What an amazing trip!

It started with a good nights sleep in Hanoi. Because we were a fair way back in the hotel, we couldn't hear any noise! And we had a duvet! It was wonderful! We didn't even wake before the alarm at 7am!

After some funny looking croissants, we got on the bus and started our tour. The bus took about 3 hours to get to Halong Bay, and we started to see all of the rocks jutting out of the sea.

As we pulled up to the boat, we both looked at each other, as it looked nothing like the brochure! It was nice, but wasn't quite the 5 star luxury we'd been sold! We hopped on board and we were all given our room keys. The cabins were really lovely, small, but sweet and nicely done! There were only 16 of us on the boat, so it was a nice little group!

Paul did our cabin up with party lights, banners and balloons, it looked really good. And the banner on the outside of the door meant that everyone soon knew that it was Sarah's birthday!

We went back upstairs and had a huge lunch! They kept bringing plates out with more and more food on. It was delicious!

After lunch, we visited a cave, which was amazing! It was huge and they'd filled it with different coloured lights.

In the afternoon we stopped in a bay and went kayaking, it was gorgeous. We weaved through rocks and under caves. Very peaceful and such great views. The only thing missing was the sun!

After a few hours on the deck, we had a couple of cocktails and Sarah opened all of her cards! The bar lady realised that it was a special occasion and brought down some free Pringles when she delivered our drinks!

We had a shower, which was one of the best showers we've had, and went up for dinner.

Before we ate, the tour guide said a few words and the crew brought out a complimentary cocktail for Sarah, and everybody sung happy birthday in about 5 different languages! It was really sweet!

Dinner was as good as lunch, and then the party started! Lots of music, drinks and karaoke! It was great fun!

We had another good nights sleep! No noise, soft mattress, big pillows and a duvet!

We were woken early for breakfast and then checked out of the boat. We all got on a bus on cat ba island and then went trekking! We feel we were slightly unprepared for this part of the tour as it was more like rock climbing than a nice stroll! Great fun with a hangover! We clambered up to the top of a mountain, and the view from the top was pretty special! We then realised that we had to get back down, which was just as hard! But we made it! We felt like we'd just conquered Snowdon!

Back on the bus, then a boat that took us to Monkey Island. It was gorgeous, such a shame that the sun wasn't shining, as it would have been perfect. It was pretty cold! We were upgraded to a sea view room, which was right on the beach and was really lovely!

We had lunch, and then chilled in the room for a bit! Paul went for a one minute swim in the sea, just because it was there! It was freezing!

The guide had told us that if we went to the other beach on the island, we might see some monkeys, so we went looking! Once again, we were climbing up steep rocks, crossing broken bamboo bridges and feeling slightly misled! It was all good fun though, and we saw lots of monkeys when we made it down to the other side.

They were aggressive little beggars, and one nicked a guys beer and ran off with it! He sat there and guzzled the lot! It was hilarious!

After a walk along the beach, we made our way back over the mountain!

We sat on our veranda and had a pre dinner drink under a duvet, watching the sea!

We went up for dinner and it was a BBQ! The food has been really good. We chatted and drunk and went back to our room early as Paul was knackered. We sat out for a bit, but it wasn't long before we were in bed.

This morning was another early morning! We've spent most of the day getting back. We were sad to leave monkey island, and were contemplating staying another night, but the sun still wasn't shining and there wasn't much to do, so we got back on the boat, then a bus, then 2 more boats and now we're back on the bus to Hanoi.

We've had a great time, and it was well worth the money!

We're not sure where we're going next, hoping to plan it this evening and then move on tomorrow!