Merrily We Row
Day two had us up and at ’em early. Turns out neither of us slept well. The hotel provided a tasty breakfast, including more dragonfruit. Various noodles, greens, and meats were on tap, along with some tasty passion fruit juice.
Breakfast was cut short by the arrival of our shuttle driver to our cruise. We took off on a three-hour drive through Vietnam to get to Ha Long Bay. Turns out it took four hours, as we hit a LOT of traffic on the highway. As mentioned in previous post, lanes are a suggestion and weaving was the norm, even driving off the road to pass. That being said we got to relax in our Luxury Van (yes, it’s actually called that)
Once we got to the harbor, the folks there were noticeably relieved at our arrival, turns out there was another van even more behind than ours.
Once aboard, we were greeted by our cruise director, whose nickname is JD, for Jack Daniel. He explained that this was easier for people. This spirit of joking continued throughout the afternoon for a very light-hearted atmosphere.
After our briefing, we moved into our seven course lunch, a tasty helping of salad, shrimp, fish, chicken and fruit.
After lunch, the real fun began with our first activity of kayaking. This was thoroughly enjoyable. The water is perfectly calm and no worries of traffic (other than the occasional collision from our fellow kayakers).
Needless to say, we got decently wet here, which was a good opportunity for me to give the new laundry sheets I have a test. Works well, and bonus points to room layout for hanging near the AC.
Speaking of the room, it’s a very nice room for a boat, probably a heck of a lot better than on most cruise ships.
Lastly we moved into dinner, another tasty affair. On the menu was papaya salad, su su (a vegetable), pork, clams, and flan.
What would dinner be without a bit of entertainment from good ol’ JD, who played a couple of lovely songs. In chatting with him on the sundeck after dinner, I’ve learned that he started about five years ago learning english and working in the hospitality industry. He’s done it all from waiting tables, housekeeping, receptionist to managing. He’s started with this current company a year ago and only had been a tour guide for a few months. From how he’s been with us, never would’ve guessed that at all. He’s certainly made the cruise a wonderful experience.
The bed calls to us, for its early to bed, early to rise for tai chi.