Longing for the Sunshine in Halong Bay

Visiting Halong bay when the skies are grey and droplets of water fill the air is certainly not the best time to say the least. But the weather is what it is and I don't want to miss the natural heritage listed site although my first glimpse of Halong's famous limestone islands is through a misty grey screen; somewhat mysterious but mostly miserable.
I spend one day on a junk boat cruising around the bay and visiting various sites. Our first stop is Thien Cung cave which turns out to be an impressive, huge cavern filled with giant stalactites and columns illuminated by various coloured neon lights. It's a fabulous grotto well worth the visit. Cruising through Halong Bays notorious scenery we pass bold islands rising from (not quite so) emerald waters on the way to a floating fishing village where we stop for a short kayak. After spending a night on the boat in the bay we dock on Cat Ba island and disembark for the land-based section of the trip. We are abandoned by our useless guide; mister Tom at Cat Ba national park where we climb an incredibly muddy and slippery viewpoint from which we can see nothing but the surrounding cloud! After checking into a disgusting hotel the afternoon is spent exploring Cat Ba town and beaches in the ensuing drizzle. The harbor is filled with colourful fishing boats and the scene might be quite picturesque in some warming sunshine.
After a night spent on the island we return by boat to Halong city, and then by bus to Hanoi.