Halong Bay Day 1

3 days, 2 Nights in Halong Bay! We cannot contain our excitement. So it's Valentine's Day and we are making our way from Hanoi to Halong Bay. We have been told that the weather is going to be cloudy but nothing could put our enthusiasm in the shade.

We arrive to Halong City's harbour, to board our Junk boat. We set sail and there is a hint of blue sky... Jade and I keeping our fingers crossed! On board for lunch, sharing a table with some Spanish doctors and a lovely German couple, the food arrives! Our eyes light up as we see Fish, Meat and a mountain of rice; such a treat for us, as for the last 3 weeks we have been on a sole diet of choco pies and Noodle soup- with 3 strands of beef. The food is scrumptious and we now love a new food in the form of fried tofu.

With our bellies filled we get to relax upstairs on the "sun deck"- not that there is any sun , and it is pretty chilly too. We cruise through the "Bay of the Descending Dragon" which is what Halong bay means in Vietnamese. So we have seen many spectacular limestone karsts in Thailand, but in Halong Bay these are so much more spectacular. The tiny islands are dotted around the bay, with beaches and grottoes created by wind and waves, and have sparse forests on many of them too. So beyond the breath-taking vista, we stop off to explore a cave-The second largest in Halong, some of it is beautifully illuminated. It is a huge empty space filled with stalagmites and stalactites; it's fantastic as we follow our informative guide. The Cave was found by a fisherman trying to catch a monkey for his dinner and stumbled across the hole only in 1993. Jade and I are taking many pictures. Leaving the cave at the top we are hit with aerial views of the bay, seeing the junk boats that fill the harbour… it is just breath taking.

Our boat is now on the move again, making tracks through these limestone monolithic islands. I could only imagine what it would be like to be sunny … Oh wait a minute just as we pull up to the floating village Jade seems to have brought some Baxter magic with her again! We cannot believe our luck, now the sun has come out to play you can see just how far these tiny islands stretch into the distance.

It is really a special Valentine's Day, Kayaking is the next part of our tour. Jade is a little bit nervous about this part of our adventure, but after some stern reassurance she boards the Kayak with me and absolutely loves it. The sun is shining, it is really warm, we just cannot believe it, Jade has taken to kayaking like a duck to water! We paddle around the huge karsts and they are towering over us both. I find a cliff overhang and paddle under it, but Jade didn't like this part one bit and screamed until I moved us away! The silence. The sun. Not being able to see anyone else for miles. It gave us goose bumps!! My silly mungus seems to be doing more photography than paddling of the kayak , Its ok, I guess I'll be the gondolier on our little valentines love boat ! What an experience for us both so special.

Our junk is now creeping through the bay, en route to Cat Ba Island. The sun is setting over the huge mountainous islands and it is just amazing. What a perfect end to a perfect Valentine's Day!