day, we called it a night to get ready for our cruise day.
Our shuttle van collected us at 8AM and we joined six other tourists for the 4-hour ride to Halong Bay -- Brian from the Philippines, Nora from Kuala Lumpur, and two Korean couples. Our guide explained we could call her by her English name, Linda, or #6. She came from a big family and her grandparents could not keep them all straight so she grew up being called #6 (youngest of 6). We called her Linda. It is low season for the cruises which benefited us. A tender took us to a cruise boat for 16, which we had to ourselves. They offered the private cabins if we wanted but there was really no need. The lunch on board in the big state room was top of the line - crab cakes, fried oysters, kalamari, prawn salad,.....The ship had a crew of about 7 and they gave us a cooking class at the end of the cruise where we made spring rolls and veggie sculptures. Finn volunteered to demonstrate sculpting the tomato rose which he will show you when we get back. Finn really likes these countries and is using words like 'western' now as in 'you all may be too western for him'. The limestone peaks surrounding us in the bay were spectacular. We also went to a fishing village, oyster farm and cave hike. Our group of eight got along well and the Korean couples shared their Kimshi and some liquor that they add to beer to give it more kick.
Again we are doing well with our tour guides. Linda, only 26 yo, was funny and knowledgeable. I can see why Mom is good at this too. The van shuttle stopped in both directions at a state-run tourist shop featuring Vietnamese crafts, foods and candies. We had to wear ID tags while there and it seemed little Soviet-like, and compulsory for the tour company to keep us there for a full 30 minutes. Despite that, it was a great day although very tiring. We crashed and I finally slept through the night.
Our shuttle van collected us at 8AM and we joined six other tourists for the 4-hour ride to Halong Bay -- Brian from the Philippines, Nora from Kuala Lumpur, and two Korean couples. Our guide explained we could call her by her English name, Linda, or #6. She came from a big family and her grandparents could not keep them all straight so she grew up being called #6 (youngest of 6). We called her Linda. It is low season for the cruises which benefited us. A tender took us to a cruise boat for 16, which we had to ourselves. They offered the private cabins if we wanted but there was really no need. The lunch on board in the big state room was top of the line - crab cakes, fried oysters, kalamari, prawn salad,.....The ship had a crew of about 7 and they gave us a cooking class at the end of the cruise where we made spring rolls and veggie sculptures. Finn volunteered to demonstrate sculpting the tomato rose which he will show you when we get back. Finn really likes these countries and is using words like 'western' now as in 'you all may be too western for him'. The limestone peaks surrounding us in the bay were spectacular. We also went to a fishing village, oyster farm and cave hike. Our group of eight got along well and the Korean couples shared their Kimshi and some liquor that they add to beer to give it more kick.
Again we are doing well with our tour guides. Linda, only 26 yo, was funny and knowledgeable. I can see why Mom is good at this too. The van shuttle stopped in both directions at a state-run tourist shop featuring Vietnamese crafts, foods and candies. We had to wear ID tags while there and it seemed little Soviet-like, and compulsory for the tour company to keep us there for a full 30 minutes. Despite that, it was a great day although very tiring. We crashed and I finally slept through the night.
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| Our Cruise Ship - view from cave hike |
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