One Year Away

Penny

Halong Bay is one of the top tourist draws of Northern Vietnam.  It is a beautiful bay filled with karst formation islands (pointy hills).  Having just visited the karst mountains in Southern China we were going to give it a miss but we are happy we didn’t.  We took a little break from independent travel and signed up for a 3 day/2 night tour of Halong Bay.

Our tour included one night accommodation in a private cabin on a boat and one night in a hotel on the island of Cat Ba.  We spent the first day cruising around the bay on the boat, lounging in the deck chairs and enjoying the sights.  At times, it was chaotic on the water as dozens of tourist boats (they all looked exactly the same) sailed on the bay and jockeyed for position.  We also visited a cave in one of the limestone karst mountains.  It was similar to our tour of the cave in Yangshuo, China but still had a different feel. After dinner on the boat, we played some cards with other group members and then headed for our cabins for a good night sleep.

On our second day of the tour, we finally got away from the other tour boats and were able to enjoy the beauty of the area in peace.  From our boat, we took kayaks out and paddled to a small and secluded beach in the bay.  There, we beached the kayaks and enjoyed about an hour of swimming. It was just what we needed! Later that day, the courageous members of our group headed off to the national park on Cat Ba island for a 2 hour hike while others (including me) stayed behind in the town and enjoyed television, ice cream, freshly squeezed fruit juices, tea and sleep!

The final day we spent lounging on the boat’s deck before making the 3 hour bus ride back to  Hanoi.  The trip was made special by all the people that we met on the tour.  We were a mixed group of international travelers and we shared travel stories at every meal over our Tiger or Hanoi beers. Also, our guide, Khang, was great and shared stories about Vietnam with us.  Thanks for a memorable and relaxing trip everyone!