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Happy New Year everyone. We celebrated on the boat last night on Halong Bay, with what seemed like a million other tourists out on the bay on different boats. We left the National Park after brekky and drove down some quiet roads, along side a river and with some beautiful scenery. We were able to stop along the way and take some photos of locals at work, especially some fishermen, using these fan like nets. We were all anxious to get to Halong Bay and get on the boat because for the first time in a while the sun was out and it looked like a glorious day.
We made it about 1pm and again we were surprised by the luxury of the boat. We had twin rooms with our own ensuite and a nice dining area along with areas outside to relax. We were served lunch which was superb. We had some prawns and on the table we each had an individual dish with salt, pepper and lime. We were told to mix the 3 together and dip the prawns in. So easy yet so tasty. We also had some crab cakes, chicken and salad.
We spent the next couple of hours out on deck, enjoying the scenery. It really is beautiful although we didn't have the clear blue sky that you see in the photos. I'm still not sure whether it was ocean fog or smog that prevailed around us. I'm thinking pollution but still gorgeous. We headed to Hang Dau Go Caves, along with everyone else. You had to walk up about 90 steps to get to the cave, set high up but it was very slow going. Once you were inside, it was easier to get around. Very beautiful, airy and very large. Listening to guides inside, they were pointing to lots of formations and the most popular I heard was 'elephant'. There must have been lots of elephants in that cave. I ran into Ian and Dennis again from camp and we had another good chat. Such a small world.
Back onto the boat and we headed to where we were going to anchor for the night, along with about 10 or more other boats. We then headed out on kayaks which was great fun. Very peaceful and just nice to be out on the water. We went through a small cave and on the other side there were monkeys scrambling about. They climbed the rock face so easy. Too soon, the sun was heading down and we had to head back to the boat. Toni and I had said we wanted to have a swim in the Bay, so along with Paul, Rosina and Dale we jumped in. It was freezing. It was dark by this time so I literally jumped in, waited for the others and then jumped back out and into a hot shower. It was a shame we couldn't have swam during the day (not that it would have been much warmer I'm sure).
Ready for dinner and Toni and I both wore one of the dresses we had made in Hoi An. Dinner managed to even outdo lunch, and the decorations they made out of different vegies was incredible. They even did a 'carrot net' over the fish. Very cool. After dinner it was time to put the music on and then we hit a hitch. Their collection consisted of Bony M, ABBA, local music and some spanish salsa. The cable to use our MP3 players was broken. We made the most of it and I will always hear Bony M now and think of Vietnam. We could hear the karoke going off on the other boats. Was a good night and we all celebrated New Years Eve at midnight before making our way to sleep land.
This morning I woke up early and I couldn't stay in bed, not surrounded by this beauty so headed up to the deck. Soon joined by others. We had brekky on the boat and then we motored our way back to shore. It was a shame we couldn't stay longer and enjoy more of what it had to offer but most trips out here are the same. Would love to come again one day
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