Up early at 5.45am and I headed off for a walk around the Lake. Kevin decided that he needed to pack and didn’t venture out. After breakfast we crammed all our stuff in our suitcases for storage. We were taking only hand luggage for the overnight stay on the cruise boat. We received a call at 7.30 to say we needed to be downstairs whereas Ms Jan had told us pickup was at 8.00am. We rushed down. Of course we had to wait until after 8.00am before we were picked up. The Fowler family was also going to Halong Bay and they were waiting in reception for their bus as well. Ms May was our guide and she introduced herself and as with all the guides we have had spoke good English. Only 4 others on the bus so were able to chat freely with others. Chatted with a guy from Sunbury in Melbourne who was the ex President of the Police Union. He was travelled throughout SE Asia for 4 months and it was interesting to get some tips and hints. Arrived at Halong Bay and waited for the boats Captain to allow us on board. We quickly put our belongings in our cabin and headed to lunch. We were sitting with 3 girls from Thailand. We came to know them quite well over the next 24hours. After lunch we were given the option of taking a kayak or going in a bamboo boat around the floating fishing village. Kevin chose Kayaking. The water was so calm and we headed off following everyone else. Off course we were unable to row in tandem and so were going in a zig zag direction. It was an interesting activity. When we got back to the boat we had a quick swim and then got ready for happy hour and the cooking class – making spring rolls. I participated and received my Certificate of Achievement. The staff took the spring rolls away and cooked them up for us and Kevin was surprised by how good they were considering they were made with pork mince. After dinner we tried our hand at squid fishing but had no luck. We headed to bed soon after.
