In my memory the days on the boat all meld into one long lazy day of sun soaking with intermittent jaunts of kayaking, fishing, swimming and man-made caves. However the boats did give the trip some structure in my mind. Even though we quickly noticed that the claim of the only sailboat tour on the island was a blatant lie we were excited about the good boat. We had ass cushions to make us more comfortable and finally the village boys could experience some of the Vietnamese sun they had flown all this way to find.
Soon we found ourselves in relative calm away from the crowds to enjoy the amazing scenery. Ha Long Bay consists of small clusters of boat people living amongst the 1969 islands (the number, not the year) that tower out of the water as you drift by. In the afternoon of the first day the crew hoisted the sails on the good boat, with a little help from Adam's super human strength, and we became characters in a sun-drenched episode of Howard’s Way. The evening meal was served on the top of the boat, a spread we would quickly become over familiar with. The main delight was cooked fish that had been caught on the boat, from which we discovered that real freshness tastes overpoweringly of garlic. This was accompanied by a massive bowl of rice, vegetables and more fried spring rolls than would ever be necessary for a group of 10. We watched the lights of bobbing lanterns as they were released for the delight of the passengers from the posh French boat at the other end of the cove.
As night fell to pitch black darkness the bottles of cheap rum that had been carried on board, to raised eyebrows from the crew, were opened and the evening ended in predictable consequences. Luckily no-one ended up overboard in the black, still water but the communal bed with four mattresses meant that some (one) of us may have wished that was otherwise.
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