Oh, what a beautiful day!

Come back soon for pictures of the most beautiful site thus far Halong Bay.

This is made for a post card! After a short bus ride, the 13 of us boarded a boat made for 45. We had it all to ourselves. We spent the day cruising the bay. The water, the rock formations and the scenery were surreal. We wandered from the bottom deck with comfortable tables and chairs to the top deck with killer views! The 13 of us became good friends as we spent the day together sharing travel stories. And to think, until this trip, we thought we’d traveled a lot. Many of these guys have 500+ cruising days. I’d never want to cruise that much but we’ve found cruising as a great way to see a lot of the world in a quick amount of time. Then, land trips can be planned back to the places we really love. This is a place we’d return again!

We passed a fishing village which was really a series of floating buildings where people lived and worked. Environmental issues required the living quarters to be shut down so now it is only a work venue! We cruised up to a cave and walked for about an hour through a large cave. The steps from the water were brutal but the cave was well-lit with large tall chambers and beautiful formations. Halong Bay and these caves area also a Unesco site and one of the modern seven wonders of the world.

After caving, we re-boarded our boat and made our way to another area were we kayaked through an archway into a beautiful cove inhabited by monkeys. A bamboo boat ride was an alternate route for those not wishing to paddle. Again, breath-taking views.

It was a day without temples, shrines, or traffic! YES! And, to top that, we made it back to the ship for Happy Hour Lol.

By the way, we didn’t see the Golden Girls today but we have a story. Last night, lobster night in the ship, Blanche was sighted having dinner with her friends. Then, the waiter told our friends there was a lady back, eating alone, for her second lobster. Yep, It was Blanche!