Listed as one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Halong Bay is definitely a magical place that is rightfully included on many bucket lists. Most tourists visit Halong Bay on an overnight cruise (though there are day trips available) since the trip from Hanoi is almost four hours by bus and there are no hotels or resorts by the bay itself. We chose the Halong Glory after Sarah did some extensive research - apparently the bait-and-switch tactics by the tour agencies here are widespread as we found many reviews from other tourists who ended up on a different boat than they'd booked. Fortunately we had no issues and our journey began at 7:30am when we were promptly picked up from our hotel by our guide
From Hanoi, the drive took the entire (as advertised) four hours even though we only traveled 170 kilometers (traffic everywhere around Hanoi is bad, apparently). We arrived at the harbor around noon and waited about half an hour before boarding our tender boat to the Halong Glory. Like I said, there are no hotels or resorts here...only the harbor. So it was busy with activity while we were there, but I imagine once the tour companies get their passengers on board (all the tours are on approximately the same schedule) the harbor shuts down.
Busy time at the harbor as passengers were loaded on the boats.
Our first impressions of our cruising accommodations were excellent - the boat looked really clean and modern, the staff was very friendly and our room was an actual cabin with a balcony (as compared to the bunk bed situation with my parents in New Zealand).
Pretty nice set up for the next two nights!
As we were settling in, our biggest concern became the weather. Since Halong Bay is a "must-do" for anyone spending time traveling through Vietnam, Alex and I didn't think twice about booking our trip there, despite visiting during the thick of winter (which almost always means cloudy weather around here...).
The first day of sailing was windy, grey and dreary, but the limestone islands and calm waters still created a pretty surreal landscape. After a hearty lunch on board we spent the afternoon sailing around the bay and checking out a few nearby sights.
Our view from lunch - grey but still pretty amazing.
We hopped into a smaller boat for a tour of this cave and lagoon.
Then headed up Ti Top Mountain for a panoramic view of the bay.
Returning to the Halong Glory.
Done exploring the bay for now, we headed back to our cabins to clean up for Happy Hour and the pre-dinner activity: spring roll cooking lessons. We were surprised to learn that raw meat goes into these Vietnamese rolls - they are deep fried for almost ten minutes - and that they are so easy to make (especially when all the ingredients are chopped and prepared for you!).
Sarah was a champ (though I think our recent cooking class in Chiang Mai may have given her a slight advantage over the others)!
Dinner was a four course meal of traditional Vietnamese food and Sarah and I were pretty content with all of the (nut-free) offerings. We went to bed tired after a long day but excited for another day of cruising on Tuesday.
Anchored among other ships for the night.
Our second day of cruising began early - even though we passed on the 6am tai chi, we still had to be ready to go by 7am! We were shuttled from the Halong Glory to another boat where we would spend most of the day.
Bit of a side note here: our biggest complaint about the entire experience is that the Halong Glory operates both one- and two-night cruise packages simultaneously. So we had to leave the "main" boat for the day so the one-night passengers could be taken back to the harbor and new passengers could be picked up. It also led to confusion on board about who had to be where at what times - I think everyone on board (including the crew!) would've been less confused if everyone were on the same schedule.
Once on board our "day boat," we got a safety briefing from the crew and headed out to see a floating fishing village and more of the bay's islands.
Some locals' boats among the bigger cruise ships.
Floating fishing village - well, really more of a former fishing village. Most locals return to harbor each night these days; the floating village is just a tourist attraction.
The sun came out briefly, just in time for us to kayak to a secluded beach.
Post-kayaking, drying off on board.
When we were all back on the "day boat," we were ready for some lunch. The crew prepared an excellent, multi-course Vietnamese lunch (with seafood as a part of each course) that we both really enjoyed. I thought we'd be sick of Vietnamese food at this point - since we've had it for every single meal since arriving in Hanoi - but we're still loving it!
We sat and watched the islands float by as we cruised back to the Halong Glory. When we re-joined our original crew (and new group of tourists), we decided not to participate in the same activities we did yesterday. (Again, trying to accommodate one- and two-night itineraries with one boat and one crew is problematic.) Instead, we opted for a massage. I've gotten more massages in the last couple weeks than I've gotten in my whole life before this...but when they're so cheap it's hard to say no!
Feeling limber, we got cleaned up and relaxed on deck before dinner. The crew prepared a Western-style steak for us tonight, but it wasn't very good. Stick to what you do best, guys!
Dusk on deck.
Moonrise on Halong Bay.
After dinner we headed back to our cabin to get some sleep.
Today we had one more activity before heading back to harbor and making the long drive back to Hanoi: exploring the "Secret" Cave. Obviously this cave hasn't been a secret in quite some time since every tourist in Halong Bay was there at the same time we were! It was still cool to see such a massive cave though (both Sarah and I had trouble remembering when we were last in a cave like this).
Sarah in the "Secret" Cave.
"Natural" lighting in the "Secret" Cave.
We're back in Hanoi now, about to board our overnight train to Hue. Hopefully this one works out just as well as the train to Chiang Mai!