This morning, we got to sleep in an extra 30 minutes—whoo hoo! Instead of the hotel breakfast, we opted for a coffee shop down the block to enjoy a breakfast banh mi and an egg coffee for Andrew, and a coconut coffee for me. We then boarded the bus for a 3-hour drive to the beautiful Ha Long Bay. If you’re not familiar with it, our pictures below might help ring a bell. Either way, look it up on Google or Apple Maps—it’s quite the array of small “islands” that resemble cliffs or small mountains jutting out of the sea. On the way, we stopped about halfway for a restroom break and to visit the Hang Ngoc Fine Art factory, founded in 1996 by a Vietnam veteran to provide jobs for people with disabilities. We got a brief tour and saw several workers stitching and embroidering pictures. They also had sculptures, lacquer art, handwoven silk tapestries, and more. Everything is handmade, and a portion of each piece sold goes directly to the artist. The woman in the photo is working on a silk embroidery piece that will take two months to complete. We were invited to walk around and explore the art. There was some pressure to buy, but we asked to be left alone. Andrew and I found a piece that we both loved, which reminded us of the trip and had colors we adore. After discussing shipping options, we bought the silk embroidered piece. We’re excited to bring it home. It was created by a woman who took four months to complete it. Sadly, we forgot to take a picture before they packaged it for us. You’ll have to wait until we get it home!

We reboarded the bus and soon arrived at Ha Long Bay. We were immediately awed by the stunning views of limestone islets jutting out of the sea. There are nearly 2,000 islets of varying sizes, making it one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. We boarded our boat, which would be our home for the rest of the day and tomorrow. Each of us had our own cabin, and we were excited about the provisions and the beautiful views. After settling in, we had lunch. Then, we took a tender boat to Ti Top island, where we climbed about 400 steps to the top for breathtaking views. After sweating out a good workout and catching our breath, we descended for a short swim in the warm water.

We returned to our main boat to drop off some folks, then departed for kayaking amidst several islets in Ha Long Bay. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on serene and clean waters. We saw monkeys around a group in a small boat and kayaked over to watch them. There were two baby monkeys playing with the others. We then kayaked into a cave-like feature through one of the islets, where we could kayak around the inside of a circular-shaped islet. It felt so peaceful and beautiful, staring up at the cliffs from the calm waters. Andrew and I are happy to report that we did not capsize this kayak! We returned to the boat for a stunning sunset and night sky photos, followed by dinner and drinks on the rooftop. I captured a photo of a lightning bolt behind distant clouds. We eventually headed to our cabin for the night, took a shower, and went to bed.

We got over six hours of sleep and enjoyed a comfortable bed and fantastic AirCon. We woke up to heavy rain and quickly got ready before grabbing breakfast. We then headed out on the tender boat to Sung Sot caves, the largest cave in Ha Long Bay. Our tour guide Kenny told us part of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed here, and reportedly Kong: Skull Island was also partially filmed in Ha Long Bay. The caves were incredibly expansive; more than two entire football fields could fit inside the largest cave. Our pictures don’t do it justice, so I filmed part of the tour walking through the large cave.

We returned to the boat, took another shower, and had our fourth and final meal on the boat after checking out of our room and settling our bill. During lunch, we headed back to the dock, ending our journey. We boarded the bus back to Hanoi, where the group, tired, mostly napped during the 3-hour ride. Back at our hotel, we left our large bags and said farewell to Kenny. We had some time to repack our bags before checking in again.

Our afternoon activity was a Foodie Tour, which we were all excited about! We met our foodie tour guide, Ning, who explained the plan: an appetizer, two main courses, a beverage, and two desserts. We walked to our first stop, Tuyet Bun Cha 34, for a rice noodle soup dish with fresh herbs. Everyone was enjoying the food until someone reminded us we had more to come. It was too late for me; I had scarfed down my entire bowl. We then noticed a Michelin Guide plaque on the wall, indicating they received a Bib Gourmand—well-deserved!

Next was Quay Gia Truyen for delicious Vietnamese pancakes filled with sprouts and beef, shrimp, or vegetables. You roll them with herbs in rice paper and dip them in the provided sauce. Our third stop was Pho Ga Khanh Beo for the famous Vietnamese soup, pho. Andrew and I love pho, though it’s often served with a pork broth. In Vietnam, you can easily get fish, chicken, pork, or even vegetarian broth. We learned that in the hot weather, they enjoy “summer pho,” served barely warm and little to no broth. It was very refreshing. I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take a picture—so I took a picture of Lyn’s bowl instead.

To quench our thirst, we had the option of a local draft beer or sugar cane juice. Since I don’t like beer, I chose the sugar cane juice at Mia Sau Rieng. We got to see the street vendor making the sugar cane juice fresh from the cane. Andrew opted for the local draft beer. Those who downed their cool beer were lucky enough to score a second pint.

For dessert, we had cooling ice cream at Huong Hai Che Ngon 93. We could choose from ice cream with sticky rice, ice cream with mango, or sticky rice with mango. I had ice cream with sticky rice, and Andrew had ice cream with mango. It was perfect after walking around in the hot, humid streets. Our final stop was for egg coffee, which we were excited about as we already knew we loved it. We attended an egg coffee demonstration at Hanoi Coffee Culture, just a few doors down from Cafe Giang. The process involves cracking an egg, separating the yolk from the white, and mixing the yolk with sweetened condensed milk, caramel syrup, honey, and a small amount of rum. This mixture is whipped until light and airy, then layered atop Vietnamese coffee for egg coffee. Non-coffee drinkers enjoyed it with warm chocolate instead.

After the foodie tour, we did some quick shopping (Andrew finally bought that yellow shoulder bag he had been eyeing for days), then took a Grab back to the hotel. We got our bags, boarded the bus, and headed to the train station for another 13-hour train ride to Hue. This time, we had our own cabin with four beds, sharing with our trip besties, Joanne and Daniel. We just departed the station and actually went right through the famous Train Street – but this time as passengers on the train! Pray we get a good night’s sleep on this train, unlike the one in Thailand!

Signing off for now,

Jeff