I'm on a boat

One great night sleep later and I was up at 7am, ready to go on a boat trip that we had booked. I have previously said that we wanted to avoid the touristy boat trips but the best way to see the bays is by boat and a day trip seemed like a good idea. 

We met a small group down by the harbour at 8 and got a minibus to the boat (only 5 minutes away). Instead of going super cheap we had chosen a middle of the range tour, thinking it wouldn't be so dodgy. Also, it was a lonely planet recommended company so we knew it would be good. On the boat we set off to pick up a couple of girls that were staying at a resort so they could join us on the trip. Their resort was this little beach tucked in between some huge rock formations lined with little wooden huts. It looked amazing. So secluded and peaceful with fantastic views. I wanted to stay there. 

The tour took us through the beautiful bay, passing little floating fishing villages along the way. It was quite surreal as everyone knows what Halong Bay looks like (we weren't quite in Halong Bay but it looks the same, just less touristy) but to be there in real life you get the tranquility along with the view. 

After around two hours the boat anchored and we climbed into two people kayaks. It took us a few minutes to figure out the best method for paddling in unison (I always fear that an argument will occur in a kayak) but we got it and had no problems. We even raced two German guys (they were pretty stacked) and they only beat us by less than a metre (the German guys were shocked at our strength). We stayed in the kayaks for an hour or so, drifting through caves which brought us out into little coves. In one cove there were tonnes of jellyfish floating near the surface. Apparently they were dangerous and you could pick them up in your hand but I didn't fancy doing that just in case. 

Back on the boat we had a lunch of some kind of fish (I'm the worst at knowing what fish is what) that had been grilled with shrimps and rice, boiled potatoes, spring rolls, cabbage and some things that I think were fish patties. It was all delicious! I've become a big fan of Vietnamese spring rolls. Think normal Chinese restaurant vegetable ones but then deep fried (a little unhealthy). There was loads of food though so no one went hungry. 

We set off sailing again, moving into Halong Bay (I couldn't tell the difference between the bays) before returning to Lan Ha so we could anchor in some deep water suitable for swimming. We were promised beautiful secluded beaches but due to the full moon most of them were covered so we settled for jumping off the boat into the deep water. I jumped from the top of the boat several times but the problem with a bikini is you get the worst wedgy ever. It was still rather wonderful to swim in the sea looking out to these rocks surrounding the boat. There were snorkels available but due to the deep water there wouldn't be anything to see. 

We were then returned to Cat Ba Island and went to shower before dinner. There were three English guys in our room that we got talking to and realised they were all from York as well! They'd graduated last year just like us so we went for tea with them, chatting about uni and home life. After food we had some beers but still made it back to bed at a reasonable time. It was nice to chat to other people but I'm realising more and more that finding someone to travel with that doesn't annoy you too much and you never argue with is hard. I got quite lucky.