Musings and Wanderlust

The boat pulled into a sheltered area of Ha Long Bay to moor for the night. We were able to enjoy the stunning sunset over the rocky outcrops of limestone. We were blown away. Well, three of us were at least. There was a distinct air of discontent radiating from dad. “I’ve been lied to! Why aren’t they screening my film?!” In the 90s, he had had a brief stint as an extra on the film Indochine. His role was a French naval officer who had to set a Vietnamese fishing boat on fire and send the occupants to their death. Our cousin, who had lived in Vietnam for many years, told us that throughout Ha Long Bay they screened the film nightly. And on that information, dad had booked up a holiday to Vietnam with Ha Long Bay as a compulsory destination. I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to recover from this colossal disappointment!

This was the first time we had been on a cruise, or any kind of organized holiday. I’m not sure we’re quite cut out for it. For one thing, the number and frequency of the ‘activities’ was something we had no idea how to handle! Katie and I joined in on the kayaking and swimming excursion but had to excuse ourselves from the cooking demonstration, squid fishing and cabin tour. We wandered up to the sundeck for sunbathing, there had to be some constant. Mum lay down next to us a little while later, but had covered up every inch of her body in fear of ‘getting dark’. I’m not sure she quite understands the concept of sunbathing… She then proceeded to throw towels, shirts and sarongs across the two of us. It’s clearly going to be a long holiday!