Today we had a rather alarming wake up call. At around 6 am I heard Anita wretching and heaving in her bed; then she ran to the toilet to be sick. The previous night we had heard her munching loads of food in her bed so it wasn't any wonder she was sick. We checked she was ok and got her back into her bed to have some sleep. I got a other hour and then my alarm went off for ha long. Yay! I bagged all my stuff up and left it under the reception area for when we check back in on Tuesday. The hostel are pretty cool that way considering they could have told us where to go! We headed around to rosé travel for 8am and then hopped on the little mini bus. Free bottle of water and everything! Luxury! Ha ha. We drove for around two hours and then had a pit stop in another place filled with cheap tack. I purposefully left all my cash at home as I think I need to reign in my spending if my trip is as long as I want it to be. No more western food and pedicures!! I listened to some music for the majority of the journey and before I knew it we were at the bay reception. We met up with our guide and met a nice older couple called Tom and Wendy. We hopped on a small speed boat that took us over to the bigger imperial cruise ship. It was pretty impressive and we were greeted with freshly squeezed watermelon juice and a cold flannel. Certainly not like hostel greetings! We checked out our room and becky and I somehow swindled our own room with an en suite. Nice.
Lunch was served in the dining area and my face dropped when I saw all the seafood. Back home I never eat seafood but I decided to get stuck in as I will try any food once. Best decision ever! I had calamari, shrimp, squid, clams and it was incredible. They also served it with rice and grilled vegtables. Not only is it super healthy but it's nice knowing the seafood had been caught from the very bay you are sailing on!
Lunch was over and it was now time to visit the 'amazing cave'. We climbed up a massive cave and by the top I was starting to think that this cave would need to be pretty bloody amazing! It was actually pretty neat. The cave was the largest in Vietnam and had various imprints and murals marked into it. Becky loved it too which was a plus! After the cave we walked across the pier and got to do some kayacking. It was absolutely hilarious. Becky and I were first to get into our kayaks, and after failing to manoeuvre ourselves out of the doc infront of a group of people, we had to be towed out. Everyone was in stitches and Wendy and Tom
We're taking to it far to easily! We kayaked around ha long bay for an hour and admired the caves, the jumping fish and the sunsetting over the mountains. Another moment of bliss!
We hopped back on the pier with much difficulty and headed back to our cruise ship. We were served a glass of wine and a platter of fresh fruit and I was seriously beginning to wonder if we were on the wrong tour! This is not the luxury I was expecting and I thanked the heavens becky and I Didnt pick the 'party cruise'. *shudder*
Dinner was at 7 and again it was incredible. We had vegetable dishes, rice dishes, fresh fish, tofu, shrimp and fruit for dessert. After dinner we all hung out and we talked some more to Wendy and Tom. I was really beginning to like this couple. Tom and wendy are a funny Scottish couple who are over visiting their son who works in Hanoi. We found out their daughter is also getting married next year and they want to get bridesmaid dresses made in hoi'an. I gave them my advice for hoi'an in regards to not being ripped off and not to pay for your item before you have seen it. They were really appreciative and it is nice being able to share your experience with other travellers. Wendy is also an occupational therapist and becky has just graduated in that so they had a good chin wag.
At around 9 the crew asked if any of us wanted to fish off the deck. I thought that would be class so becky and I dangled our feet off the deck and grabbed our Rods made of bamboo. An hour later, no fish, and only one sighting of a jelly fish. Bed time!