This morning Kyle joined us in Hanoi for the weekend.  We had already booked an overnight small ship cruise of Halong Bay which has been on my list of must see places for many years now. Unfortunately, Kyle’s flight was delayed enough that we would miss the ship’s departure by the time we made the three hour trip by private car to the dock. Rather than miss this opportunity, we arranged for a speedboat to chase down the cruise ship and deposit us onboard.  The 20 minute high-speed ride was worth the price of admission alone. When we rendezvoused with the cruise ship we realized that our speedboat driver was also the captain. He had the crew prepare a second lunch service for our benefit and things could not have worked out more wonderfully.

At this time of year it is more likely than not that the bay will be shrouded in mist. Although it diminished the photographic possibilities, it added an aura of mystery as we glided between the thousands of limestone karsts and isles of every imaginable size and shape. We visited a pearl farm where we learned about the art of raising pearls and gained an appreciation as to why they can be so expensive.

We passed several floating villages and fisherman in all manner of boats.

Dinner was a splendid multi-course affair which we enjoyed with the other 7 passengers on board as we continued to slip through the bay.  A more intimate and relaxing cruise I cannot imagine.