Halong Bay

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We were all herded into the minibus like cattle and braced ourselves for the 2hr trip to Halong Bay. Oh my god....what a journey it was. Not sure if many of you have experienced being a passenger in Vietnam so I will try and paint a quick picture. Your on a two lane highway and your driver is constantly overtaking other vehicles whilst a semi trailer is coming the other way. At this point it is like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. You are both going head to head and it is almost like a game of chicken to see who swerves off the road first to avoid collision. Repeat this scenario 50 times and this is exactly what our journey was like.

We stopped around halfway for some drinks (and a breather from the constant stress of the situation) at the Agent Orange Shop where all proceeds from souvenirs, art and food go towards the victims of agent orange used during the Vietnam war. Everything was exorbitantly overpriced so it was really hard to justify buying anything really...except for a steaming hot bowl of Pho.

Once we reached the bay mayhem ensued. On the way to the port our guide politely informed us that our boat had broken down and we mightn't be going out onto the bay after all. But once we arrived at the port I realised why he had said that: purely because the tour operators have to strike a deal with a captain of a boat about how much they are going to pay the crew etc. etc. So basically there was a massive auction going on between all the tour operator leaders and all the captains of the boats whilst all the tourists were waiting in the carpark with their backpacks hoping they would be one of the lucky ones who got a boat!!! Crazy situation.

We were fortunately one of the lucky ones and after climbing over 7 other boats with our packs on we finally settled into our Vessel: The Minh Quang V which was captained by perhaps the wiliest character you would ever meet.

We ventured out into the bay and saw the caves before we cruised further on to the floating villages. We launched some kayaks off one of the floating villages and had a great time exploring some little bays and going under some low lying entrances. The rest of the afternoon and evening consisted of consuming copious amounts of alcohol, diving off the boat, playing some cards and talking to our new Norwegian friend who plays in a death metal band back home.

The next morning after a leisurely swim around we climbed Mt Titov for the best view of the Bay. Was a decent climb but the view was spectacular at the top. We cruised around for a bit more before making port and heading back to Hanoi on the "Death Bus" and getting towards the end of our trip.

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Photos

Settling in
After the most harrowing bus journey of my life was trying to relax a little on the boat