Our trip started with being picked up in a mini bus at 7:50am to start the 3.5 hour journey to Halong Bay. A very nice chap called Lee from Singapore was sat next to us and we had a good chat to him en route. Half way through the journey we stopped off at a big store where handicapped people make beautiful craft work. We bought a picture of the bay as a souvenir and set off again for the bay.

Work in progress

When we arrived we were sent to a different waiting room to the others as we had booked the Princess junk which has just 1 cabin. We got on a little boat to take us to our junk and then the crew came to introduce themselves. They were extremely friendly, especially our guide and interpreter, Long, who was wonderful. They presented us with a gorgeous shell as a honeymoon present and had decorated our room for us too. We were thrilled with our beautiful boat and amazed at how big it was compared to the pictures.

Princess junk

Our room for the night

We sat on the top deck with a drink as we sailed off. There are over 600 boats on Halong Bay so it can get a bit crowded, but our cruise goes the Bai Tu Long route so it was very calm and peaceful and we were blown away by the views. Halong Bay is a UNESCO heritage site and there are around 1969 Islands.

Ha Long Bay

About an hour after we left we were called for a light lunch – only 8 courses! All of which were superb! There was a lot of shellfish on the menu which they kindly changed for me as I don’t like it.

After about another hour of cruising we arrived at the Island we would be stopping at for sea kayaking and a walk around. I had never been kayaking before and although I wasn’t very good, it was really fun and I didn’t capsize! It was so nice and tranquil paddling around the islands.

Paddling!

We also walked up to the top of the hill with Long to take some pictures and visit a cave which is used for dinners for the longer cruises.

View from the hill

A couple of hours later we went back on board to watch the sunset with a cocktail & beer. Dinner was again very scrummy and lots of it! After dinner we were very tired so headed to bed and had the best night’s sleep in weeks.

Dinner with fancy sculpture

It was amazing falling asleep and waking up to the stunning views of Halong Bay. We got up at 6:30am and sat up on deck with a coffee and breakfast watching the boat depart to our next destination – a floating fishing village. It was really interesting to see and learn about the villages of which there are now 50 as the government has moved many of them to the land. We also visit a pearl farm and watched how they extract the pearl from the oyster.

Floating fishing village

We got a rowing boat back to our junk and went back on deck for a cocktail & beer (and then realised it was only 9:30am…ah well we’re on our honeymoon) and had 2 more hours cruising before lunch (the words ‘oh no not more food are rarely heard from Adam & I). The crew came to say goodbye then we disembarked and started the journey back to Hanoi, with a stop at a little water puppet show on the way.

On row boat back to junk in our hats!

Water puppets

It is hard to believe that 3 hours from the hustle and bustle of Halong Bay there is this beautiful, calm and tranquil bay – we would definitely recommend it to anyone coming to Vietnam! Thank you Auntie Cath & Uncle Neil, Hil & Hick, Emilie, Auntie Florrie & Eve, Ffinlo, Nikki & Robert, Laura & Alex, and Towlie, Jo & the boys!

After we got back to our hotel I think we had got used to being fed vast amounts of food every few hours so we set off in search of some good street food. We read about a street that apparently does the best BBQ chicken so asked our taxi driver to take us there. When we arrived there were loads of places with fires outside cooking chicken and potatoes, full of locals and no tourists. We sat down on our tiny stools with a beer and they brought us over skewers of succulent BBQ chicken and pork – it was brilliant.

Barbecue time!

Mmmm chicken!

After our dinner we went back to our hotel to bed feeling full and happy.

The first thing that we noticed when we left the airport was he traffic. People were crazy! Scooter is the main form of transport in Vietnam….pretty much everyone has one and apparently the nicer your scooter the more attractive you appear to the opposite sex! It wasn’t just that there were a lot of scooters though, they were weaving in and out of the cars, going the wrong way down the road, there were whole families of 4 on one scooter with no helmets, using mobile phones and some people who looked like they were carrying all their worldly possessions with them. Beep beep beeeep! It was very different to KL but we liked it.

