Ha Long, O Lord, Ha Long.

On Saturday morning about 130 Hanoi-dwelling expats, all loyal readers of the New Hanoian web site, which sponsored the trip, boarded three large air-conditioned buses for a two-day excursion to Ha Long Bay.

We thought the curtains were an elegant touch.

We got our first look at the countryside surrounding Hanoi.

Verdant rice fields surrounding small villages. The trip took

about 3 hours. We were semi-prepared to be slightly

underwhelmed, but when we got our first glimpse of the ocean

with the dim shapes of dozens of tiny islands

looming in the watery haze, we knew we were

about to experience something wonderful.

Ha Long port is a busy destination, both for tourists

and cargo ships. This cable-stayed bridge floats about it all.

The group was so big, we filled three junks. Ours was the Hailong Suite.

The other two junks in our flotilla.

O. enjoys a welcome cocktail at our portside table on the second deck.

The main dining room.

Our cabin was very comfortable, with a great view of the sea to starboard.

Delicious fresh crab and shrimp.

This shredded grapefruit salad was especially tasty.

The scenery was incredible. There are hundreds,

if not thousands of these small limestone islands,

stretching for miles in all directions.

Legend says they are the back of a dragon which submerged itself in the bay.

Oddly, there are no seagulls. The only birds we saw were

swallows nesting in the cliffs and a dozen or so circling hawks.

It is truly otherworldly.

Our first destination for the day was a floating

fishing village located deep with the maze of islands.

We were loaded into small boats and rowed into town.

The locals raise fish and prawns and sell pearls and

souvenirs to the tourists. There are around 400

tourist junks plying these waters, but the bay

is so huge we rarely saw other tourist boats.

Dogs and babies everywhere.

Almost all the rowers who paddled us around in these small boats

were young women. They work hard.

It's a beautiful setting, but a little sad.

We returned to our boats via the scenic route.

I'm sure our rowers were glad to see the sails of our junks in the distance.

A young villager goes to sea in a styrofoam cooler.

Back at the ship, the chef had decorated the table for our Vietnamese cooking lesson.

O. was the first to try her hand at rolling

nem ran (fried spring rolls).

"All in the wrist," she claims nonchalantly.

Gin and tonics were available at sunset.

We threaded our way through the islands to the small bay

where we would moor for the night.

Dinner was to be served in Drum Cave, actually more

of a natural tunnel that goes entirely through

one of the larger islands. As we approached the island,

we could see the glow from the cave and hear the music playing.

The steps to the cave were strewn with flower petals for our arrival.

The cave itself was enormous and filled with candles

and other lights, as well as revelers.

The New Hanoian audience of expats is a prized demographic,

so many vendors had contributed to make the night

very special. Bacardi and many other makers of spirits,wine,

and beer kept free alcohol flowing freely all night long.

Barbequed meats and seafood were also abundant.

The setting couldn't have been more spectacular.

We met many friendly, interesting people. Expats tend

to be adventurous,with unusual life stories.

We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced.

Then we went back to the ship and drank and

laughed somemore. Some of us were asleep by 1:30.

Others caroused until nearly dawn.

The choice of activities for the morning was

(A) climb this mountain for a view of the bay,

(B) go swimming at the beach at the base of the mountain,

or (C) lie about groaning. Sadly, many of our group

were forced to choose (C).

I chose (A) and (B). The stairs to the top of the

mountain weren't quite Mayan temple steep,

but there were few places to pause and pant.

But the view was definitely worth it.

 And afterward the warm salt water was incredibly refreshing.

I think you can see that we had a great time.

P.