Traveling to Hanoi: Our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam originated in Vientiane, Laos, so we had to first travel there to catch our flight. We left Savannakhet the day before our scheduled departure and spent the night in Vientiane to ensure we wouldn't miss our afternoon flight. After approximately an hour in the air, we touched down at Noi Bai International Airport outside the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. There was a slight delay in the deboarding process as a Lao government official deplaned first. Our group had no issues passing through immigration and claiming our luggage before getting two taxis to transport us to our hotel.
Lotte Hotel: It was late in the evening by the time we made the drive into the city and checked into Lotte Hotel, part of the tallest building in Hanoi. Once checked in, we immediately made our way to the concierge desk to book several activities for our time in Vietnam. It was then to dinner before retiring for the night.
Hạ Long Bay: Peep and I were up early the next morning to catch our ride to Hạ Long Bay, about a four hour trip through the vast Red River delta. Once in Hạ Long Bay City, our driver led us to the Victory Star cruise line office, where we waited until instructed to board one of the many tenders lining the port to take us to our cruise ship, one of the many Junks operating tours in Hạ Long Bay. Peep and I opted to take a two day, one night cruise rather than a single day cruise due to the length of the drive to Hạ Long Bay and brevity of the single day option. However, that meant one of the other party members, Dragon, who would have been able to make the single day cruise, was unable to join us.
On the Cruise: Once on board ship, we first listened to the orientation talk and were then assigned our room as the ship set off. We were served lunch in the dining room shortly thereafter and had some time to enjoy the passing scenery before arriving at Vùng Viêng Village.
Vùng Viêng Village: This floating village is located within Hạ Long Bay and has been inhabited for generations. After the communist takeover of Vietnam, the government cleared the village and resettled its inhabitants in the cities to give the people better jobs and the children better education. However, the needed jobs were not available so many of them opted to return to living their simple life of fishing on the water, rather than living in poverty in the big cities. Along with fishing, the villagers also earn income by cultivating pearls or rowing sampans around their village for the many tourists who visit.
Touring the Village: Peep and I joined the rest of the tourists on our cruise for the ride over to the village, where we transferred to a sampan for the trip around the area. Our oarsman maneuvered us around some of the great karst formations that litter Hạ Long Bay, including the "Village Gate", a cave worn through one of the rock formation at sea level, and past the floating houses and pearl farms of the village.
Evening: Once back on board ship, we remained anchored in place while several of the passengers spent some time swimming in the waters off the rear of the junk, that is until a jellyfish floated by, herding us all back on board. We showered off the salty brine from our swim as the ship got back underway. Peep and I decided to skip the cooking demonstration, instead opting to spend the time on the top deck observing the beautiful sunset as our boat reached its mooring spot for the night. Dinner was served after the sun had completely disappeared and we spent some quiet time enjoying the cool evening air before heading to our cabin for the night.