Today we had a very early start. Most of us up at 6am for breakfast in the hotel and a quick pack up of our bags before getting on the bus for a 4 hour bus ride to Ha Long Bay. We drove for about three hours through the Vietnamese countryside, seeing all the farms and farmers at work, working on the rice farms and the buffalos. Before we stopped at Dai Viet for a quick toilet stop, food stop and a look around the shop that contained all things made in Vietnam. We then got back on the bus and continued the journey to Ha Long Bay.

We arrived into Ha Long Bay where we received the key cards to our rooms and boarded the ship the 'Emeraude'. We checked out the very cute rooms before heading to the sun deck for a complementary drink and to hear to plans for the day and the time spent on the ship. Lunch followed with many new things to try once again. We then had a bit of time to relax, getting to see the Dinh Huong island, Ga Choí Island, Dog Island and Sail Island, before getting on the tenders and heading into the Sung Sot caves. The Caves were far bigger and more beautiful than imagined. We walked around them having a good look then headed back onto the boat to get ready for a swim on Titov beach, and a climb up the 427 steps to the temple at the top of the hill. The night then continued with some attending cooking lessons on the sun deck while others relaxed before dinner. After dinner was time for us to relax and enjoy the scenery, some squid fishing, though the only thing that was caught was a bat. And then to finish off the night we watched a romantic French movie on the sun deck, then time for bed and an early start for some with Tai Chi the next morning.