HaLong Bay is one of the signature destinations in Vietnam: something everyone goes to see when they come to visit. This was one trip that wasn’t easy to do on our own, as you pretty much have to be out on the water to see anything. We heard a lot of mixed reviews regarding tours to see the bay, and as such we took some time researching all the options available to us in Hanoi. And there were a lot of options, let me tell you. There were 1 day tours, 2 day tours, and 3 day tours… available in an entire range of different boats, services, accommodations, and price points. Shopping for a tour was a bit overwhelming. It seemed that every tour operator repackaged and resold someone else’s boat or tour, so we were never sure what we were getting for our price quotes. Luckily we ran into a Scottish couple (Andrew and Charlotte) on the shuttle bus back from Sapa, and they gave us a good recommendation for a tour agency run by an Aussie expat. Turns out this agency (Kangaroo Cafe) runs all of it’s own buses and boats, so we wouldn’t be unexpectedly jammed into a small boat with 30 other people. Besides, our two newfound friends were already signed up for the tour themselves so we would at least know someone else on the boat.
Our 3 day / 2 night tour started off with an 8am bus ride from Hanoi to HaLong City, where we met up with our Vietnamese Junk (it’s a boat) that would take us cruising around for the next couple of days. Our midday cruise was very atmospheric, as a misty fog clinged gently to the steep limestone cliffs surrounding us. I imagined myself roaming within a set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow searching the craggy bays for hidden treasure! Or something like that… Our first stop was at a place called “surprising cave”: A name that inspires some pretty lofty expectations. Of course there wasn’t much that was terribly surprising about the cave. It was big, for sure, and had some nice stalactites and stalagmites… but it was no better than other caves that we have gone through. In fact, the only thing surprising about the cave was that parts of it were in pretty bad shape. Sadly, many of the stalagmites were fondled too much over the years by grimy hands… with many of the walls defaced by graffiti. Sad really. At least they had some cool lighting to spruce up my photos.
Later, we had the opportunity to do a bit of kayaking on the bay. I was a little disinterested at first, but after paddling around a bit I was glad that Ana talked me into going. The walls of the cliffs look that much more dramatic when up close at sea level… and we ended up finding a cool archway to paddle through, opening into a hidden lagoon that only kayakers could reach. At the edge of the lagoon, a troop of monkeys jumped amongst the tree branches for our entertainment: Nothing too exotic, but a nice diversion none the less. Back aboard the junk, we decided to brave the water, as a couple of our fellow passengers told us that the water wasn’t that bad… They Lied! After our initial plunge we both lasted about 15 seconds in the sea before scurrying back on the boat. January temperatures in Ha Long Bay: Ice cold!
Day 2 had us heading to a second cave, which was even less “surprising” than the first… after which we made a visit to Monkey Island: an island that (as most would guess) is inhabited by a troop of monkeys. Most tour groups come here not for the monkeys, but rather for the coarse sand beaches that align the shores. They’re not really spectacular, but are a bit of a rarity in this land of steep cliffs and muddy banks. This is supposed to be a good place to go swimming and cool off, but at this time of year the water was a tad chilly. We opted instead to walk around a bit and try to get some better views of the bay from a higher vantage point. Fortunately for us, our brief stay on the island was blessed with a rare bit of sunshine making the views quite appealing. Probably the most exciting part of our excursion was getting to and from the beach on the junk’s tiny rowboat. This thing’s seaworthiness was in serious question, as it almost capsized a few times and was leaking water like a sieve… understandable really when you consider that it was nothing more than a woven mat with some tar slapped over it.
Our 2nd night consisted of an uneventful stay on Cat Ba island, followed by the long journey back to Hanoi: basically an all day boat/bus travel day. Hanoi greeted us with some warm, dry, and pleasant weather… Soooo much better that the miserable cold / wet conditions we had when initially exploring the city. Too bad it came out only on the last night of our stay there. The people in town seemed to be enjoying it much more as well, as the streets seemed livelier and more energetic with hawkers and impromptu sidewalk cafes bustling around every corner. This must have been the Hanoi that Jason Beck experienced which he described to us with glowing recommendations… If only we had found it sooner!
Here is a map of HaLong Bay in Vietnam: (Click Here)
…and here is a link to some of our Photos there: http://picasaweb.google.com/richmosko/HaLongBay
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