Along the way, our guide “D” saw a wedding car and told us about weddings in Vietnam. Traditionally, weddings were arranged by the parents and their children grew to love their spouses after marriage. However, now more and more young people are moving away from their family homes and meeting and choosing their own partners. In this case, before they can marry, they must see a fortune teller who determines their compatibility and also the date of the wedding based on the lunar calendar. Wedding photos are taken a month or so before the wedding to give to people and receive money in return. It is not bad luck here to see your bride in her wedding dress before she walks down the aisle. 
We also passed by many rice fields and noticed that there were cemeteries in the middle of them, which of course, led to the discuss about funerals and whole they bury their ancestors and why in the rice fields. In Southern Vietnam, people are buried twice. Once is a temporary burial and usually lasts about 3 years. During this time, nothing is done to the grave site other than putting flowers on it. After this time period is up, the body is exhumed, bones are cleaned and then transferred to another marble coffin for a final burial based on Feng Shi. At this time, the grave site is decorated with shrines or houses as this is the final resting ground and the soul can go to Buddha Land. Some cemeteries are put in the rice fields so that the ancestors can be there to protect the crops and bring prosperity. 
We made a pit stop along the way at Yen Duc Water Puppet theatre where we were able to experience the water puppets. There were several different skits which included rice production, fishing, and dragon courting. We also got to hear a traditional folk song from this region. After the skits, we enjoyed another 10+ course meal. Needless to say, we are eating well. After getting back on the bus, our bus driver had gone to a local pagoda to pray and pick some fresh lychee fruit for us to try. Everyone seemed to enjoy it fresh off the tree. We made one more pit stop at a shopping rest stop where we could pick up all sorts of stuff. The kids seemed to enjoy a shopping break and we tried some new snacks.
We finally finished our journey and arrived in Halong Bay where we boarded Dragon Pearl II - our home for the next few days. We began our 2-1/2 cruise to our anchoring spot in the bay. Once settled into our rooms, we had a safety discussion and a brief overview of our activities for the next few days. Then it was it was down time for our cooking class where we learned how to make spring rolls and then got to eat them to give us some energy for our afternoon kayak around they bay. The kids all seemed to enjoy being out on the water and seeing some of the limestone islands up close. Once back at the boat, we all spent some time swimming around the boat. Gerritt got to check another thing off his bucket list - “Get stung by a jellyfish in Vietnam - check!” The crew quickly rubbed the area with some sort of local plant to stop the stinging and irritation. He said it didn’t hurt, was just annoying and itched. After everyone had their fill of swimming, it was time to clean up for dinner and some relaxing watching the sunset. We are all looking forward to cave exploring tomorrow and our beachside BBQ Vietnamese style!
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