Ha Long

After arriving at our dock in Ha Long harbor, we set off an a four-hour boat ride on one of the tourist “junks.” The wooden boats have two sails, but none were in use on our or any of the boats we saw. The ride through the limestome monoliths was interesting for the first two hours. The trip was actually four hours long - during which we sat and watched this very determined young Vietnameses woman work hard to sell jewelry made from locally cultivated pearls (black and white) to our fellow passengers. She made one sale of a necklace with 6 pearls and a pair of matching earings sor $40.

One note about life on board this beautiful ship - the entertainment last night included the cruise director, the assistant cruise director, and four young crew members designated as vocalists singing theme songs from past hit movies - they weren’t great singers, but with the sound track, the lighting, and their evident delight in performing, it made for an enjoyable evening.