Halong Bay

Halong Bay is located two and a half hour by car due east of Hanoi. It is perhaps the top tourist destination (sometimes the only destination by those who book a tour from Korea) in Vietnam. We’ve had mixed reviews from people who have visited there; from a must see to not worth the trip. Our schedule was already tight, but we decided at the last minute to add it to our itinerary.

After arriving in Hanoi, early in the morning from Sapa at 5 AM via the night train, we went back to the hotel to take a short rest and freshen up (Kien gave us the same room at no charge for two occasions like this; not to mention his seeing us to our cabin in the train and bringing us to the hotel). We were then picked up by a van filled with dozen other tourists. After traveling mostly in private cars, we felt this was a bit too cramped for a two and a half hour drive. Since all of us in the van had paid more to stay in a deluxe ship, everyone felt the same way.

Once we arrived at the bay and got on the boat, we all felt a lot better about our boat, staff and accommodations. The cabin was nice and it even had a bathroom all covered with marble. More so than the boat, the scenery, as we glided across the bay, was just fabulous. It was totally peaceful, relaxing, and breathtaking. I’m not sure if I’ll vote it as one of the seven natural wonders of the world as we’ve seen campaigned by the locals, but it certainly gets my vote as one of the more beautiful places we’ve visited in the world.

When we arrived in Halong Bay, the harbor was filled with hundreds of boats.  All of us were thinking "gosh, which one is ours?"

It turned out that our boat was excellent.  Everything was perfect once we boarded the boat.

Joanne held the oar across the kayak most of the time while I toiled away.  She said she didn't want to get in the way of my rowing.  We felt totally serene, being alone in our little kayak .

At dusk, one of the floating villagers rowed close to our boat wanting to sell something.

A family living on a boat.  They had more possessions than we did.

Sun rise in Halong Bay.  One of the rare occasions I rose before the sun.  I didn't want to miss it.

Floating fishing village.  I was told that the rent is free.

We've been lucky with the weather so far;  no exception while we were at Halong Bay.