Vietnam 2013 Part 2 – Ha Long Bay

Ha Long bay, the Natural Wonder of the World. Indeed it is! One can simply book the tour in Hanoi. There’s many tour agencies in Hanoi itself that organizes trips to Ha Long Bay. Trips range from a day to 3 days, with a choice to overnight in a junk.

I booked this tour before coming to Vietnam. I found this company: Awesome Vietnam Travel on Tripadvisor and booked my 1-day trip to Ha Long Bay there. It cost USD 28 for 1 person.

Normally, companies and locals will advice you to take the 2 or 3 day option due to time constrains when doing the 1-day trip. A 2 or 3 day trip will mean you get to overnight on the junk boat and see more of Ha Long Bay itself. Note that it will take a 4 hours by coach to the jetty for the boat transfer. So a 1-day trip will mean that you will spend 8 hours on the coach and only 4 hours at Ha Long Bay itself. For me, I had a tight schedule and I already booked a flight to Nha Trang next, so I had no choice but go with the 1-day trip.

So my day started with the pick up service picking me at 0800 and after picking up after tourist, we headed straight to Ha Long. Around 1.5 hours into the journey, we stopped by at this huge shop for a toilet break. The shop sells hand made paintings which can cost up to VND 1 million! And souvenirs and snacks can be bought here as well.

We continued the journey and it’s really a bumpy ride to Ha Long. Road conditions aren’t really that good. And I find it ironic that the Vietnamese obey the speed limit but disobeyed the traffic lights.. Oh well.

So, upon reaching Ha Long, we waited for our boat for about 30 minutes. And by the time we get there, it’s already 1230.

You will be given a ticket here that states VND 80 000. Don’t worry, that’s just the cost of taking the boat. The price you pay basically includes the hotel transfer, lunch, boat, park entrance fees and guide fees. And DO NOT lose this ticket. You will need it for some attractions.

The moment we boarded the boat, lunch is served. Lunch is basically seafood lunch, with prawns, chicken, clams, squid, fish, vegetables and rice. Do note that most Ha Long Bay trips include lunch in the itinerary but NOT drinks. Drinks can be purchased separately at VND 20 000. And for those who get sea sick easily, don’t worry! The boat is fairly stable and won’t be speeding through.  Here are some shots along the way:

Just nice after lunch, we arrived at this jetty. Our first stop is Thien Cung cave. This cave is really beautiful with many rocks with all sorts of shapes. You can use your imagination here to see the rocks that resembled something. Your tour guide will tell you legends about the cave and the meaning of certain rocks. Note: The cave may be a little wet, so do watch your steps!

After visiting the cave, we headed back on the boat. The boat now travels along and you can see many beautiful shaped limestone islets. Here are some shots:

About 20 minutes into the journey, we arrived at this small floating fishing village. There are actually people living in these villages. Their livelihood is mainly by fishing.

The boat will make a 30 minute stop at this fishing village. You have 3 options here.

1: Take a short ride on a small boat (for 4 pax) along the area paddled by the Vietnamese.

2: Have a short kayaking experience around the area.

3: Just chill on the fishing village.

I took the 1st option as I do not want to get wet. It cost me VND 130 000 for the boat ride. The ride is really relaxing and you will get to enter this mini “cave” to see the beautiful lagoon.

I recommend at least trying the boat ride or the kayak. For the adventurous and for those who want to get wet, get the kayak. Price wise, should be about VND 150 000. Do note that the “cave” is only accessible when it’s low tide.

After the ride, we boarded back the boat and headed back to the jetty on the mainland. As you can see, the day trip is really short, so I’d recommend going for the 2-day trip. Along the way, I managed to capture a few shots on different islets.

So, that’s Ha Long Bay. Overall, I enjoyed it  a lot! And for the price I pay, it’s really worth it!! I’d recommend Awesome Vietnam Travel. Just look it up at Tripadvisor!! Mr Anh is really professional and delivers what he promises.

If you have more time to spare, try going for the 2-day or 3-day trip. Do note that you get for what you pay for. Try organizing your trip from Hanoi and not Halong Bay itself to avoid scams. Do enquire about what you get for the package. Some companies may charge slightly more as the kayaking is already included. There is also a luxury option junk cruise for those honeymooners and those travelling on a high budget. What ever it is, Ha long bay must not be missed when one is in Vietnam!

Stay tuned for my next post as I fly to the beach city of Nha Trang!

Vietnam Part 3

Volendam, Netherlands 2013

As promised, this is my second post about my days in The Netherlands. Today’s itinerary, we will be going to a town called Volendam, about a few kilometers to the north of Amsterdam. It is commonly known as the fishing village due to the inhabitants of fishermen here. Volendam is also a hot tourist destination due to it’s traditional Dutch costumes.

So on our way there, we stopped by this huge windmill for some pictures. Check it out!:

A wild sheep appeared!

So, we continued our journey to Volendam. The great thing about Netherlands is that, it so windy!! Like really! U can see how strong the winds are just by looking at the above photo. The tall grass literally sways with the wind direction. It’s like having a natural giant fan all day long!

Just some pictures along the way:

We finally reached Volendam! I’m just simply blown away on how beautiful and peaceful this place is!! Even though it’s touristy here, the atmosphere is just great!! It’s just a beauty seeing all those houses, locals having tea outside their houses, the fishermen boats. It’s just simply awesome!! Check these pictures out! :

We had our lunch at this restaurant specializing in selling fish & chips. You can find many restaurants there selling fish & chips. You can also get your souvenirs here. There are plenty of souvenir shops here. Do shop around to get the best prices!! There’s many shops selling T-shirts too! Not forgetting, there’s a cheese factory here. So, you can also get you cheese here in case you had missed it earlier on.

Don’t be surprised if you see locals wearing this funny costume with clogs. They are just wearing the traditional Dutch costume. Volendam is known to have locals still wearing those costumes. And best of all, you can also get yourself photographed with those costumes!! I mean why not having something different as a souvenir right?? I got mine taken, check it out!

Well, that’s all I have for now in Volendam. Overall, a really nice place with a great place for souvenirs. Food is also manageable and easy to find. A fish & chips meal cost you about EUR 12. There are also snack bars along the way. The only downside is that this place might be touristy. I strongly recommend for you getting your photo taken with those costumes!! 🙂

Netherlands Part 3