Halong Bay, Vietnam

To go, or not to go to Halong Bay had been a question of ours for some time. In the end, we decided to book the trip once hearing from our good friends from Ireland A&O that they had a great time. So, we booked a two-day trip to the bay where we would spend the night on board a junk and sail amongst the islands.

The tour company picked us up from our hotel and we had a three hour drive to Halong City where we would pick up our junk, The Imperial Junk, for an overnight cruise around the Bay. The tour company had advised us to only take a small bag with us on the boat and store our regular packs in Hanoi. Having developed an irrational attachment to our larger-than-self packs, however, we insisted on bringing them and found ourselves as the only travelers unable to fit through the small boat stairwells and doors. Eventually we made it with our stuff up to the restaurant area of the boat where we cooled down and met the rest of the people assigned to the Imperial. Here we met Stephen, the first American we'd seen since NZ. Stephen was on a multi-month journey of his own and it was far too easy to sink comfortably into some Americanisms we'd forgotten all about. The Imperial was a classic looking wooden junk with room for up to 20 guests and a super friendly crew.

First thing after boarding the Imperial, the crew cooked up some fabulous food including tastey spring rolls, prawns, clams, stir-fried beef and veggies and lots of fruit. The food was much tastier and heartier than we had expected and we were starting to feel like we'd made a good choice by coming to Halong Bay. Comfy beach chairs lined the top of the junk and provided amazing images of the surrounding islands.

After lunch we set sail. Halong Bay is a World Heritage Site as designated by UNESCO and has over 3,000 islands all covered in lush greenery and grottos created by both winds and waves. Sailing amongst the islands was simply stunning. Our first stop was a nearby island housing two magnificant caves. Entering the caves we saw giant stalagtites (from the bottom up) and stalagmites (top down) formed throughout the immense caverns winding into the sides of the island. We wandered through two caves with our group and explored the different pathways and rock formations throughout. It was also fun to hear the large bat colony swarming above throughout our walk.

Next stop would be for some kayaking which we opted not to do and, instead, decided to visit a nearby fish farm. Floating villiages around Halong Bay have an impressive collection of fish on display and we were able to see many strange specimens which our guide referred to as 'unspeakable' as they do not have an English translation. After the fish farm, we took a small boat tour of nearby grottos as well as a small floating village. The grottos were suprisingly large and accessible only through a small hole on the edge of an island. The floating village showed houses literally floating on slats gathered together in a protected cove with kids and dogs lounging about enjoying the ocean breeze. Definately interesting to observe this way of life but we were both thankful to have grown up on terra firma.

We headed back to our junk and spent the rest of the afternoon sailing around the bay, sunbathing, napping and getting to know our shipmates. We had a fantastic group aboard the Imperial and, as always, the people we meet continue to be the highlight of every trip. We made a stop later in the day to take a dip and we can both now say that the China Sea is quite warm with a green tint and medium visibility.

Sunset atop a boat sitting in the midst of Halong Bay is perhaps why it is important to go on this trip. With its numerous islands and just-perfect lighting, Halong Bay at sunset is a photographer's dream. Throw in a few rickty boats and a floating village or two and you could have an entire portfolio. We've got a lot more where these came from.

We had another great meal prepared by our crew who literally went fishing for dinner. Using clumps of morning glory they lured in small sardine-like fish straight off the back of the boat and tossed them in a wok for a tasty appetizer. Once again, the spread was extensive and quite filling. After some great conversation (not much to do once it is dark on the water) everyone headed for bed and made promises about meeting up for sunrise.

The night on the junk was hot. We had heat instead of air-con and little ventilation. The room itself was quite small not to mention our giant paks blocking passage to the bathroom and outside. Jaci managed a descent sleep but Matt's aversion to motion (uhhh, overnight boat trip??) and heat made for a tough night's sleep. Needless to say we would not catch the sunrise the next morning but tried to catch a tad more sleep.

The second day of the trip was more sailing around the bay. By mid-morning we were heading back to the dock where we would pick up our return ride to Hanoi and the Imperial would gather her new group of travelers.

Overall, the trip to Halong Bay was an impressive gettaway to scenic water and landscapes. As we've experienced throughout our trip, however, commercial travel tends to be somewhat empty and 'easy'. While the service and meals were a treat, the trip lacked a feeling of discovery we've learned to enjoy so much. Often times this type of travel can not be avoided, as was the case with Halong Bay, but we've both learned to crave the individual adventure over the packaged 'moving sidewalk' version of travel too often offered.

Our next 'sidewalk' stop would be Sapa in the Northern Vietnamese mountains and were we would try to make the best of our tour...