Halong Bay Part 1 (6-7.10.2012): Bonding, Boating and Bathing

On Saturday morning, we took a bus to Halong Bay (with the mandatory stop at a factory/artisanal store of course). Upon arrival, our boat was not quite ready so we waited for a bit... Noah hanging out on a couch at the port.

Bonding with GG while waiting for the boat... 

Awww....

So cute together.

Some new stylish hat?

Our boat... the Dragon Pearl...

View from the deck as we head out into the bay.

Our first meal on board - amazing food, stupendous decor and stellar company.

Noah enjoying his pumpkin soup.

Yummm....

The rest of the afternoon, we relaxed on the boat, went kayaking - which Noah very much enjoyed (unfortunately there are no pictures as we were a bit worried about bringing the camera on the little kayaks). When asked what his favorite things about the Vietnam trip was, Noah will invariably mention the kayak.

Next morning, we took the tender boat to a floating village. Noah was very excited about this boat too and eagerly asked when we were going to take the tender boat again. 

Once at a dock near the village, we took rowboats to the actual village. All in all, we took many different types of boats during this short trip on the bay to Noah's great enjoyment.

Noah, Seth and I on our rowboat.

and again...

View from the rowboat. 

Approaching the floating village.

GG and Grandpa with our guide gliding in.

Noah decided to teach at the local school...

From the village we rowed to a rock bridge/tunnel.

The village harvests pearls... we saw a demonstration of how they put the little piece of sand in the oyster with some medicine and special ointment... below a fully grown pearl.

The view as we head out on our "big boat" once again.

In the afternoon, we went swimming...

Noah and GG playing in the water.

The swimmers with the amazing decor in the background.

That evening, our last, we had a romantic dinner in a cave.... to be continued in Halong Bay Part 2!