Bai Tu Long Bay, Vietnam

This is the less crowded, geological "must" near the famous and overcrowded Halong Bay. Thousands of limestone karsts sticking out of the water in a setting reminiscent of Chinese brush paintings. An overnight cruise with five other people on the Prince 3, one of the vessels in the fleet of Indochina Junk Co. It has four cabins and a crew of six, a guide (our shepherd), captain, engineer, two cooks, and a waiter/assistant. The ship was functional but needed cosmetic maintenance. The food was superb.

Highly organized. Four hour trip in a van from Hanoi to Halong with a toilet break at a giant souvenir warehouse. Boarding and sailing at about 1 PM, lunch, cruise to beach, visit cave where fishermen once lived, kayaking, dinner, sleep, breakfast, visit to floating fishing village of 400 families (relocated from caves) and pearl farm, brunch, return to Halong, van back to Hanoi with stop at farm village for toilets and water puppet show. Except for the latter, surrounded by beautiful karsts and water scenery.

Our room was adequate, bathroom surprisingly good with a good shower. Congenial shipmates were a Belgian couple with a seventeen-year-old adopted daughter of Vietnamese origin (making her first trip to Vietnam since she was adopted) and two English schoolteachers (one of whom is in Vietnam on a teaching gig for a few months). All in all, a worthwhile, unique experience.

Our boat. The sails are raised only for photographs.

Our shipmates

Our environment.

Our karsts.

One particular karst.

Our cave.

Our beach and kayaks

Our food. Each meal was accompanied by a spectacular food sculpture - so time-consuming to make that Emma thought it was exploitative to have the cooks do it at every meal.

Passenger and friend of the working class

Floating fishing village - we didn't particularly enjoy this segment.

It was a factory-like operation.

Being rowed in this manner does not please us, especially when the woman was coughing and obviously sick and weak. At the pearl farm we asked for another rower and the solution was to switch her to our guide and the Belgian family. On the last leg, the guide took over the rowing.

Demonstration: That's a pearl showing in the oyster.

Water puppet show in a farm village. Too slick and touristy. Some artistry, but nothing to go out of your way for. Especially if you've seen great puppetry around the world.

Puppets show rice farming.

And then we returned for one more night in Hanoi. Here's how our Serene Hotel on Yen Thai Street decorates the bed and supplies towels with rose petals and leaves.