Since Halong Bay isn't well-suited for independent travelers, we decided to take a tour. We booked a Halong Bay cruise aboard a Chinese Junk, and we combined it with kayaking the bay with our guide, Phong. The ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay takes 4 hours, and it turns out we had the bus to ourselves. This worked out well, because Bev was feeling a little off due to something she ate in Laos (we suspect a salad). Anyway, she was able to stretch out and nap. Shortly after leaving Hanoi, we began to see beautiful countryside, and in no time we saw plenty of pineapple plantations, rice paddies, villages, and even the occasional dog meat restaurant.

Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains a living coral reef, and the karsts, enormous limestone formations jutting out of the water, were created by tectonic plate shifts resulting in violent collisions that forced the limestone straight out of the sea. There are shellfish living in the reefs that surround the karsts, and fish are abundant throughout the bay. The reefs closest to the shore are dead, while further out away from the tourists and pollution, the reefs are thriving. The bay also contains many fishing villages where Vietnamese people live, work, run fish farms, and raise families.

We arrived at the dock at around noon and immediately boarded the ship and enjoyed a cruise out to a nice spot in the bay where we dropped anchor, relaxed, and watched a fantastic sunset with the karsts as the backdrop. Our ship was really quite nice, with carved teak cabins, three sails, and two airy decks.

We enjoyed a few meals on board, and it turns out we happened to be cruising with the food and beverage director who trains the staff and provides the food for our meals. Needless to say, the staff on board was on edge and at their best. We ate our lunch and dinner the Vietnamese way, with many small courses served on communal plates for sharing and socializing. It is a great way to get to know people.

The next day, we were excited to go kayaking, and despite gray skies and occasional mist, it was a sensational day. We kayaked into several lagoons, and other than the occasional bird, it was silent. At one point we kayaked through an opening in one of the karsts, and all we could hear was the sucking sounds of the oysters due to the low tide. It was quite scenic and peaceful.

We also kayaked through a few caves, one of which was pitch black. We needed flashlights to navigate, and about halfway in, we learned the hard way that the tide was too low and we couldn't press on. We turned around, and I have to admit we were pretty freaking happy to see daylight. It was a little scary sitting in a kayak under a huge rock unable to see our hands in front of our faces. We did have Phong with us, though, so we figured we couldn't get ourselves into too much trouble.

After kayaking at several different spots and past a fishing village, we wrapped our day up with a shower and a Vietnamese coffee. The boat only had four cabins, so we met the rest of the folks on the boat: an Australian family of four (mother, father, and two daughters) and a Swiss couple. We all got along well, and we enjoyed a nice dinner together.

The next day, we hiked from the bay up to an opening that led to a Luray-esque cavern. Phong explained a good deal about how the cavern formed, and we chatted with him about Vietnamese culture. The climb up to the cavern was not for naught, as we had a stupendous view of the Bay.

After the caverns, we returned to the boat and had lunch. We found out that the Australian family, the Gubanyis, were also heading back to Hanoi, and by coincidence they were also staying at our hotel. We made arrangements to meet up later that night. We sailed back to the wharf, where we got on board our bus and went back to Hanoi.