Sometimes referred to as the ’36 Streets’, Hanoi’s Old Quarter teems with life: ‘36’ refers to the number of crafts guilds that arose over the centuries in the neighbourhood, and many survive here today. Highlights include the vibrant paper votive offerings on sale along Hang Ma Street, and the shops selling freshly ground coffee and local sweets on Hang Buom.

As the shadows lengthen, cross the red-painted Huc, or ‘Sunbeam Bridge’, on Hoan Kiem Lake to visit the delightful Turtle Temple – the best place in the city for sunset – before catching a performance of traditional puppetry at the nearby water theatre.

After a welcome drink and briefing, you’ll be served a light supper as the Pandaw cruiser chugs through the otherworldly karst limestone stacks and islets of Halong Bay, dropping anchor for the night in a sheltered cove with a spectacular backdrop.

As you cross the bay, the Pandaw ship will pass some of the area’s more famous formations, such as Hang Dau Go (the ‘Cave of Marvels’), with its extraordinary stalactite’s and stalagmites, and Hang Sung Sot (‘Cave of Awe’).

Visit Viet Hai village in the afternoon by mountain bike or electric buggy along a pretty backroad flanked by towering rock formations. Later you’ll head further south, pausing in Lan Ha Bay to visit a floating fishing house. Weather permitting, the day will end with cocktails at a remote, white-sand beach.

Passengers transfer to kayaks or a basket boat rowed by local fishermen to enter this remarkable cave-arch, which is hidden in an enclosed area resembling a crater.

Sweet-scented orchids and wild Benjamin fig trees carpet the sides of the hollow, while a colony bats nest amid the massive stalactites encrusting the cave’s ceilings. In afternoon, your ship enters the Red River Delta for the first time.