So, what could have been a total disaster has turned out to be the finest end to our trip, better than either of us could have ever imagined.

We were originally booked to sail on Ha Long Bay last week, sharing a junk boat with about 10 or so others. Sadly a storm quickly put an end to that and after an agonising few hours of changing internal flights, transfers and hotel bookings we decided to give it another go before we flew home. Boy are we chuffed we did.

Not only is Ha Long Bay an amazing sight, and one that no photo will ever do any justice to but we've been upgraded - to a private boat.

Yup, just me and Luke and our 5 man crew, sailing peacefully across the bay. Having stuffed our faces with a seafood lunch served on the boat we then watched the eagles soar above the islands. There are 1,969 islands here, most with their own names and identities. Oh yes, and the room has its own bath, bigger than any hotel bathroom we've had all trip. On a boat!

Our guide, Tu, then took us out in kayaks and we made our way over to a floating village. The families here all live, work and even go to school on a network of floating houses and walkways, it's amazing. We saw little kids, as young as 5 out rowing boats on their own, one little girl was rowing with her feet.

Kayaking took it out of us so we then headed back to the boat for a beer and to watch the sun go down on our last full day in Vietnam.

After we'd dropped anchor in the bay (Luke has asked me to clarify that this is not a euphamism but rather our home for the night), we then ate a superb dinner on the deck, which was a feast of different seafood dishes, meat and rice.

Tu was there for the remainder of the evening talking to us about the life, history and culture of the Vietnamese people. Such a cool guy and really knew his stuff.

Once we'd had breakfast we visited an amazing cave in one of the islands which had previously been used for hiding out during the war. It was quite a popular tourist spot but the cave was so big it barely made any difference.

Luke and I have been truly spoiled on this trip, what a great way to leave Vietnam.

Looking back on the last two weeks we've packed so much in and seen lots of unforgettable things. We've travelled this beautiful country by every means possible - by foot, plane, train, car, bicycle, rowing boat, junk boat and motorbike.

We're both sad that our final plane journey home looms in just a few hours!