Good morning from Halong Bay!
Mark (yes, Mark!) and I got up early to participate in a Tai Chi session to be held on the upper deck of the boat. Actually, here:
While we're waiting for the lesson to begin, we're admiring the gorgeous scenery and taking numerous photos ….of basically the same thing. Can you blame us? It is beautiful here!
Either Mr. Ha or Mr. Long (can't remember which one) instructed us in the basic movements of tai chi. We first did a few warm exercises before moving on to to the actual tai chi movements. I've tried a few sessions of tai chi in China (wasn't "my thing") so I was a teensy bit familiar with the movements…and yes, what we learned was basically what I learned at my first tai chi lesson in China. It's a very slow, graceful "dance" of movements…
Is Mark trying to tell me something here??? (just kidding, he's following the tai chi instructions)
Follow the leader!
At the end of the lesson all the students divided into two lines- and we did a chain neck rub. Niiiiice!!!
Now we're ready for breakfast!
We've opted for the pho (clear soup with yummy noodles, herbs, meats) for breakfast:
See that island with the beach just in front of us? We're heading on a small boat over there. Apparently the cruise company owns this island and the beach is under some sort of government restrictions (why?? I don't know!) but we can still hang out on the beach AND someone mentioned something about a cave???
The cruise vendor required us to wear life preservers while transporting on the smaller shuttle boats. Safety first! Mark might have been irritated at this requirement but I actually appreciate it.
We've landed!
Up and up some stairs we go:
At the top of the stairs…rewarded with a gorgeous view of the bay:
Holy Cow Batman! It's a cave!!! We've walked to the top of the stairs and entered a cave. Cool! (I mean that both literally and figuratively. It's actually quite a bit cooler in here.)
Nice cave formations!
Just remember, we're not allowed to swim on this beach. So what we're doing is wading and walking in the water. Got that? Remember..walking, not swimming.
Annika took a kayak out and paddled around (without tipping herself over! I'm impressed!!):
Weeeeee!!! Annika's coming in for a landing. You'd better watch out!
Remember, we're not swimming. (wink, wink):
This is a photo of Annika, Ava and me "not" swimming:
Many of us have opted "not" to swim:
Good bye little beach! It was fun "not" swimming while it lasted!
I think it's time to head back…
Ava, full of never-ending, always amazing talent: LOL! Show off! Ava, you're a silly girl!
Time to leave this gorgeous boat!
We're ready for the next leg of our journey: heading to a pre-arranged home stay in Yen Duc. We just have to patiently in the Waiting Room until our transportation is ready to escort us to our next destination…. this should be good!
**And this is why I suggest to anyone who's thinking of visiting this fabulous place to stay at least TWO nights. **