Halong Bay – 24th to 26th April 2011

We arrived in Hanoi in the early evening after a full day of sight seeing and travelling. This is our first visit to Hanoi and is only a short one night stop over before our 3 day boat trip at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Halong Bay.

It was a bit of a shock to the system being back in a big city again, motorbikes everywhere and so much noise. We had forgotten just how hectic the cities in Vietnam were and the thought of negotiating crossing the roads again was a little bit daunting!!

Our hotel was conveniently located in the old quarter of the city, I say convenient which it certainly was for us but no so convenient for our driver who spent over an hour going round in circles in the small narrow streets which make up the old quarter of Hanoi, asking directions to our hotel. The streets are so narrow that buses are not allowed in the area so its not particularly easy to work your way around in a car – especially when you don't know the city particularly well or you don't have the modern convenience of a sat-nav or even the less modern convenience of a map! It appeared that each time our driver asked one of the locals for directions he then drove off in the opposite direction from what he had been told. Curious.

We eventually found our hotel, checked in for our one night stop then headed out for dinner before an early night and some much needed beauty sleep before our big trip in the morning.

Up bright and early the next morning our mini-bus arrived after breakfast to take us on the 3 ½ hour drive to Halong Bay. We thought it would only take 1 ½ hours so you can imagine the groans when we were told 3 ½ hours. As usual we were first to be picked up so we spent the next hour travelling round the old town, in circles (again), picking up the other passengers. Once full, we set off on the road to Halong Bay. At least it was a brand new bus so was fairly comfortable.

After about an 1 12 hour the we stopped for a comfort break and another opportunity to purchase some quality souvenirs (aka tat). I found a little glazed pot thing which I particularly liked so after some consultation with the tat boys (Dan had the cash - Nuts had the luggage allowance!) I put in a bid which was promptly rejected by the sales assistant. I decided to try the walking away approach and Nutts was suitably impressed when the salesman came running after me a few minutes later with a revised, significantly discounted price. The deal was done and we added another souvenir to the tat collection.

An hour and a half later we reached Halong Bay. If we were expecting a dramatic view from the dock we were to be extremely disappointed. There was a hazy fog over the water and we couldn't see far from the shore. Nevertheless we boarded a small boat which ferried us to our Junk boat which was to be our home for the next 2 nights. Fortunately the fog began to lift and once aboard our Junk we had the most spectacular views of what Halong Bay had to offer.

The bay comprises thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes, which have formed over 20 million years. According to local legend, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. Halong Bay literally means Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese.

Our Junk boat (the Poseidon) was basically a floating 4 star hotel. It was really lovely and because no one had booked the 2 VIP suites on the upper deck, Minh, our guide, gave them to us as “he liked us”, provided we kept it a secret from the rest of the guests – which of course we did (not! - did we Daniel?!?).

That afternoon we visited the Hang Sun Sot caves which were discovered and named by the French as the “Cave of Surprise” in the early 1900's. They certainly lived up to their name as the cave is made up of three chambers, each one bigger and more spectacular than the last. There is a common photo of the caves in most guidebooks which includes a phallic shaped rock tastefully illuminated with a red bulb which both Dan and Chris seemed to enjoy photographing.

After exploring the caves we spent about an hour kayaking in the bay, in and around the smaller caves in the limestone karsts, amongst the boats and the floating village nearby. Afterwards it was back to the Junk for a glass of wine and a beer to watch the sun set before dinner. We were lucky to have a good bunch of fellow guests on board and before dinner the alcohol was flowing pretty fast and our one beer before dinner turned in to three (or was it four – hmmm, can't remember!).

Dinner was good (I think) and afterwards it was back up to the top deck for more drinks and more drunken conversation. Dan wandered off to get some more drinks and a short while later we heard very loud singing which we assumed was coming from either another boat or the floating village near where we were anchored up. It was a minute or so later that we realised it was Dan who had kicked off the karaoke with his new mate Minh!! Karaoke is a big thing in Vietnam and our crew were determined to have a bit of a party (which we think is a nightly event – even if none of the guests join in!). It turned out that our fellow guests were all up for it so the night descended into a drunken sing off. It was a great night and I didn't realise we were all so musically gifted until I saw the video footage the next day!!!

The following morning it was a very quiet breakfast and a swim in the Bay to shake off the cobwebs and the 3.3 million Dong bar-bill we were presented with. The water was lovely and warm and very salty making it extremely bouyant so thankfully none of us sank.

We then headed to Cat Ba island for some trekking. As we were the only people on our boat on a three day trip we were the only ones to visit the island whilst the others headed back to Hanoi, waving us off from the deck as we headed ashore.

Cat Ba is the biggest island in the bay and approximately half covered by national park so it was an idyllic spot to hike. We (Sue & Dan – Nutts sensibly opted out) took a trek up to a view point atop one of the limestone hills. It was a particularly hot day and already feeling pretty weary from the night before, it was a tough hike. The view from the top was good though so worth the effort. The rest of the day on the island was spent mooching around the town and a couple of hours relaxing with a cold drink (non alcoholic) under a parasol by the beach. We didn't have the energy to do anything else.

So, it was back to the boat for our second night and a new crowd. They had been together all day and by the time we arrived it was dark so we felt like the new kids on the block sneaking on after everyone else. This crowd, although very nice, was so different from the previous lot so it was an early night for me (lightweight) whilst Dan and Chris had a sociable couple of beers before turning in for the night. The crew tried to spark off another Karaoke extravaganza which fortunately petered out due to lack of uptake from the guests.

The next morning we headed back to the port and after lunch on the boat, caught our mini-bus back to Hanoi. This time it was a beaten up old Ford Transit van with every seat full – imagine the faces!

The intrepid travellers...
Sue, Dan & Nuts
xxx