We signed up for a tour of Halong Bay out of Hanoi. The company we went with was ET Pumpkin, an LP recommended travel agency. For $60, we got a three day adventure with practically everything included, except for drinks. 

We were picked up in the morning and began the 3 hour drive out to Halong City. Our guide had a habit of beginning everything he said with "Ladies and Gentleman." We passed through fields of rice. Farmers in their conical hats crouched to plant the rice stalks in the mud. Towards the end karsts began to appear, similar to Guilin in China. 

The dock was mayhem. Tour bus after tour bus pulled up and disgorged hundreds of slightly confused looking tourists. Our guide went to get a ticket and ushered us to our boat. There were plenty of others that looked just like it. Only a few, the expensive luxury boats, distinguished themselves. The main deck was an eating area, and a pretty nice one. There was a sundeck above and cabins below. We had lunch here, a pretty good feast with fried squid, among other things. Then we cast off and headed out for our cruise........ 

It had been misty and rainy in Hanoi and out here it wasn't any different. The weather wasn't supposed to change until April. So we chugged out with the fleet of boats into a grey world. Soon however, a dark grey shadow rose up directly in front of the boat. The islands of Halong Bay. 

There are 2000-3000 islands scattered around this area. The scenery had been compared to Guilin in China, so I was pretty excited to see it....

Source: Travel Blogs

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