20231026 AAAA Trip - Sea Day - making our way to Vietnam

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 40/105 - South China Sea Sailing

You never know what kind of hitchhikers you will find on a cruise ship

We sailed from Hong Kong just after 11 p.m. last night and changed times overnight to UTC+7, or 11 hours ahead of the US East Coast.  This means a relaxing sea day before a really long 12-hour excursion tomorrow to Hanoi.

Our internet service frankly sucked in China.  Viking said that it might and said it had something to do with "Chinese frequencies" - mumbo jumbo used to convince non-technical people.  While not stellar, the internet was much better on this ship than we have seen on any other Viking cruise.  No more.  We're right back to sucky internet.  In this day and age, people expect to be able to be connected.  Royal Caribbean has figured it out, but Viking continues to refuse to.  It is a shame.  As I write this, updates fail, then succeed.  Viking, are you listening?

Sea days mean Baggo.  It was men versus women today, and the estrogen crew handed out a resounding loss to us testosterone producers.  As always, it was good fun and a nice bonding experience for the guests.

You can tell Arlona got serious as she put her hair up

Before I get more into today, I want to share some fun news, especially if you sailed with us on the world cruise.  Our travel consultant and friend, Hâmed Reza Esfahanian, had guests visit while we were in Hong Kong - his fiancée, Liza, and their daughter, Ezrah.  It was a pleasure meeting them both.  Did I say, "fiancée"?  I did because Hâmed proposed on the ship and Liza said, "Yes!"  We are thrilled for the family.  It was great to see him get some special time with the family in Hong Kong and get a little break from his hectic schedule.  They plan to wed in February in the Philippines.

Liza, Hâmed, and Ezrah and Hong Kong Disney

Hâmed and Ezrah

Ezrah

Back to sea day happenings...

Arlona took a walk on deck 2 while I rested my knee.  She saw this little dude, catching a ride.

Viking provides a no-cost ride from Hong Kong to Ha Long Bay

Sea days also mean trivia.  We joined up with two other couples for trivia today. Assistant Cruise Director, Harry left us in Hong Kong, so trivia is now being hosted by the new Assistant Cruise Director, Gil.  

Our misses:

• How many languages are written right-to-left?
• We knew it was more than you’d think, and thought 12, but upped it to 14 – it is 12
• How many countries still use the shilling as currency?
• We thought three, but it is four – Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya
• Cynophobia is the fear of what?
• We guessed poison – it is the fear of dogs

We netted 12/15 correct along with one other team, necessitating a tiebreaker question.  We were the first to answer, Oslo for the capital of Norway.  That gave us the win, mimosas, and bragging rights until the next sea day.

The Know-It-Alls - Terry, Bill, Garry, Isabell, Arlona, June

We enjoyed a nice chat with a couple from the Atlanta area over lunch before relaxing on the balcony.  We thought we were out in the ocean, but then Arlona saw what appeared to be a small channel marker buoy.

We could also make out land behind it through the haze (it was harder to see in person)

We checked the map and saw that we were sailing through the Qiongzhou Strait.

We are headed to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, just east of Hanoi and northeast of Haiphong

After passing through the Qiongzhou Strait, we entered the Beibu Gulf en route to Ha Long Bay. As we sailed, we passed multiple ships and a bunch of these - we assumed they were fishing buoys that held nets or traps.

Occasional small boats were in the area too

We also passed what appeared to be a radar dome, but based on how far it is listing, I'm not sure how long it will be there.

I'm no naval engineer, but I don't think this looks correct

We turned on the port talk about Ha Long Bay to get an idea of what our next two days will hold. Interesting takeaways about our time in this part of the world...

• We tend to dock in container ports, so the ports themselves won't be much to look at
• Guides are not native English speakers (duh), but Viking does its best to get good guides
• Cleanliness standards may not be what you're used to
• Carry toilet tissue as it may not be available in restrooms
• Food included on tours will be local food with little accommodation for dietary restrictions

We did our usual routine of pre-dinner cocktails and dinner in the World Café.  Tonight, we opted for crab legs with warmed butter - an always-available option in the World Café.  It was a nice meal.

After dinner, we hooked up with friends we met on our world cruise and then again on our Antarctica cruise.  That led to an hour-long chat about all sorts of things.  It was a nice way to spend the evening. After that, we returned to the room.  Tonight's entertainment is the "welcome show".  Since this is the third cruise of our five-cruise combined trip, we've been there, and done that.  Plus, we have to be ready to go tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. for our 11.5-hour excursion to Hanoi.  We'll turn in a little early and I hope to get up early as the sail-in to Ha Long Bay is supposed to be stunning.