We had been looking forward to out visit to Halong Bay since we originally decided to visit Vietnam; the locals say if you haven't visted Halong you haven't visited Vietnam. However we were a little apprehensive as we had read about the numerous boats and guides messing you around and over charging.

In the end we opted for a 2 day tour as we felt it wasn't a trip we could do independently or in 1 day due the distance involved, it was a 4 hour drive away from Hanoi. The cruise trip was recommended by our hotel, we researched a few of the others he had on offer, but this particular one had great reviews. It was quiet expensive for both of us, but in the end it was completely worth it, we even wished we had paid more for a 3 day tour to stay out longer.

A minibus picked us and other small groups up from our hotels and started the long drive down to the bay. It was a great group of people and we all got on so well, which improved the whole experience. One group was a young couple who were finishing their own 6 months travel and had invited her parents out to join them in Vietnam. They were from Brighton and stopped in the same hotel as us, we got along with them really well. There was also a young couples from Sweden and Singapore as well as a group of 6 friends who had grown up together in Kenya and now lived in the UK. It was quiet a small group so we all assumed that we would be joining another minivan full of people when we got to the bay.

We jumped off the minibus and followed our fantastic guide Tom, by English name, to a small boat which took us out to the ship. We were very suprised by the ship, we had automatically lowered our expectations as we had heard so many bad stories. The boat had 3 levels that we used and another below for the crew. It consisted of 2 floors of cabin rooms, a large open resturant level and the decking on top with sun loungers and tables. Our room was lovely and up to the same standard as the hotels we book; if not better. It was spacious with air con, double bed, table and chairs, modern bath room and large windows looking out onto the bay. We loved it, we'd been expecting leaks and a bad fishy smell!

We had lots of activities planned on the boat, kayaking through the islands, visiting a cave, swimming in the sea, cooking lesson and squid fishing. Plus delious buffet served for each meal packed full of Vietnamese and Western options. We had to pay for extra drinks, and of course they were a tad expensive so we didn't have many of them. There was also a massage service onboard but we missed that out as well.

Ha Long bay translates to 'descending dragon bay' according to local legend of a dragon that settled in the bay and defended Vietnam from invader's. The bay is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, it lies off the East coast of Vietnam. The bay consists of around 1900 mostly limestone Karsts. They point out of the ground with sheer cliff faces, caves and tunnels and are covered in jungle and forest vegetation with the odd small sandy beach. This description does it no justice at all because it was just stunning! You couldn't stop looking out the window while you were eating lunch or taking photos on the deck. Surprisingly there weren't as many boats as we had expected so it was peaceful cruising through the islands. We think we were must have been in low seasons as our boat was only half full.

One of the best things we did was Kayaking, we took a smaller boat off into a bay area of the islands and got into our kayak Matt and I were sharing, but we did a good job and were able to keep up with the guide. We went through the islands into a tunnel in a karst. There were bats flying in the caves and sea eagles souring in around the bay we were in. It was amazing to be up and close to the islands and to be in the water. After a while the sun was going down we had a swim in the bay watching the colours of the sky change as the sun went down. We headed back to our ship for a fantastically warm shower. Which again surprised us!

The cave we visited the next day was on a small island and is said to be where the dragon lives, the Vietnamese believe in 4 different magical animals Dragons, Unicorns, Turtles and Phoenix. Our guide even pointed out a dragon fossil in the cave or so he said! The cave was very large and you followed a path through it and out a different side. It was an average cave with a few stalactites and stalagmites, although it had a beautiful view over the bay in the end.

We also learnt how to make Vietnamese spring rolls and had a go ourselves, the veggies were able to make a veggie version too. We tried our luck at squid fishing in the evening but after trying for 30 minutes Tom told us it wasn't squid season! They must find it amusing to look at us Westerners trying to fish and getting nowhere!

We had such a good time talking to other tourists to the country, looking at the beautiful views and learning first hand about the country from our local guide Tom. We are so glad we paid top dollar for it, it was a fantastic experience!