We left Hanoi again – this time heading East … making our way to Halong Bay, the final destination and one of the highlights of the trip.

The weather was cloudy and misty, with the occasional light rain shower in between. Sunshine surely would have been much nicer – though I kind of liked the atmosphere, the weather and light were creating.

We arrived at the harbor of Halong City around midday, made it to a sort of shuttle boat to then move over to the actual boat. Here we had lunch before the ship actually started moving towards the karst formations. In the afternoon we left the ship to visit Sung Sot Cave – a series of caves, accessible through (hundreds of) steps only, with some nice views over the bay and a colorful surprise on the inside.

We returned to the ship for happy hour – i.e. in time for some pre-dinner cocktails. After dinner it was karaoke time … considering that it was just us on the ship (plus crew of course), we actually had some good fun here.

The next morning saw us slowly heading back to the port, passing by further karst formations and islands. We made it back to the mainland in the late morning and were back to Hanoi in the afternoon.

I took things easy in Hanoi, had another walk to the West Lake, with some tea stops on the way. In the evening – this being the last day of the tour and New Year’s Eve – we had a great group farewell-dinner (saying farewell to the group and to 2015), followed by a walk to the old quarter of town and its bar area. After midnight (with bars closing) we walked back to the hotel. For me this was the end of the trip, with my flight back leaving in the morning of January 1st.

In short – this trip has been a great one, Vietnam has lots to offer – from pristine nature, empty beaches and superb outdoor options to culture and history, all that combined with excellent food and friendly locals – nothing more to add.