On Christmas Eve we had a four hour coach journey from Hanoi to Halong Bay, but was it worth it!!
Halong Bay has over 2000 islands, stretches for over 100km towards China and is absolutely beautiful. Although the weather was overcast the water was still a vivid green and rocky islands stunning against the skyline.

There were eighteen guests on board - 16 Australians and ourselves. We met a group of 4 Aussies who we had a real laugh with, they also gave us lots of hints and tips for our impending trip to Australia.

We weren't sure what our cabin would be like so we're pleasantly surprised to find that it was really large with a balcony and good sized bathroom - lovely.

As night fell and the boats anchored for the evening their lights glistened like jewels across the water, magical!