As you can see from the photo, Halong Bay is littered with limestone formations and it is scenic in the extreme. We started with a ride through the bay, looking at rocky formations, doing a little swimming, some kayaking, and checking out a pretty big cave. That night we met the other guests on the boat and had a soft bed. Oh, what a treat.
Our boat group consisted of a French and Swiss pair whom we got along with really well, a couple from Hong Kong who were really energetic, Two Danes and a German that were very nice, and an Irishman and two Chinese who were nice enough. The Chinese girls were nice enough, but they really loved China and talked about it every chance they got, which is really funny when you visit Vietnam because you get to overhear conversations like this:
Tour Guide: This is Halong Bay, an UNESCO World Heritage site and considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
Chinese Lady: We have a place like this in China. It's just like this but in the mountains, so you can see the mist in the morning.
TG: Halong Bay is filled with caves, some of which go on for a very long time.
CL: My town also have caves, most much bigger than this. We have one that is 9 kilometers long.
TG: Well, there is a 20km cave in here.
Oh, it was funny.
The next day we did some hiking and then were shuttled off to Monkey Island. Our group had this place to ourselves and from the afternoon on we were free to kayak, read, relax, swim, hike, whatever we wanted to do.
Shiz and I immediately hopped in a kayak and set out with beers fora couple hours of kayaking. We came back, did some snorkeling, then read on the beach until dinner. We met an US couple, a Norwegian guy, a French couple, an Englishman, and the Danes and the German were with us as well. All the people were really nice and we had a great time talking over dinner and by a campfire on the beach alter that night. It was just wonderful to relax in a gorgeous place with nice people, good food, and no worries. Our only worrisome point was our guide for the second day, who watched far too many Us movies and loved the word "motherfucker", as in "Listen to me. No motherfucking lazy or I kick your motherfucking ass." (no paraphrasing) He was interesting, but better suited for a frat than a nice beach. Did it disturb us much, you ask? Not in the least.
So tomorrow we have one last day in Hanoi before we head down to Hue, hopefully running into the US couple and the French/Swiss couple at some point again.