Halong Bay (3 Days 2 Nights)

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3 Days 2 Nights on Halong Bay with Bai Tu Long Junks

We used the following company for our tour of Halong Bay we were very impressed with their service and highly recommend there services.

We staggered out of bed and into a minibus for the three hour drive to the harbour at Halong city. Our bright friendly guide was somewhat disappointed at our lacklustre attempts to be chatty until we explained we'd been drinking homebrew all night, at which point he smiled knowingly and left us alone!!!

The journey was over pretty quickly and we arrived at the harbour none the worse for wear. In front of us must have been at least 200 boats of all different shapes sizes and ages. From five star luxury to rat-infested, we waited anxiously to see which one was ours....luckily we boarded a modest sized wooden junk boat, that was clean and spacious with, sundeck, lounge, white table cloths and a well stocked bar. Our cabin even had a hot shower and A/C!.
Aboard were a couple from London, an American, an Aussie couple, two French boys and us! Eleven in total with 8 crew to look after us! Luxury. It was easy and fun making our introductions, and conversations sparked up all over the boat as we explored our new floating home and the bar.

Halong is one of UNESCOs World Heritage sites, and for a very good reason...emerald green waters are pierced by shards of towering limestone cliffs that are out of this world. Massive rock formations simply rise up from the calm seas, and are thick with untouched jungle foliage. Above us sea eagles soared, around us birds and monkeys squawked and chattered in the trees. We were all struck by the majesty of our new surroundings.

Having only just settled on to our sun loungers it was time for lunch...... maybe i should say time to dine... we indulged in a seven course seafood odyssey. First clams then dressed crab, then prawns, then fish..........all beautifully presented and delectable. There was one small problem though, Jeremy, one of the French boys, hated seafood, so while the rest of us mmmmmed and aaaaaaahed over the gorgeous food, he grew greener and hungrier. He finally managed to explain to the staff that seafood wasn't his thing, and they kindly brought him an omelet, but Jeremy didn't eat eggs either!!!! Poor sausage.

Soon after lunch, Bobby our very knowledgeable guide and ex-fisherman took us to a traditional fishing village to see what life on the ocean wave was all about. Although very genuine, this village had opened itself up to be a tourist spot too....mostly because it was a good opportunity to make some money (proceeds going to the school), but also to stop tourist cruises sailing into all the different villages in the bay and turning simple fishing communities into 'Human Zoos'.
We transferred ourselves onto small coracles, rowed by local women who used a curious 'forwards' stroke. we were taken around some of the quaint, colourful wooden houses and then onto a larger platform that linked the school, shop, and pearl display. We saw the pearl farming in action, including impregnating the oysters and for $10 could play lucky dip..choose an oyster and see if you've got a pearl iside(we left this game to the richer tourists).There were also species of several large fish in nets below the houses and an "aquarium "housing some of the most beautiful and poisonous fish local to the area..my favourite was the doe eyed puffer fish! We also took time to speak with the few locals who could understand us, the kids were especially funny!

After all this activity it was time for a dip. Guy and Todd led the way, leaping from the highest point they could find, while us girls made a more discreet entry into the calm warm seas. The water was so salty you barely need to swim, so we floated and dived and splashed around for ages.

Soon enough it was time for more food...another 6/8 course dinner followed, again with amazing seafood and a hint of local flavors. By the time dinner was over all of us had added heavily to our bar bill, Clare favouring champagne and cocktails, the rest of us on Bia Ha Noi (local beer), and Bobby decided it was time to switch on the on-board Karaoke machine....eeek The crew bravely led the way with some Vietnamese favourites before handing the mic over to us lot. After initial protests of "I have NEVER and WILL NEVER sing Karaoke....." coming from all of us, Bobby's unending persistence finally paid off, and the Bai Tu Long choir was formed!!! Unfortunately we took the vow that what happened on the boat STAYS on the boat. Suffice to say there were a lot of sore throats in the morning.
Whilst all this nonsense was happening inside the boat, Guy and the French boys had found some fishing rods, and were busy trying to catch some squid under the light of the stars, with the help of a 500watt halogen bulb. The whole lagoon was dotted with boats, pretty lights and other squid fisherman, and made for a very romantic scene, interrupted only by the odd waft of Karaoke from a neighbouring vessel!

The next morning we awoke to a disappointing drizzle, not great for sunbathing, but the swirling mists and clouds added a new dimension to the beauty of the bay. We indulged in a large 3 course breakfast , before saying goodbye to some of our new cabin mates (on a shorter excursion)and jumping on to another boat for the day.
Annie, Ling, french boys, Todd and Clare, and us two set off to a quieter area of the bay, and with the rain finally easing launched into our two man canoes. Bobby led the way and took us through some of the most stunning scenery in the area. Being smaller we were able to weave in and out of little lagoons, underneath small caves in the limestone karsts, with stalactites dripping onto us. One particular bay was perfect for echoes, and Todd entertained us with some loud Aussie style 'calls' that bounced back and forth.

After a good hour or so of mellow paddling, Bobby decided to challenge us to a 45min paddle through an open stretch of water to a nearby fishing village to see if we could buy yet more prawns for our lunch. Feeling courageous we charged off across the strait and it was only when we'd almost reached the village we realised the novices Annie and Ling we lagging far behind...listening closely we could hear shouts of "left left left no right!" as they tried to navigate the stronger currents. Exhausted, they finally made it, only to find there were no prawns left for sale, and that it was time to retrace our path to the boat, (another 45min slog!) Suffice to say once we finally all made it back in one piece we dived in for a refreshing swim. Lunch was again very large and very tasty, and with the sun now shining we whiled away the afternoon swimming, sunbathing and dozing on deck. We were visited several times by floating supermarkets. Usually local women who filled their small coracles with drinks, snacks, cigarettes and booze, paddling from boat to boat shouting"you want buy something, very cheap price". it was a well known fact that drinks on board the cruises were sold at highly inflated prices, and these ladies did a roaring trade with the thirsty punters!
Before long it was time to head back to 'our' boat which had been off to collect a couple more guests, a Singaporean couple, and a couple from Germany. Jessica from Singapore worked as a flight attendant and after a beer or two had us in stitches by mimicking some of the many passengers she had dealt with over the years. Karaoke did not get repeated that evening, instead we all sat outside on deck, chatting, watching the stars, taking photos and fruitlessly fishing for the elusive squid.
Up early again, and this time we set out en masse to visit the fabulous"Amazing Cave" It was a short yet beautiful cruise to the entrance, sadly raining again, but it didn't stop us climbing the steep steps up the hill to the cave mouth.
Inside the cave it was a wonderland of brightly lit limestone formations at their best. Stalactites and stalagmites were enormous!. Some were smooth and looked more like slowly flowing icing, whilst others were pointy and jagged like a fairytale castle. Taow, loved his food and reveled in pointing to the "carrot , tamarind or mushroom' formed in the shiny limestone mounds. There was even one that really did look like a turtle, (though there were differing opinions on whether this was food or not!)
Apparently this cave was once home to a community of fishermen who took refuge here from the storms, we can only wonder what it would have been like without the lights, and carefully laid out walkways.This bay certainly holds a lot of suprises!
Time to have the last of our delicious meals on the boat before heading back to land. We bid our farewells to new found friends, as they boarded the bus back to Hanoi....Guy and I weren't quite finished yet... we got dropped off at another harbour and planned to make our own way back to stay on one of the islands in the bay we canoed through a few days ago...this place is addictive!........Cat Ba here we come!

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