My shipmates were an intriguing bunch of global travellers, including a pair of cashew nut importers from the Czech Republic, a mountain guide from the USA and a graphic designer from Mexico. Most of them, like myself, had left this experience until the end of their travels: the icing on the cake after exploring this beautiful and welcoming land. Thus our talk over the five- and six-course lunches and dinners of delectable Vietnamese cuisine ranged from the floating markets of the Mekong Delta to the glowing lanterns of ancient Hoi An. We waxed lyrical about the stunning landscapes of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark in the country's extreme north, and shared stories of dangerous road crossings in Hanoi and Saigon.
Our guide, Phuc, ran a tight ship. As well as being fluent in English and French, she turned out to be an expert kayaker, leading us into hidden caves and to deserted beaches, where we were free to float on our backs in secluded bays sheltered by towering limestone cliffs. On one occasion, she needed to step in to stop a game of beach football, which was being fiercely contested between crew members and passengers (of which there was about a one to one ratio), in order to get us back to the Dragon’s Pearl in time for one of our memorable meals.
Sadly there was a reminder of the world we had escaped: flotsam (debris), consisting mostly of Styrofoam and plastic bottles, which washed onto these beaches. I was pleased to see members of our crew collecting as much as they could, but such sights made most passengers voice concern for the future of this fragile environment, where birds and aquatic wildlife can die if they accidentally eat man-made rubbish.