At this point in our travels, we were starting to miss the 3 months we spent living on cruise ships. So when we arrived in Hanoi, one of the first things we did was sign up for a junk boat cruise in Ha Long Bay.
Just a 3-hour death-defying van ride from Vietnam’s capital city, Ha Long Bay has been designated a World Heritage Site for its vast expanse of scenic “junk boats”.
Our ship, the Marguerite was anything but junk. With a capacity of just 2 dozen passengers, it’s a bit smaller than Freedom of the Seas, but way more charming.
Navigating through the crowded port and getting checked in was a bit chaotic, but soon we were settled into our comfortable cabins and cruising into some spectacular scenery.
We stopped to tour the “Amazing Cave” (aptly named), and got a workout on some sea kayaks before returning to the boat for a sunset swim.
When everyone started jumping off the top deck of the boat, Hannah & Ray joined right in. I was impressed – it’s almost 20 feet!
My kids have gotten so brave on this journey!
As night fell, it was time for a great dinner of local seafood,
followed by some late night karaoke. The kids were a big hit, but it was my rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit that really got the party going. (Sorry, no video of that.)
A beautiful dawn was followed by breakfast and more scenic cruising.
After that, we said goodbye to the crew and piled into our van for the long transfer back to Hanoi.
I highly recommend the Marguerite Junk – it was a great way to finish off our world tour!
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We were in Halong Bay in 2002, but had not have the chance to stay overnight at one of these junks! They are absolutely cool! Were they expensive?
This Junk is marked! it is defiantly something I would love to try. Looks amazing. The photos are just great of all the posts I missed I enjoyed reading them all at one take. I hope you are settling back ok…
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