Paradise Luxury Cruise, Hanoi

4 August 2018, Hubs surprised me with a birthday cruise in Hanoi. Overnight too! So we travelled from Hanoi to Halong Bay in our booked transport. Took us about 3.5 hours, stopping once over at a tourist mall that sold pearls, souvenirs and silk products. It was quite a long journey as the driver drove really slowly and it frustrated me a lot!!!

We reached Halong Bay before noon and got ourselves registered. Received our green bangles and waited some more. Registration was a pain in the ass. They are not organized at all for there were too many tourists and locals to attend to. Different colored bangles referred to different kinda cruises. Above all the queues and waiting, we were in good spirits.

There's our boat, QN6688.

We were the first to board. We headed straight to the dining area and then got our keys to our rooms.

Our room #212

Our little room on board was simple adorable. Local costumes were laid on the bed, ready for dinner.

Loved the toilet!

Loved the shower!

Loved my bedside table!

Okay, ready for lunch, We were starving.

Fried rice, stuffed cabbage and stir fried veggies

Fruits

Salad bar

Bar

My round #1

Jelly fish salad

Gorgeous view

My #2 round for lunch

Coffee and desserts

Our gorgeous balcony

Loved the balcony!

Happy hour

Relaxing on the top deck

The birthday girl was a happy gal

Managed to catch a glimpse of sunset

Demo: Making spring rolls

Chef Jo at work

Chef Jo's spring rolls

Chef Jo received certificate of participation from Captain Grace

Enjoying a last wefie before getting ready for dinner

All ready for dinner, costumes and all

Lots to eat at dinner time

There's a bar b q stall outside the dining area as well

Refillable to your heart's content

Night view

Lovely to watch all boats anchoring for the night

Gooooooooooooooood morning Halong Bay!

Woke up at 5AM hoping to catch the sun rise but it was raining.

Still...enjoyed the gorgeous morning from my bedside

Titop Island

Dining area

Out on the deck

Our table

Pre-breakfast

The crew knew we were coffee lovers!

Had new brew each time we were done

More glorious coffee

Breakfast

Salad and fruits

Sausages, baked beans and bacon

Stir fry beef, fried rice and hashbrowns

More delicious coffee

My omelette

Started to rain very heavily

After the downpour, Halong Bay was just breathtaking

Last wefie before we docked and had to say goodbye to the crew and Halong Bay.

Love the life you live, Live the live you love (Bob Marley)

Thank you Hubs for this beautiful birthday surprise.

St. Joseph Cathedral, Hanoi

St. Joseph cathedral was designed to resemble the famous Notre Dame of Paris. Inaugurated in 1886, after the French conquered Hanoi, it is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Hanoi. With its neo-gothic style, it has attracted visitors from all over the world. Hubs and I were very lucky as we managed to sit in for one of its masses. Its interior is simply majestic. Its stain glass windows are original since its establishment.The crowd was crazy even just after a heavy downpour of blessings.

Address: 40 Nhà Chung, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 100000, Vietnam

Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural

This is the colorful 2.5 mile Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic mural wall. It was completed in 2010 for Hanoi's 1000th birthday celebration. The concept was developed by mosaic artist Nguyen Thu Thuy but it took a good 35 artists from Vietnam, 10 artists from other countries, more than 100 artisans from ceramic villages to help out and supported by 500 Vietnamese and International children and students from art colleges in Vietnam. I noticed it when we were on our way from the airport to the hotel. Hanoi is known to have one of the most chaotic traffic in the world but when I saw this wall, I made up my mind I would have to find a way to take some photos of it. Thank goodness for an overhead bridge across the super busy main road!

Address: Hồng Hà, Ấp Thạnh Vinh, Ba Đình, Ấp Thạnh Vinh Ba Đình Hà Nội, Vietnam.