The whole reason why we were in Hanoi was for Halong Bay. There are apparently hundreds of cruises that ply Halong Bay. We eventually set our hearts on Swan Cruise. Why? Bcos the size and price are right and they responded to our emails. Haha. The cruises seem to have all about the same itinerary, so that doesn't make much of a difference.
Booking the cruise is another art. Other than trying to book directly with the cruise, we could also go with the many travel agencies. We eventually booked the Swan Cruise via Blue Dragons. Why? Again bcos Blue Dragons replied promptly to my emails. Hoho. Ok, I also did a Trip Adviser search on them and found them to be reputable. For a 2D1N cruise with 2 connecting cabins, we paid USD500. This is the case where a triple room is no longer able to contain our family.
We woke up early to pick and choose bfast.
The bus to Halong Bay would pick us up between 8am to 8.30am. It was a mad rush and the bus was very much on time. We got a call from the reception at 8am to inform that the bus had arrived and when we came down in a couple of mins later, the bus had left to 1st pick up other passengers in the interest of time. That gave me some time to look at the street outside of our hotel that was starting to wake up.
There were many motorbikes in Hanoi too but definitely lesser than in Ho Chi Minh. Crossing the road is still an adventure, deciding if we should give way to the bikes or vice versa.
There were a couple of vendors selling big buns in front of the hotel. I was tempted to buy one but decided not to waste food; we were still full from bfast and there was a high chance that out taste buds wouldn't agree with the food. What was interesting was the use of coals as fuel. Yes, it is that black round thing and it turns grey after fully burnt.
The bus finally turned back for us at 8.30am. We were the last to board the bus and we only found one remaining 2-seater. Daddy Lim sat beside the kids and I was in the last row behind them. I was seated in between these 2 Spanish ladies who wanted to each take one side of the window seat. That was ok but what was not ok was the fact that they started talking to each other with me in the middle. Then the guide shared the wifi password and the nightmare began bcos the 2 ladies started passing their phones to each other sharing some pictures. I find that worse rather rude. Then it was worse when they started what sounded like an argument, with me still in the middle. Zzzzz. I offered to switch seat with one of them but they refused. What the..... Luckily the argument didn't persist for long or I would have been drown by their saliva.
At some point, the Zzzz monster took over most of us. Only the kids were strong enough to resist, ogling at the movies that they downloaded on Netflix in prep of the long road trip. About 2+ hours into the journey, we took a pit stop for some leg stretching and the toilet.
Fashion statement caps. Daddy Lim was very tempted to buy one. I think they provide good sun coverage while riding. Haha.
We continued for another 1ish hour on the bus after the 30 mins' break. It was about 1pm before we finally arrived at the cruise office. It was such a long bus journey to Halong Bay and I really hope that the cruise will be good. Soon, we and the luggages were transferred to the tender boat to sail the shallow waters in order to reach the cruise.
I had half guessed earlier that the same people in the bus would be the same cruise companion and I was right. Well, the thought of cruising with the Spanish ladies didn't sit very comfortably. Haha. Then again, there were people from everywhere - Spain, US, Germany, Malaysia, France... And I was surprised to see solos going on the cruise. So interesting.
Mummy Lim
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