[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 19 May 2013. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]

 

28 March 2012, Wednesday

Morning Call: 7:00am

I woke up fresh and excited because it was Halong Bay day! I had booked a tour with mum and dad to visit the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage Site and to spend a night on the boat amid the towering limestone karsts. Halong Bay was the main reason I decided to make a stop in Vietnam, so I was really looking forward to seeing it in its full glory.

We had breakfast at our Hanoi Old Centre Hotel – a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee, an omelette and a loaf of the famous baguette, which appeared hard on the outside, but was actually very soft and fluffy inside. You can often see street hawkers selling these baguettes on the roadside, stacking them on top of each other. Do try one if you have the chance, it’s really yummy. It’s like Gardenia bread’s tagline says, “So good you can even eat it on its own.”

As we would return to the same hotel after our 3-day, 2-night Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island trip, we deposited our large suitcases in the hotel, so mum and dad only lugged their small hand carry bags with them. We walked over to the Kangaroo Café office, just five minutes away, and arrived at 8am.

Our tour group consisted of seven other people – six Aussies and one British guy who was travelling solo. No surprise that there were many Aussies because the tour company is named Kangaroo Café, and opened by an Aussie. So it was just the 10 of us in the group, with a local tour guide, Sang. A comfortable number. Once everybody was present, we boarded a small air-conditioned mini bus and left Hanoi at 8:40am.

It took us four hours to cover the 170km distance and we arrived at Halong City port at 12:45pm. We then took a small boat out to the bay before transferring to a bigger boat. I was expecting a newer boat actually – the exterior looked a little run down and worn out. But as we stepped inside, we found that it was quite well-maintained. As we were a party of three, we got the biggest room on the boat, a triple room with one queen sized bed and a single bed. The room was quite new and spacious, with air-conditioning, and the bathroom was decent, with hot water. So overall, it was quite alright.

After we settled ourselves down, we went to the main dining area for our lunch. All the meals were included in the package, except for alcoholic drinks. Lunch was an eight-course meal and it was not bad. We were seated in a long table setting that allowed us to interact with each other. The three Aussie couples were in their 40’s and 50’s, and they were nice and humorous. The British guy was the youngest among us. He was 27 years old and he had just received his confirmation with a law firm, so he decided to go for a vacation by himself before starting work. It was enjoyable chatting with our fellow travellers and having our stomachs filled at the same time.

As the boat sailed along, we saw hundreds of the limestone mounds scattered all along the bay. It was quite an amazing sight. There were so many of them all around, and they all looked the same. For all you know, you could sail for two hours in a circle and you wouldn’t be able to know that you hadn’t gone very far at all. Like Hanoi, the weather was cloudy and there wasn’t any sun. The gloominess and mist gave it a mysterious feel, which I thought was quite nice, like we were in a Pirates Of The Caribbean movie.

At 3pm, we boarded a small boat and headed to Hang Sung Sot, also known as Surprise Cave.  It is so named because of its cavernous size – the ceiling is approximately 30m high and the paved passage inside is 500m in length. It is the biggest cave in Halong Bay. As such, it is a must-visit stop for every tourist, and it was crowded as expected.

The cave was indeed very big, the largest one I had been to. There were tons of stalactites and stalagmites, and even a phallus-shaped one that received special attention from our tour guide. Like all other caves, the lighting was quite garish, with green, yellow and blue tinges, making it unnatural and a bit cheesy. I wish they could tone down the lighting a little.

After that, we went back to our boat. We had some time before dinner, so we rented kayaks and spent a good hour kayaking on Halong Bay. Mum and dad were not keen so they stayed behind on the boat. The oars were made of steel and they were really heavy, so we didn’t go very far. It was cool seeing Halong Bay from water level. As the bay is sheltered from the sea, the water was calm so we had an enjoyable time kayaking. That was one of the highlights of the trip.

As night fell, the sky grew darker and the temperature dipped. We went to the deck to survey the surroundings. We could still see the outlines of the hills, and amid the vastness of the bay were dozens of other boats with their twinkling lights, some near, some far. It was a pretty sight.

After a good shower, it was time for dinner and another eight-course meal. It was a relaxing time, just eating, chatting and laughing with the others. With our stomachs filled, we retired to the comfort of our beds as the sea gently rocked our boat, lulling us to sleep…