09.45 pickup, two and a half hour drive to Halong, where we were welcomed aboard the Paradise Elegance amidst a shower of rose petals. A quick safety talk then we were shown to our rather elegant en-suite cabin with balcony.
Lying on the bed I soon realised there would be no more rose petals, so went for lunch. Pumpkin soup, vegetable tempura, rice, fish, steamed prawns and pack choi served elegantly by Miss Lily. There were a number of other passengers for whom this was a replacement cruise following C-virus cancellation of the original. Quite a few Spanish on board plus Canadian, American, French and Brits.
The Bay’s USP are the nearly 2,000 limestone islands, most with vertical faces crowned with dense vegetation. Some are large enough to live on, some are small rocky outcrops and others form jagged ridges across the water.
The area was a deep sea 500m years ago. Tectonic activity pushed up the limestone bedrock, creating a shallower, more tidal, warmer sea. Acid rain cut into soluble areas of the rock, gradually cutting down, and separating the rock into individual “karsts”. Tidal erosion is undermining the bases creating a “pedestal” appearance. You heard it here first.
The ship nudged away from the quay and joined a small flotilla of other ships containing passengers who had also passed the 36°C body temperature test, and whose ship operators were willing to risk 14 day quarantine to keep their businesses afloat (!).
Paradise Elegance
Elegance in Paradise
Once away from the docks, the ship entered a waterway maze, threading its way through, at some points, quite narrow channels, always flanked by the sheer limestone cliff faces. Navigation was not made easy due to the presence of other watercraft, such as fishing boats, tankers and more sightseeing craft.
An hour or so later the ship dropped anchor ever so elegantly, and those who wanted to (Mrs M did) were tendered ashore to view a pearl farm. Mrs M was back early, I thought due to a problem with her oyster card….. but apparently the farm was not working because to staff shortages.
Tendering
Growing the oysters
Equipment used for seeding the oysters. Small plastic ball inserted as a nucleus, pearl ready in approx 2 years
View back to the Elegance
Afternoon tea and biscuits saw us through a tough afternoon of sketchy wifi, until we dropped anchor at our overnight destination. There was an option to go ashore and climb a hill and see a cave, but we skipped that in favour of watching Good Morning Vietnam. Felt a bit like skipping school to be honest!
Our cabin, first on the left
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