Hello friends! Currently, I am blogging from the Asiana Airlines lounge at the airport in Seoul, South Korea. Next stop.. America!!
(Side note - I am so thankful for status. My layover is five hours, which is just too short to leave the airport and go explore the city, but just too long to actually be bearable. So thankful that I can hang out in this quiet space with nice bathrooms and free wi-fi!)
It has been, per usual, a crazy past few days. I only spent about 24 hours in Singapore before flying to Korea last night because I was on a cruise in Halong Bay for the weekend! Halong Bay is a near Hanoi that is known for its limestone cliffs, and it is UNESCO World Heritage site. Almost everyone I know in Singapore always lists a Halong Bay cruise among their top destinations in SE Asia. I've been so excited for this trip since I moved.. plus, I just love Vietnam.
We flew up to Hanoi on Thursday night, but we didn't really get to spend any time exploring the city, which was a real bummer. It was rainy and late by the time everyone got in, so we just went and had dinner near the hotel because we had to be up early on Friday morning.
The only bad thing about the Halong Bay cruise is that it is a three hour car ride from Hanoi.. and car rides in Vietnam are definitely not as smooth and easy as in the US. Lots of bumps, awful traffic, and a lack of general road infrastructure makes it a bit uncomfortable. Luckily, the scenery is beautiful, and Stephanie was happy to tell us all about rice paddies and the rice harvesting process!
It was rainy on the drive over, but it had lightened up by the time we were boarding the boat. We checked into our cabins and had a safety briefing before having a delicious lunch as we set sail! Seriously, the food on the boat was really great!
We sailed over to an island where we could climb up some steps (more than 400 steps!) to have a nice view and then go for a swim on the beach.
We met some fun Americans while we were swimming, but sadly, they weren't on our cruise. (There were some other fun Americans on our cruise though!) The second stop of the day was to a small floating fishing village, where we were rowed around in bamboo boats.
The fishing village was kind of crazy because it seemed like it just sprang up out of nowhere. And all the houses looked more like porches? Crazy how different life can be..
We headed back onto our boat, had a fabulous dinner, and ended the night with Uno!
The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and blue skies!!
We left the main boat to board a day boat (which was huge!) that would take us around Halong Bay for the day. It actually ended up being only Americans on the day boat, which was so cool!
We sailed around and took in the gorgeous views, explored some islands, went kayaking, and did some swimming! The weather was great, and we had such a fun day.
We took the guided tour and learned a bit more about how pearl farming works, and then we saw some of the workers in action.
We ended the day by going back to the boat and enjoying some drinks while watching the sunset!
Dinnertime also included a lesson on making spring rolls!
Sunday morning, we went to explore one of the limestone caves nearby. It was massive! In typical tour fashion, our guide pointed out lots of rocks that were vaguely shaped like various objects, and we took a bunch of photos. Then we headed back to the boat and sailed back to the dock. Cruise over :(
All in all, a great weekend. My love affair with Vietnam continues to grow, but sadly, I didn't get to have any Vietnamese sandwiches on this trip. Guess that means I will just need to go back!
The blog may be a bit quiet over the next few weeks, as I try to enjoy my time in the US as much as possible. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you in person!!
(Side note - I am so thankful for status. My layover is five hours, which is just too short to leave the airport and go explore the city, but just too long to actually be bearable. So thankful that I can hang out in this quiet space with nice bathrooms and free wi-fi!)
It has been, per usual, a crazy past few days. I only spent about 24 hours in Singapore before flying to Korea last night because I was on a cruise in Halong Bay for the weekend! Halong Bay is a near Hanoi that is known for its limestone cliffs, and it is UNESCO World Heritage site. Almost everyone I know in Singapore always lists a Halong Bay cruise among their top destinations in SE Asia. I've been so excited for this trip since I moved.. plus, I just love Vietnam.
We flew up to Hanoi on Thursday night, but we didn't really get to spend any time exploring the city, which was a real bummer. It was rainy and late by the time everyone got in, so we just went and had dinner near the hotel because we had to be up early on Friday morning.
Pho!
The only bad thing about the Halong Bay cruise is that it is a three hour car ride from Hanoi.. and car rides in Vietnam are definitely not as smooth and easy as in the US. Lots of bumps, awful traffic, and a lack of general road infrastructure makes it a bit uncomfortable. Luckily, the scenery is beautiful, and Stephanie was happy to tell us all about rice paddies and the rice harvesting process!
We stopped at a rest area with lots of random stuff for sale.. including a silk blanked haha
Here's an example of lack of infrastructure.. this is a railroad crossing outside of Hanoi.. the woman goes and pulls the gates closed so that cars can't cross
And as the train goes by, a bunch of men relieve themselves on the left side of the photo.
It was rainy on the drive over, but it had lightened up by the time we were boarding the boat. We checked into our cabins and had a safety briefing before having a delicious lunch as we set sail! Seriously, the food on the boat was really great!
Our boat!
Our room!
We sailed over to an island where we could climb up some steps (more than 400 steps!) to have a nice view and then go for a swim on the beach.
We met some fun Americans while we were swimming, but sadly, they weren't on our cruise. (There were some other fun Americans on our cruise though!) The second stop of the day was to a small floating fishing village, where we were rowed around in bamboo boats.
The fishing village was kind of crazy because it seemed like it just sprang up out of nowhere. And all the houses looked more like porches? Crazy how different life can be..
We headed back onto our boat, had a fabulous dinner, and ended the night with Uno!
The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and blue skies!!
We left the main boat to board a day boat (which was huge!) that would take us around Halong Bay for the day. It actually ended up being only Americans on the day boat, which was so cool!
Locals will paddle up to your boat to try to sell you snacks and drinks
We sailed around and took in the gorgeous views, explored some islands, went kayaking, and did some swimming! The weather was great, and we had such a fun day.
We also made a stop at a pearl farm. I don't know much about pearls, but apparently, Vietnam is a popular source for pearls?
We took the guided tour and learned a bit more about how pearl farming works, and then we saw some of the workers in action.
Cleaning the oysters
Open sesame!
Woohoo!
We ended the day by going back to the boat and enjoying some drinks while watching the sunset!
Dinnertime also included a lesson on making spring rolls!
Sunday morning, we went to explore one of the limestone caves nearby. It was massive! In typical tour fashion, our guide pointed out lots of rocks that were vaguely shaped like various objects, and we took a bunch of photos. Then we headed back to the boat and sailed back to the dock. Cruise over :(
All the trash bins were penguins?
All in all, a great weekend. My love affair with Vietnam continues to grow, but sadly, I didn't get to have any Vietnamese sandwiches on this trip. Guess that means I will just need to go back!
The blog may be a bit quiet over the next few weeks, as I try to enjoy my time in the US as much as possible. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you in person!!
No comments:
Post a Comment