Vietnam: Halong Bay...

We left wonderful Hanoi for a couple of days to cruise into Halong Bay. Made up of 1600 little limestone islands it's a beautiful place marred only slightly by its popularity. 

There were hundreds of boats and thousands of visitors but luckily Stuart found himself a huge cabin ona junk with walk-in wardrobe, spa bath and private balcony so he was as happy as Larry. 

We had a lovely meal on board and then ventured onto (and up) one of the islands. 400 steep steps later we were at the top and knackered. We took some snaps and then descended and went for a swim in the warm waters. 

Unfortunately there was a storm brewing so we had to head back to the safety of the dock and miss out on the evening on the water. Stu got a cooking lesson on the sun deck on the way back while I sorted out a refund from our travel agent(!)

We cut our losses at the dock and went back to Hanoi in the end. A long journey but worth it for the comfy bed that waited for us at the posh Metropole hotel.

Today we are getting south to Hoi An via Danang.