SIR, your wife-beater dress & tiny thong are burning holes into my eyes!!

About a week ago, Andreas and I traveled up to Ha Noi, Vietnam, in the northern part of the country, and that's where our Ha Long Bay excursion began...

From Ha Noi, we boarded a small bus, which took us the 3.5 hours to the Ha Long Bay Junk Cruise Boat dock. Then, for the next 3 days, we cruised around the bay on a boat that far exceeded our expectations. Here are some of our favorite photos that give you a glimpse of what we saw....

Life Through My Eyes....

I took this photo of Ha Long Bay, in the background...it's how I see things most of the time...through a wine glass!

VIDEO
Leaving the Dock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WKYtyJQpaI

Everybody loves a welcome cocktail!

Ry, we are sticking with the LSU Tiger!

Excited for dinner time!

There were other boats illumated all around the bay...it was a pretty sight in the evening!

Me, Andreas...and a Prawn!

We walked to the upper deck after dinner and discovered we were the only ones up there...

The essentials.....Ry, they have Goldfish in Vietnam!

And now for some beautiful shots...taken by Andreas

 Sundeck on our boat

Mine fields?

The Cave at Ha Long Bay

It's a frog (I actually see a frog in the rock, but the entire tour was about seeing animals shapes out of different rocks inside the cave....it was getting a little silly....here you see a horse, a bear, a monkey, a Buddha, a happy Buddha, a turtle.....i only saw the frog)

Oh, and I saw the 'happy couple'! Do you see it....she is sitting on his lap right in the middle of the photo

there's that damn penguin again....keeps following us!

The bay from the exit of the cave

Look close....see why I was so eager to get my photo taken.....

This dude was 'behind' me.....He seriously came to the Cave Tour wearing a wife beater and a thong......

Day Two on the boat.....Private boat day!
Andreas and I had booked a 3 day / 2 night cruise to Ha Long Bay. We didn't realize until after we boarded our boat, that most of the passengers were 1 night cruisers. So, we asked the boat manager if we got on the right boat, and he said that the following day, when all of the other cruisers went back to shore, we would board a smaller boat, with other 2 night passengers, and explore some more intimate parts of the bay.
The following day, we were shocked to find out that it was only us and one other couple on the small boat trip. It was fantastic...like having your own private charter out to Ha Long Bay. We took the top part of the boat...and were on our own for most of the afternoon.

Andreas, soaking up the sun on our private mini cruise boat!

It was paradise....I didn't want the day to end!

It's pretty cool to see these giant tankers pass every once in a while. They are incredibly quiet...but very large!

VIDEO:
Biking through Ha Long Bay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2EHZ-jdtfg

 During our day, we stopped at a little island in the bay to ride some bikes and check out local life.

Look Ma, no hands!!!

Miss you Meg! Eventually, the one in the front, pushed the one in the back off the ledge.....Meg, you reminded me of the one in front. ;-)

Spotted this little tyke while riding our bikes around the island.

Beautiful

Once You Pop....You Can't Stop! Flavor: Bangkok Grilled Chicken Wing.....excuse me, waiter....do you have Sour Cream & Onion?

Farmer working on the island!

Andreas and I kayaked out to this private beach for the afternoon....It was beautiful and we had it all to ourselves!

The Royal Treatment!
When we returned from our Day 2 Private Boat trip....the manager was kind enough to slip us the keys to the royal suite for the evening....telling us to enjoy ourselves!

On our private balcony....How does the other half live???

View from our room!

Andreas....containing his excitement after walking into the suite!

He too is wondering how the 'other half' does it! ;-)

Relaxing in our room!

Having the suite for the evening was really nice. We loved our time on this boat and interacted with all of the staff. The food was delicious, the accommodation was perfect, and what really made this cruise special was the on-board staff. They were always smiling, and always willing to go the extra mile to make sure you were having a GREAT time! Andreas was even persuaded to wake up at 6am, on his last morning on the boat, to take a Tai Chi lesson on the top deck....I did no attend, but he returned to the room an hour later with some story about having to massage some old mans shoulders...I hope he attended the correct lesson that morning....I'm still not convinced it was Tai Chi! ;-)
Bhaya Cruise Boat #1....We loved being passengers on your ship!!!

Floating Village
On our final morning in the bay, we took a tiny boat ride out to a floating village. It was a really great end to an already amazing weekend!

This little guy was playing on a boat....with a really long pole...he was maybe 2 yrs old!

Kimble and Alex were the only other couple to take the 2 day trip....they are world travelers, and it was great to hear about some of the interesting places they have seen.

She was sitting on the edge of her dock...blowing bubbles!

You just relax sir....let the LADY do all the work!

The kids are the cutest...can we take you with us???

We had an amazing time on this boat....and really didn't want to leave. If you are ever in Vietnam...we suggest you check out Ha Long Bay!

Hope you enjoyed the blog. Miss you all!

P.S. We were told today that our Moonrise video was blocked by Youtube in the USA. If you are unable to view the Moonrise link from the last post, and would like to, let me know and I'll email it to you. :-)

xoxo - Shan & Andreas