August 24th, 2019
We got up early and checked out of our hotel by 7am. We ate a quick breakfast and then went to the pickup spot for our day cruise. I felt so lucky because we had the perfect sunshine weather! It was hot, but that doesn’t matter as much when you’re on a boat and in the water. The trip started by cruising through a fishing village. The little huts where fishermen live on the water are quite the sight. We stopped at one that was also a guesthouse and learned a little bit about the history and way of life for the fishermen who live here. They use solar power for electricity and catch the rain for fresh water.
Our boat had an awesome sundeck where you could be in a lounge chair and just take in the scenery while we peacefully cruised through parts of Halong and Lan Ha Bay. This is one of my favorite places we have been. It is just so pretty!
Our next activity was kayaking, and we could go off on our own or follow our guide. We chose to follow the guide and he led us through caves and peaceful coves all with beautiful scenery.
After that we had a traditional Vietnamese lunch on the boat. I mostly had rice and spring rolls as the rest of the items were like shrimp with the head, eyes and tails on, whole fish, and some other meat dish.
After lunch we cruised to a beautiful swimming spot. The water was really clear and emerald green. We eventually cruised back to Cat Ba and it was a really enjoyable day.
Since we lucked out with weather. I was wishing we had opted for the overnight boat trip, but it was pretty expensive, and I was nervous to spend so much, and have it rain the whole time. Our day cruise was $23 a person and an absolute highlight of Vietnam so far.
We got back in time to catch the last bus of the day going back to Hanoi.
Three hours later we were dropped off by our hostel in the old French Quarter of Hanoi City. The hostel was totally awesome and one of my favorite hostels we have stayed in. It was called Babylon Garden and it is in a great location of the city. It has an indoor swimming pool and rooftop bar and restaurant. We got there right at 8pm which is when they serve free draft beer for one hour. I wasn’t really feeling the beer so lucky for Brendan he got double for the hour. We talked with some cool people and enjoyed the city views. The dorm room itself is really nice and their lockers can be locked and unlocked with your room key card. You don’t have to use a padlock (simple touches that make a big difference to backpackers!). The WIFI worked great, and it came with free breakfast the next morning, which was a huge buffet of noodles, fried rice, sandwiches, omelets, fruit, salad, coffee, tea, and several juices. All this for $8 a night per person. I was very impressed! Another totally awesome day.
After reading your posts such as about Viet Nam, I might be persuaded to travel abroad. It looks and sounds very beautiful. You both are an encouragement to me to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. Thanks for sharing all your new experiences!
Thanks for reading! Vietnam is definitely very beautiful and I am amazed how it seems to keep getting better the further north we go!