Ha Long means where the dragon descends into the sea. The legend says the island of halong bay were created by a great dragon that lived in the mountains. As it ran towards the coast its flailing tail gounged out valleys and crevasses; as it plunged into the sea the areas dug up by its tail became filled with water, leaving only bits of high land visable.
When we got to the Junks that we were to sail out on and spend a night on, there were lots and we literally had to clamber over the other boats to get to ours. It was chaos and there was no consideration for health and safety! some people really struggled to get on board(no not me!!! well just a little bit!)
It was also the coldest Vietnam has been for 40 years!!!!!! so we all sat huddled inside with as many clothes on as we could find in our bags.
They did not even provide hot drinks, we had to buy them to try to keep warm.
The windows in my cabin did not close properly and there was no window in the bathroom just a big hole in the wall. I managed to plug that with a spare towel.
I used my gloves and a spare pair of trousers to block the gaps in the other windows and door. I also slept with all my clothes on including jacket and hat!
But saying that it was beautiful and I am so glad that I did the trip.We went to see some amazing caves and some nutters actutally went out kayaking in the freezing cold. I stayed on board and took pictures for them.
The next day we just sailed around the bay and had a good time. I was with a very friendly group so it made it a bit more bearable with the cold. And by this stage I had come down with a sore throat and cold.But I was still smiling!!
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