A great trip to Halong Bay

By Ornthordarson

From Hue, we took the fourteen hour sleeper bus up to Hanoi that arrived just before seven in the morning. We moved quickly and booked a three day - two night Halong Bay tour, departing at eight o’clock that same morning.

Halong Bay is about 170 km. from Hanoi.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a beautiful bay with just under 2,000 majestic limestone-cliff islands scattered around the bay.  We took the bus to Halong City (with a stop in a souvenir store of course) and there we boarded a nice three star junk with eleven other passengers and a crew of six.

A typical view in Halong Bay

At first it felt like stepping into a ski-lift, going out on that boat.  At any one time there are about 300 similar passenger boats sailing around Halong Bay and they all have similar schedules so we could always see a few boats behind us and a few ahead of us, all heading in the same direction. 

But we were quick to shake of the ski-lift feeling.  Sailing around the bay in those boats is soooo relaxing and nice.  The bay is very quiet and the scenery is so astonishing that you get the feeling of moving around in slow motion.

We visited a big cave on one of the islands, went kayaking Halong Bay and visited a floating village where the people live in houses build on rafts and underneath they have enclosures filled with fish, squid and lobsters that they feed until they are big enough to eat.

Kayaking towards the floating village

The first night we slept on the boat but on the second day we went to Cat Ba Island and stayed in a nice new hotel in Cat Ba town.  In hindsight we should have stayed two nights on the boat though.  The hotel in compared to how nice it was on the boat.

Relaxing

We were picked up the next morning and sailed quietly back to Halong City where we took the bus back to Hanoi (with a stop in a souvenir store of course).

Trying to be brave :)

All in all the tour was great, the scenery was fantastic, the food was good and the accommodation cozy and nice.  For people considering to take a similar trip I would recommend taking the two day one night on the boat option on a three star boat or even three days two nights on the boat option.

Our cabin on the boat

Ha Long Bay is New Wonder of Nature

Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay is one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, announced the New7WondersFoundation on November 12 after the first count of global voting ended a day earlier.

                                                                Halong Bay, Vietnam

In alphabetical order, the seven winners are the Amazon, Ha Long Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain.

The New7Wonders of Nature campaign have been carried out over the past four years, starting with more than 440 locations from about 220 countries.

The New7Wonders of Nature have been chosen from the 28 finalist candidates, according to Bernard Weber, founding president of Switzerland-based New7Wonders Foundation.

According to the foundation, the results are provisional and based on the first tally of votes. The votes still need to be checked, validated and independently verified.

Once the voting validation process is complete, in early 2012, New7Wonders will then work with the confirmed winners to organize the official inauguration events.

A 'Junk' Trip in Vietnam

I hunkered in the doorway of an office building as gray clouds moved in, threatening to break open above me. Piles of luggage were stacked in the doorway, but I held tightly to my backpack. As a solo traveler making my way through Vietnam, I had yet to let someone else touch my bag, the essence of my livelihood halfway around the world.

Earlier that morning I had taken a hired car from Hanoi to the coast of Vietnam. This part of the country, known as Halong Bay, was rumored to be tacky and touristy, so I opted instead to head straight for the water.

In fact, most travelers come to Halong Bay for one thing: To tour the bay by junk. These pirate-looking ships generally hold anywhere from a single couple to several dozen people, depending on the boat and tour operator.

Cruises at Halong Bay, Vietnam

Of the nearly 2,000 islands in Halong Bay, only about 300 of them have names. These sheer-faced rocks, covered with luscious trees and foliage, rise out of nowhere in the sea. Apparently birds, snakes, and monkeys live on them, but I can’t imagine that much else does.

As the junk floated among the islands, I sat on the top deck; my legs dangling over the edge of the boat, watching the world recede behind us. The warm, humid air sat heavy on my shoulders, and the dark green of the islands reflected onto the rough surface of the water despite the overcast sky. I felt like we were cruising through a waterlogged version of Jurassic Park.

We piled into the day cruiser that was pulled alongside the junket. One of the boat hands steered the craft toward Công Ðâm. The village “chief” greeted us, poured lukewarm tea into a set of chipped mugs and answered our questions about his home. This, the second largest fishing village in the bay, is only inhabited by 163 people.

As we floated in boats paddled by women in the village, I watched daily life on the water. Dogs lounged on the porches; wet clothes hung from the eves above makeshift porches that surrounded colorful homes sitting atop big plastic barrels.

Fishing village in Halong Bay

Despite rain, we set out in kayaks the next morning. I’d been kayaking in calm, clear waters before, but the rough conditions and inclement weather made the paddling tough, despite the fact that I was sharing a boat with Ahn, our guide, who kayaked several times a week.

He muscled our boat between the outcroppings as I feigned my attempt to help power the boat. Several times we stopped the kayak, rain pouring down, waiting for the others to catch up.

The next morning, our final day in the bay, I awoke to a bright sun and clear sky. The emerald foliage of the outcroppings was painted a surprising shade of brilliant green, which reflected in the water like a flat mirror.

We hopped in the kayaks and paddled to a small island with a large cave. The opening on the island was heavily trafficked.

And so we moved through the cave, trying to guess Ahn’s made-up formations quickly so we could get back in the sun.

Source: volumeone

How to find safe travel in Halong Bay Vietnam

Having read the news about tourist boat sunk in Halong Bay, Vietnam some days ago, killing 12 tourists from 9 countries, ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA would like to give out some advices about how to travel safely and enjoyably in Halong Bay. There are some something you should concern about as you plan your trip there.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

1. Overnight junk (vessel) or hotel?

When you travel you can stay in hotel anywhere, anytime and that is just so normal. If you want to have a unique travel experience in Halong Bay it worth spending a night aboard of an overnight vessel amongst thousands of islands and islets. Though the recently tragedy incident happened to an overnight vessel I still vote for it. The question now is how to minimize the risk.

2. How to choose a reliable overnight vessel?

Stick to popular names like Indochina Sails, Huong Hai Junk, Bai Tho Junk, Hai Long Junk,… there are many boat fleets recommended or not recommended on Trip Advisor by travelers. We all know that the big brand is likely a guarantee for the quality. In this case, it is so true. A wooden vessel of a big fleet after some year in operation would be sold to smaller fleet who is targeting at cheap services. These old wooden vessels are not reliable especially in bad weather.

When you book overnight vessel ask your travel consultant or reservation license of the vessel for doing its business. That can tell a lot how reliable your overnight vessel is.

3. What else a popular big vessel fleet can offer?

Their crew are better trained and more discipline. They concentrate on what they do better than crew of a small and unorganized fleet. The vessels are well maintained and safety equipment aboard are better equipped. There are many more things about quality and safety that a small and cheap fleet can not offer traveler since they just target at cheap services.

4. Already aboard, what you should concern?

There should be a hummer in your cabin which can be used to break the glass window in case of emergency. The hummer should be hang right on either sides of the window and you have locate it so you can have it when you need (hope not). If you do not find the hummer you should ask for one from the crew or you make something yourself for that purpose.

There should also be life-vest in your cabin. You have to be sure that you have them ready in case.

Scan the whole vessel for emergency escape way, fire extinguisher,… that would be useful in case of emergency

 See Halong kayaking and cruising adventures by ActiveTravel Asia, at here:
http://www.activetravel.asia/top-halong-kayak-tours-vietnam-tl358.html