I think he could have got a few more pots on…

We arrived thankfully in one piece at our lovely little boutique hotel, Hanoi Elegance Diamond, where we were warmly met with a cup of tea & cold towel. We were abolutely knackered so we headed up to our room for a snooze and then went out for a wander. There was a big lake a few minutes down the road so we strolled round there whilst having a peek in the many little shops, restaurants and bars that lined the streets. The first challenge that met us was crossing the road! After waiting for a few minutes at a zebra crossing we soon realised that no one was going to stop. We decided that the way to do it was to let the cars & buses go past then walk out and the scooters would steer around us. A couple of minutes later and we were feeling smug with ourselves at the other side. We were feeling a bit peckish by the time we had walked around the lake so we  found a small place selling street food & sat down for a bowl of pho (noodle soup) and a drink. It was cheap & very yummy – winner.

Adam was happy the beer was 30p

We walked back to the hotel and went to the spa where Adam had a energy balance massage and I had a refreshing facial. I was later told by Adam that he found it hard to relax with the sound of me snoring next to him. Oops!

We had booked a meal at the restaurant in our hotel after reading great reviews on tripadvisor and sat by the window on the top floor looking out over the city. Vietnamese food is fab – it’s tasty, there’s a lot of it and it’s pretty cheap.

Din dins!

The girl in the spa had told us there was a night market so we went to check it out. It was so busy and the stalls went on for ages. I had forgotten to bring my watch away so I found a replica for £2 – bargain. We wandered down the street looking at all the different stalls then headed back to the hotel to bed as we had an early start the next day.

Night market

Ok, so continuing from my last post, we had missed our connection and landed at 8:30pm instead of 2:30pm. Big shame we’ve missed out on an extra half a day in KL but worse things happen at sea.  When we land we go straight to dinner at Marini’s on 57 and sit down with a cocktail. The first special thing about Marini’s is that it is on the 57th floor next to the Petronas Towers, so we have the most incredible view.

Not a bad view…

After a lovely cocktail we get seated for our meal, and wow, what a meal it is! The food is melt in your mouth delicious & visually stunning. The staff are all ever so friendly & polite and make us feel very special & not like the sweaty, smelly, scruffy travellers we look like after nearly 24 hours of travelling. To make me feel even more attractive there is a table of contestants from Next Miss Universe Malaysia opposite us. I close Adam’s jaw for him. The second special thing about Marini’s is all the amazing little extras they provide to make the meal extra special, such as picking Parmesan coated olives off a bonsai tree, a congratulations dessert as they knew we are on our honeymoon, and bringing round a big wooden box of handmade chocolates to choose from. We finished our bottle of prosecco on the rooftop bar watching the Petronas Tower lights switch off for the night. We were so glad we made it for our first meal, what a great way to start our honeymoon. Thank you Boris for buying this from our list!

Congrats chocolate fondant!

Ho ho ho!

We head to the Shangri-La hotel where we will be staying for the next 2 nights, and are treated like royalty from the moment we arrive to when we leave. Due to a mix-up with the restaurant (they had to change our reservation from the first night to the second) we have been upgraded to one of the best suites in the hotel. In our room we find flowers, chocolates, fruit, rose petals in the bath and on the bed, and we have a spectacular view of one of the towers. Feeling very happy & excited for the next day, we head to bed, exhausted.

The suite was a bit cramped…

Our home for 2 nights

I wake up bright and early, ready to start exploring KL….Adam, on the other hand, is rolling around on the bed with stomach cramps – uh oh! Being the doting wife I am I ditch him to go & get some breakfast whilst he tries to go back to sleep.

By 10am poor Adam is saying that he doesn’t feel well enough to leave the hotel room. Our 1 day in KL could be K hell (get it?)!  Adam & I have a little chat & he decides to man up & get some medicine from the chemist as we head out for the day.

