Tag 108: continue through Ha Long Bay

Jan and I got up at half past five in the morning for sunrise. Slowly, the sun emerged between two islands. After the sun had fully risen, we went back to sleep for a bit until we had to get up again for breakfast. After breakfast, the boat took us to a pearl farm, where we were shown how oysters are cultivated to produce pearls for jewelry. After the short tour, we were allowed to kayak through the bay, where the oysters are laid out in the water. There are certainly worse panoramas for kayaking. After that, we had to say goodbye to the really great group of people we had met on the boat, as we had booked a longer tour than the rest. After changing boats in a bay, we headed towards Cat Ba, a large island with the same name as the city. On the way, we stopped at floating villages. The people there basically live their entire lives on the water. Apparently, there is even a floating football field here. After having lunch, we went to Monkey Island, where we climbed to the top of a small mountain. From there, we headed to Cat Ba, the island where we will spend the second night of our tour. After checking into the hotel, we walked around the quite touristy town for a bit. Here, we realized that we were really no longer used to tourists after all the solitude in the mountains.