Cruise to Cat Ba Island

Entry 9:

From Hanoi, we took Vega Tours for a 3-days, 2-night trip to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay has got beautiful vegetation-covered islands and grottos. We slept one night on the boat, whcih was anchored surrounded by these islands, and one night on Cat Ba Island in a hotel. Along the way we met some friends. Rick and Ruth were especially interesting. They have been travelling for one year and have been to parts of S. America, India, Nepal, China, Indonesia, and S.E. Asia. They have posted their pictures on Flickr, so take a look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baronvonhorne/



KAYAKING


EATING LUNCH ON THE BOAT

During this trip, we hiked into caves, kayaked around the islands, and swam in the refreshing water. We met lots of travelers who gave us great advice about some of the places we would soon be visiting. For those of you thinking about coming to Vietnam, Halong Bay is a must-see, but skip the second night in Cat Ba. At least our tour did not show us anything of the island on the third day. Conveniently, there was a "typhoon" on the way, and therefore we had to evacuate quickly. However, when we asked our guide over lunch when the typhoon would hit, he said it had hit the night before. We understood from our well-travelled companions that this sort of convenience happens all too often on pre-paid tours all over the world. They recommended avoiding tours at all costs, except when absolutely necessary as was the case in Halong Bay. You can view all of the pictures of our trip at: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com



360 DEGREE VIEW OF HALONG BAY


MARC JUMPING OVERBOARD