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Morning: It was still dark out when I woke up, so I spent the early morning hours roaming around the seemingly deserted boat alone. Peep didn't make it on deck for sunrise, but the clouds had moved in overnight, preventing the morning rays of sunlight from illuminating the earth below. She did, however, make it up a short time later and we watched as our ship and those surrounding us came to life and began moving on to our next destination. A few other passengers joined Peep and an instructor in a short session of Tai Chi on the top deck. A short time after we finished our buffet-style breakfast, we arrived at our next stop, Hang Sửng Sốt.
Hang Sửng Sốt: Once moored, we again boarded our tenders for the ride over to the Sửng Sốt Caves, stopping along the way to transfer one family to another boat for a private tour of other caves nearby. Many of the tourist junks on the bay seem to keep similar schedules, for when we arrived at the cave entrance dock the area was packed. We had to wait a bit until it was our group's turn to begin the climb up the overcrowded stairs to the entrance of the first cavern.
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Touring the Caves: The first chamber inside the mountain was small and there was little room to move about. We proceeded through a narrow opening to the second, marginally larger, cavern. After a short time there, we entered the third, very large cavern, where the crowds had finally thinned out.
I scurried from point to point taking long-exposure pictures of the colorfully lit rock formations, trying not to fall too far behind our group. We were able to catch up with them at the small gift shop located right before the exit of the cave system, where we headed back down to sea level and the departure dock before our eventual return to our cruise ship. Looking over, I noticed that the entrance dock was now deserted.
Cruise In: We finished our time on Hạ Long Bay continuing to observe the life on the bay and sitting down to one more meal, brunch, in the dining hall. Our last tender ride brought us back to solid ground, where our driver from the day before found us for the trip back into Hanoi.
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Vietnam International Travel Mart: We were rather rushed on our trip back, asking the driver to drop us off at the Vietnam Exhibition Fair Centre so Peep could finish out the day working the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM). Besides Peep, three other representatives of Savan Vegas, as well as two representatives from the Ministry for Information, Culture and Tourism of Laos, were working the Lao booth at the travel mart. We stayed the final few hours until the expo closed for the day.
Thãng Long Water Puppet Theatre: Besides purchasing tickets for our Hạ Long Bay cruise our first night in Hanoi, we also purchased tickets to see the Thãng Long Water Puppet Show for the Savan Vegas group of five (myself included). I squeezed myself into my seat, which was not made with someone 6 feet, 2 inches tall in mind. Even with my back pressed firmly against the back of the seat, I was unable to place my legs directly in front of me, forcing me to sit somewhat cockeyed, a rather uncomfortable position, for the duration of the show.
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The Show: Water Puppet theater is performed on a stage with several inches of water and a curtain along the back. The puppeteers stand behind the curtain and manipulate the puppets with rods hidden below the water surface.
The various acts of the show were taken from the daily life of Vietnamese farmers, communal entertainment or historical legends, of which I did not fully understand since I do not speak the language. However, I was able to pick up on some of the themes and enjoyed the show, with the lively movements of the puppets, the splashing water, the music and the smoke and pyrotechnic effects.