Halong Bay

Going on a recommendation from our foreign correspondant, Mr. Deepa Arora, we knew that a trip to Halong Bay could not be missed. It also didn't hurt that we were ready to get out of Hanoi for a few days. As we mentioned previously, we booked through Kangaroo Cafe (western owned) so we knew we'd have a first class trip.



When we arrived to Halong Bay it was pretty foggy. There were a lot of junks docked in the harbor and ones that were disappearing into the fog on their way out to see the sights. We boarded our boat (which was definitely first class compared to some of the other junks) with 10 others and headed out to the bay. On our way out we passed dozens of karst peaks and the fog gave them a really eerie feeling.



We could only imagine what it would look like if it had been a clear day, but given the circumstances we thought it was pretty neat to be seeing it as we did. Once we got closer to the karst peaks, it cleared up a bit and we could appreciate the stagering cliffs.





We cruised for about an hour before stopping at an island with a cave. We hiked up to the cave and checked out its three chambers, each one bigger than the last. Our guide pointed out different formations that looked like a buddha, lion, etc. Here's our phallic image for the day:



After the cave we boarded the boat and cruised out to the spot where we would dock for the night. At mealtime on the boat the food kept on coming. At lunch they first brought out 6 prawns for our table and we all looked at each other wondering if that was all they were going to feed us. We were wrong! They kept bringing out more food, fish, squid, salad, chicken, tofu, veggies, etc.





The next morning we woke up to a dense fog. We cruised to a nearby karst island called Titop and hiked to the top. The island was named for a Russian cosmonaut as a goodwill gesture by Ho towards the Russians in the early 60's. The fog was so thick that we couldn't see anything, so we got back on the boat to relax. On our way back to the mainland our captain had to ask a fisherman for directions because it was so foggy and they couldn't find their way.

We were quite disappointed by all the trash that littered the water. There are many floating villages in the bay and that combined with all the tourists makes for a pretty disgusting quality of water. A few people on our boat went swimming, but we wanted nothing to do with the water. It's really a shame because it's one of the most amazing sights and the trash does take away from it.

All in all, Halong Bay is a beautiful place and definitely worth the trip. Had the weather been sunny and the water a little cleaner then I think it could definitely live up to its claim as being the "eighth world wonder."