First stop: Petronas Towers! We were nearly put off going here after hearing about the hours spent queuing for tickets. After we spend all of 3 minutes queuing we are delighted we decided to come (thank you Matt, Kate & the girls for this gift). We head up in the lift and the views from the sky bridge & observation deck are truly amazing, and the information about how the towers were built is really interesting. We take plenty of selfies then head back down in the lift.

Petronas selfie!

Going up!

Next on the list is the Bird Park – the world’s largest walk-in aviary. It is one of the stops on the open-top bus tour so we buy tickets and hop on. We’re glad we decided to get the bus as we travel round and see all the main places in KL before jumping off at the Bird Park, which we’re told is one of the most popular attractions in KL. We have a spot of light lunch & head in to the park.

Well, I knew Adam liked his birds but I never knew he was so keen on the feathered type! He practically ran to the bird show, which to be fair was very impressive. I never knew parrots were such intelligent creatures! We wandered round taking pictures of all the cool birds & occasionally running into the odd puffed out peacock. Surprisingly we left without having been pooed on – result – and got a taxi back to the hotel. Thanks to Graihagh, Rob & the girls for this gift!

Clever parrots!

We had fortunately booked a foot massage for upon our return to the hotel (thanks Tom, Fleur & Reube n!) and spent a lovely 45 mins having our tootsies pampered.

These are Adam’s legs…promise!

Time for a quick shower & change then hopped in a taxi to the Skybar at Traders Hotel where we sipped delicious cocktails looking out at the view over the city. Cheers Derek & Carole and Mick & Carol!

Another mediocre view

Cocktails!

Dinner was back at the hotel. We were told that this was the best restaurant in KL, and it certainly did not disappoint. We were seated at a rose petal covered table & given some complimentary champers. Adam befriended the sommelier so we got to try a variety of beautiful wines with our absolutely delicious meal. Thank you David & Helen! It was a very special way to end our time in KL.

Looking loved up (& hungry)

Magic melty chocolate thing!

Although due to the flight change we disappointingly had to miss a few things off our list like visiting the Batu Caves & trying some of the famous street food, we still had an awesome time in KL and were especially impressed with how lovely & polite the Malaysian people are! Despite beforehand not being too fussed about going to KL we have fallen in love with the city & would definitely come back! What a brilliant first trip of the honeymoon!

We were very excited about heading off on our honeymoon and after a busy few days post-wedding and an emotional farewell with Mario at the airport we flew off to London to stay for one night before leaving for Kuala Lumpur the following day.

Our first night on honeymoon was spent in an airport hotel who had booked us in a twin instead of a double room, which wasn’t the most romantic start to things, plus my poor husband had been sick during the night.

Nevertheless we were in good spirits when we arrived at Heathrow and I discovered that Adam had booked us in business class. Cue security queue jump and access to the Qatar Business Lounge – amazing! Adam was still feeling sick so I took one for the team and consumed enough free food & booze for the both of us.

Not a bad place to wait for our flight I suppose

A spot of lunch before the flight

Just a little light spread

Cake heaven!

After many cakes, cocktails, wine, champagne, etc. we boarded our flight. Unfortunately our flight was 2 hours late setting off (I didn’t really notice as was still busy eating & drinking) but there was nothing we could do apart from snuggle down and watch a few films (until my screen broke down) & wait to see if we would make our connection. We didn’t.

Cheers!

Ice cream always makes you feel better

Cake, get in my face!

Water for Mr Craigie, champagne cocktail for Mrs Craigie

We had 5 hours waiting in Qatar Business Lounge for the next flight (I felt sick from eating too much by this point) so we found a sofa and tried to get some sleep as it was 2am when we arrived at Doha airport. The airport was very clean & modern and the lounge seemed bigger than the whole of the Isle of Man airport!

Doha, Qatar by air

Stylish aeroplane pjs!

Finally we got going to Kuala Lumpur. I had a functioning tv this time so we stuck a film on then subsequently fell asleep for most of the flight. Due to our change in arrival time we had to change our dinner reservation to the latest time possible  – we didn’t land til about 8:30pm –  we were relieved to have arrived on the first proper leg of the honeymoon though and looking forward to doing some sightseeing!!