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

Langkawi 2011 Part 2 – Island Hopping!

As promised, here’s part 2!

So, today’s itinerary is Island Hopping! This is included in the package, so there’s no way to deviate from it.

Was picked up at 0830 and dropped off at the jetty where we will be assigned to groups and speedboats.

Speedboats at the jetty

Waiting for the speedboat

There were 3 islands in the island hopping tour. First,  the Pulau Dayang Bunting, where there is a freshwater lake seperated from the seawater. Didn’t swim in the lake though. Another thing interesting about this island is that from a certain angle, you could actually see a pregnant lady lying down and there were noticeable features that resemble the head, breast and the pregnant belly! And warning!! The monkeys at Pulau Dayang Bunting are very very aggressive. I had seen the monkeys clinging onto tourists bags and even opening the zippers in search for food!

Tips for travelers: DON’T carry any big backpacks. Try sticking to small pouches if you wanna avoid those monkeys.

See the distinct pregnant lady on her back?

The entrance to the park

The fresh water lake

On of the mischievous monkeys!

The next stop is Pulau Beras Basah. This island is inhabited by lots of wild monkeys. We didn’t do that much though, except that just chilling around the beaches, soaking our feet in the seawater and busy seeing how the other tourists give the monkeys attention. And i must say, the beach sand here is even more fine and powdery that the ones in Pantai Cenang.

The clear waters of Pulau beras basah

It says it all

the jetty at Pulau Beras Basah

The last stop is not really on an island but its near an island with lots and lots of eagles!  These are wild eagles and they seemed to know that when tourists pass by, they will bring some food. And yes, our boat captain did bring along a bucket of meat. He just simply throw it and the eagles all went chasing after it. Its really nice to see eagles in such close distance.

those wild eagles

an eagle landing on the water to grab it’s food

After that, we headed to the mainland and that concludes our island hopping tour. The rest of the day was spent on lunch, dinner and just chilling by the beach and the pool. And I had shisha by the beach that night. Such a relaxing experience!

Langkawi Part 3