Hello everyone,

So on the Thursday before last (the 4th) me and Ryan set out on our tour of Ha Long Bay. We splashed out a bit on this one because I'd read not to go for one of the cheapo options, also because I didn't want the boat to sink! The tour lady at our hotel was really helpful and it turned out we ended up on a really good tour! It took about 3 and a half hours to arrive at the harbour where you board the boat. It was pretty busy there, it was full of dozens and dozens of wooden junk boats and people waiting to get on. We didn't have to wait around for long though to get on ours. It was quite luxurious by our standards and our room was small but really nice. We had lunch when we got on which was great and involved lots of sea food. We were sitting with some Canadian girls who were lovely and were impressed by how much of Canada we'd seen. Our first stop once we had set sail was Sung Sot cave up to which we had to climb lots of steps to reach. Here we had a bit of an explore inside. Afterwards we got to do a bit of kayaking around the bay which was fun. I wasn't too happy when we spotted a large jelly fish bobbing along though, I really hate jellyfish! When we returned to the boat we got to do some swimming, though I had to put the thought of the jellyfish to the back of my mind when I jumped in. The water was lovely and warm so we floated around for a while. I did have a minor panic attack though when one of the women selling drinks and snacks on a little boat pointed out another jelly floating towards us so I had to make a swift and ungraceful exit back on the boat. In the evening we enjoyed some more yummy seafood for dinner which once again was very nice. Later we drank cocktails on the deck and watched the sunset across the bay. Most people were boring and went to bed at 9 but we stayed up with some hilarious Irish med students who did well to fit the Irish stereotype, a Kiwi girl and her dad who were also hilarious and some Spanish girls. We had a bit of a party inside with some of the crew members who were great fun.

The next day I got up at 6.30 (!) to do some Tai Chi, check me out! I couldn't persuade Ryan to join me though unfortunately. After breakfast we set sail again, this time to a floating village complete with school where people live permanently. I did feel a bit sorry for them though as their houses become surrounded with tourist boats during the day with people watching like a zoo attraction. We got off at one of the houses where they have keep nets full of different fish including little sharks. We could hear some dogs barking in a little cage and our guide told us that they are used for work until they're about 5 when they are then eaten. Ryan was especially upset by this though luckily we couldn't actually see them. After lunch and some more relaxation we sailed back to the harbour and boarded the mini bus back to Hanoi. All in all we had a great two days, the tour was definitely worth the money and Ha Long was lovely, though slightly crowded.

Lots of love,

Jo and Ryan xxx