Goodbye Hanoi. Hello Halong Bay

There was a bit of a drive in our minibus from central Hanoi  to Halong Bay and though the distance wasn't great it took us four hours if you included the compulsory stop at the tourist toilet and tat trap on the way. We resisted the hard sales and just used the facilities while our driver and guide filled up on Pho.
The minibus was comfortable but slow. The maximum speed is limited to 80kph and stoppages are frequent. We tried not watch the antics of our driver as we weaved about both carriageways and occasionally used "on" ramps as "off" ramps after cutting across the opposite carriage way in the face of oncoming traffic. Cathie tried to keep her eyes closed for a lot of the journey.
At Halong Bay we joined one of the 500 odd boats that eagerly awaited the bus loads of tourists that we had rubbed shoulders with at our toilet stop. The boats varied in size and standard, and cruises can be for a day or up to a week. Diane had selected an upper class boat (no rats in the bedrooms) and a two day cruise. We were part of a group of 14 and the staff had orders to spoil us whenever possible. Cabins were spacious with large en-suite facilities and were clad in teak throughout. We left harbour after a welcome drink and soon were sitting down to a five course lunch as we cruised between some of the 2000 islands in the bay.
Our guide on the boat had a strange form of English and it took a while to understand fully what he told us. It came as a bit of a surprise to be decanted into kayaks mid afternoon, but we soon settled down to paddling through caves and in to quiet lagoons. Managed to get some photos and didn't drop the camera so all went well. 
Happy hour included a demonstration of making Vietnamese crispy pancakes and was followed by a dinner which was as good as the lunch. The day was brought to a close with a card game session - we were cruising with Catriona and Diane after all...