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Published: September 29th 2006
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Halong bay
Well after a miserable rainy few days in Hanoi we decided we could not put off the halong bay trip off any longer and decided to book through our hotel (Darling back packers - bad choice!). Luckily we had timed our trip perfectly and the weather was great, after waiting around for what seemed like hours in the scorching heat, watching the complete chaos of all the boats trying to push their way through to the harbour, we boarded and set off.
Halong Bay is beautiful; it is a complete maze of limestone cliffs protruding at random intervals from the sea. The rock formations are staggered with cracks and steps making this place a rock climber’s heaven. The scenery was reminiscent of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, however unfortunately the water did not look quite as clear. We were all distraught and genuinely angry when we went past a big collection of plastic bottles, coke cans and other general waste that somebody had obviously recently dumped over the side of their boat. It’s amazing but typical in Vietnam that this is a world heritage site and a major toursist attraction but no effort is made to keep
it clear.
We ate lunch, which was not the best, then set off on our tour. The first stop was the Hang Sung Sot cave... Now it really wasn’t what we had expected. The cave was vast, with amazing looking stalagmites, stalactites and other rock formations, however unfortunately some idiot had decided it would be a good idea to randomly place green, purple, pink and red florescent lights all over the walls. I almost expected to see a DJ booth in the corner and a barman selling Smirnoff Ice, accompanied by the latest cheesy chart entry being played at full volume. We were also shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other tourists trundling through on various different tours, much like ours. We walked around fake cemented walkways (I wouldn’t mind if the walkways weren’t made to look like the surrounding rock - it just gave the whole place such an artificial and theme park feel) until we reached (and I quote) “a much enchanting place”. This turned out to be a rock spouting the most pathetic of fountains that looked like a poor attempt at a water feature on one of those ‘garden makeover’ programmes! We felt we had
been ‘enchanted’ enough for one day by artificial lighting, concrete walkways and sprinklers that you could find at B&Q, so we made our way back to the boat.
The next stop was the floating village. This was a collection of floating houses where a community of fishermen lived. It is amazing to think that this is their home. The scenery is simply breathtaking, I couldn't imagine waking up to that every morning!
We stopped for Kayaking but unfortunately there were only 3 kayaks and one inflatable dingy with over 20 people on the boat (even though we were told there would be a maximum of 12!) we never got the chance.
Afterwards we just cruised around the islands for about an hour, sitting on the top deck, taking in the scenery, drinking a few beers and playing cards in the afternoon sun. It was so relaxing! The water here is very enclosed due to the number of islands, therefore it is totally flat. Half the time you don’t even realize you are on a boat it’s so calm.
In the evening we docked at a Cat Ba Island where we were taken to our hotel. We
had an early morning trek planned and decided to stay in and have an early night. But we ended up staying awake watching Man Utd v's Fulham! ( 5-0 - Alan was the happier!!) The trek itself was fun, we spent a couple of hours trekking up a rocky hill and were treated to some fantastic views. We had a few hours to kill waiting to be picked up by our boat so we managed to get sun burnt on the small man made beach!
Overall we had an excellent time and I would definitely recommend Halong Bay to anyone who goes to the North of Vietnam. The only thing I would say is to be extra careful with who you book your tour with, (Don't use Darling Backpackers Guest house) everyone on our boat complained at some point, (Rats in the bedroom, crap food, no kayaking etc) and I don't think it matters how much you pay as some people on our trip paid double for the same. The Hang Sung Sot cave is interesting but by no means a highlight.
By far the most enjoyable part of the trip for me was sitting on the top
deck, soaking up the rays and enjoying the breathtaking scenery the photos really don't do this place justice It was such a lovely break from the hustle and bustle of urban Vietnam.
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