Full day.

Well, this day really had it all.

It had a very early start, partially due to residual jet lag, but as a result, Mario and I found ourselves arriving first on the upper the deck to enjoy the sun rising over the limestone karsts that surrounded our boat. One of the deck hands was still mopping the deck, it was so early.


It had a Tai Chi session led by our captain (!), followed by the sun poking it head out from behind the clouds, giving us hope that the day would be warmer and sunnier than the last.

It had a delicious and filling breakfast, with eggs, toast and jam among other things, inciting mockery from Mario that I was eating a western breakfast when there was so much Pho to be consumed! (Spoiler alert: Mario will be eating eggs tomorrow!) Sadly, this was also the last time we saw most of our fellow cruisers, as we were staying on for an extra night, while they were heading back to shore after a visit to a cave. We waved a sad goodbye from our balcony as they sailed away on the tender.


It had more awesome kayaking! On our day trip away from the cruise, we got to enjoy more kayaking, this time around a different section of Bai Tu Long Bay. With a smaller groups and a more relaxed vibe, we headed on a tour around the limestone karst, stopping at a couple of beaches to lay in the sun and wade in the warm water. We also adventured into a large cave, once used as a school for the children of the fishermen. Mario relished in the self-guided exploration of it all.

It had ALL THE MEATS. Seriously, the lunch we got fed after all that kayaking, back on the day boat, involved so many delicious little dishes of food, and I think we covered all the meats - stir-fried pork, curry chicken, grilled chicken wings, grilled squid and blackened prawns. And before you say anything, we had stir-fried beef, simmered tofu and crab cakes at dinner, so yes, I think we did have ALL THE MEATS.


It had a lazy afternoon lounging in the sun on the upper deck of the day boat, followed by more time lounging on the upper deck of our cruise boat, once we returned from our day out. A nice hot shower to get rid of the salt in our hair, a strong Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk, and we were like happy lizards lying in our lounge chairs.


It had the saddest dance party in the world. A new group of 2-day, 1-night cruisers showed up, joined us on the top deck for the sunset/dance party before dinner, took a few photos, then basically went back to their rooms to hide until the meal was served. Nothing like last night, where the group was so animated, dancing and drinking and being generally festive, I'm surprised they made down to dinner in one piece!

It had another amazing meal with so many courses, we could not finish it all. The meal was the same as yesterday's, with the artfully carved, artistically presented dishes, but we, being on our second night, were served a slightly modified meal as to not be repetitive. We enjoyed a sweet/savory cucumber salad, fried prawns and squid, fried fish simmer in tomato, as well as simmered tofu, stir-fried chicken, stir-fried beef, steamed rice, and big chucks refreshing dragon fruit for dessert. We were stuffed.

It had another creamy egg coffee to finish off the night in the cool air on the top deck.

It had another relaxing evening in our "deluxe stateroom", watching the karsts float by from the comfort of our big, cozy bed.

Yup. That day really had everything.