The Dragon's Pearl

After a few days in Hanoi, we embarked on a 2 night / 3 day cruise of Halong Bay.  Our "junk" was called the Dragon's Pearl and was an unforgettable way to explore the world heritage site.

the view from the top deck

 

the view from our room

Wow . . .  there really are no words to describe or do justice to this region.  Even though the weather at this time of year was cool (hence the toques you'll see in the pics) and the visibility was low,  it added an ethereal air to the place.  We really enjoyed sleeping on the boat and eating AMAZING food while we toured around only a fraction of the 2000 limestone islands in the bay.

We deliberately picked a tour that would take us away from the heavily touristed stops, and on this cruise, we definitely felt like we were "off the beaten track".   The highlight of the trip was being taken by row boat to a floating fishing village that consisted of about 34 families.

It was hard to believe that out there,  in what felt like the middle of nowhere, existed a little community of people living on the water!  How their young children survive,  running around with their dogs,  jumping into and out of boats,  really amazes me as a mother of 2 curious and energetic little ones!!!!!   We had tea with the leader of the community and toured the school that was built by the company we sailed with.  Our tour guide grew up in a floating village like this one, but with only 8 families, and knows thes islands like the back of his hand.

Stella and Max would say that the visit to a cave was their favorite part of the trip.  We stopped at a beach and spent some time (much to Stella's delight) collecting shells, finding starfish and even playing with a tiny little crab.

From the beach, we climbed some pretty steep steps up to a cave.

the view from the top of the hike

The kids had a blast exploring inside the cave that was lit up with spotlights and went on for a few hundred meters.

A couple of hours later we were treated to a spectacular dinner inside the cave!

Tomorrow we leave on an overnight train to Hue.  The journey will take 12+ hours but we leave late in the afternoon and have booked a sleeper car.  Our kids are pretty lucky to have the experience of sleeping on a boat and train all in the same week ☺

We have finally adapted to the tine change (no more 6 hour naps in the afternoon) and are feeling good today despite a little tummy trouble a couple of days ago.  The kids are doted on everywhere we go and seem unfazed by all the different tastes and sounds around them.  

So from all of us here . . .  bye for now♥