Ha Long Bay

I had this on my list of things to do for quite some time.

We arrived in Ha Long Bay just after Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt did. Just sayin’... ;)

Anyway, we were really worried when we arrived in Hanoi because it was sooo rainy and there were rumors of the cruises in Ha Long Bay being cancelled. Luckily, they weren’t.


Let me be clear it was NOT like this for us...


It was like THIS:



Unlike the experience I guess I was expecting, it was really rainy for our entire trip! So we didn’t really get the sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling experience. That said, it was very mystical looking and sort of like walking into “Puff the Magic Dragon”.

We saw the caves and the associated legends. We walked around the beach. We went to the fishing villages, and froooooze during that trip. Man I was ready to be back to the boat after that! We kayaked through some of the formations, that was probably my favorite thing we did. Also, Vinh bought me a beautiful pearl necklace from a local farm. I know, tourist trap, but I didn’t care.

We enjoyed the views from the warmth of our room, complete with large balcony!

The ship itself was smaller, but beautiful, and we had some great dining experiences. The best part was going squid fishing at night!

I have to be honest and say I wasn’t as impressed with Ha Long Bay as I would have hoped, based on what I heard about it and read about it in advance. That being said, it was a very zen place. In the end, I am not the kind of girl who likes to be cold and rained on, so it was probably just the time of year that made it less than magical for me. :(