Halong Beauty
Hanoi is the CAPITAL of Vietnam and the country's 2nd largest city after Ho Chi Minh.
When in Hanoi there is no missing out on the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is at Halong Bay. The clear emerald waters glister under the sunlight and it was a spectacular sight to behold amongst the limestones.
How to Book?
We booked the Halong Bay Overnight cruise tour from Groupon Singapore. Yes you heard it right. It was quite a good deal actually, to be honest. We had liaised with 'Lisa Vietnam Travel' via email prior to the trip at $300SGD per pax.
We were pciked up from our hotel and drove straight to Tuan Chau Marina where by many others were also waiting for transfer onto their cruise ships sailing on Halong Bay. We were with this company called 'Scorpion Cruise'. ( So you see, for each service, many companies are involved with different sub-contractors)
The many other 'brands' of cruises.
Like them, we had to ride a smaller 'sampang' before we can transfer to the ship at the open sea
On Board! Haik!
But crusie in this case is to be taken loosely, for I had, prior to boarding the "ship" had some romantic notions that it will be those luxurious cruise akin to Superstar Cruises. Alas, it was simply a very basic ship with basic facilities, rundown in fact. Okay, I should have guessed for such pricing that the picture shown in Groupon was too good to be true. Fancy sails and all.
However, though the ship was slightly older, we were extremely well fed. The spread was considered sumptuous, including a dinner seafood buffet. Breakfast, and a live demo of the Vietnamese spring rolls + lunch made us really happy and glee full of food.
The crew on board which included the guide, was friendly and brought us along on the land tours at various points when the ship docked and even cooked for us in a cooking demo!
Halong Bay Hello!
So within minutes we were transported from the terminus to the open waters and there, smacked in the middle of Halong Bay.
Looks surreal huh?
But yes, this is it...everywhere.. these mountains of limestones known as inslets.
There are about 2000 of them in the bay.
The deck of Scorpion cruise looks pretty don't it?
Every meal on board was pretty fantastic... lots of Vietnamese dishes to go with white rice.
Below were the lovely gorgeous places we visited on DAY 1:
1. Soi Sim Island
AKA TITOP Island
This is the key to getting that million dollar bird-eye's view picture of the island and Halong Bay you have seen in every magazines.
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We arrived and departed in this sampang as the ship cannot dock into the beach due to its larger size.
Climb up the stairs to reach the highest of the island for a splendid view... exciting!
Thankfully it was not extremely steep and the steps were well paved. Phew.
So there, this is the famed picture of Halong Bay- with filer
Embrace the world? :)
Back from the highs, we then went on to explore the sandy white beach on Soi Sim on the ground.
Please take your time to appreciate the tranquility.
Such calmness as the water gently laps on the sandy shores~
2. Dark and Light Grotto in Lan Ha Bay
This 2nd place place was real awesome. Lan Ha Bay lies south of Halong bay and it's another bay altogether similary peppered with limestone islets and many small villages with clean white beaches too, but we didn't embark, coz our guide didn't 'guide' us and we were left to kayak on our own for over an hour. Though we could follow the other tourists but still I felt abit bumped out because no introductions were made of the place.
You wouldn't get lost that's for sure because it's a 1 way in and out from the calm waters.
Kayaking in the tranquil, bluish-jade crystal water. Serene and at peace. But, the guide totally didn't really "care" if you know how to kayak or not. You can either go for this or just, I dunno, sit out somewhere. So despite us not knowing/ forgotten how to kayak, we just have to rah-rah and go ahead. Really. it was quite a risk.. but well we made it! Thank god.
The pics here are not super clear coz we have to judge our paddles and phones... This is where a GoPro would have been useful.
We were in a stream amongst the valleys and mountains and the water was calm. From the pictures it might not seem super pretty, but to be there personally will evoke a sense of wonder. A small human in a big world.
Thanks to my gal who was in front~
It's dark and light because you enter the dark caves from the eroded limestones and emerged out again under the sky. In and out you will go.
The sky was turning dark way fast upon our return. when we reached the pier it was PITCH BLACK.
Refueling!
It was a fully packed day and a great dinner was necessary to wind down.
We had Vietnamese food and BBQ and thankfully it was all done by a chef and we didn't have to BBQ. All good!
Finally when you are out at sea, there is no wifi, and no TV reception. So with no digital entertainment, we went back to our favourite game- JINGGA
This sums up on Day 1 Halong Bay Cruise. Upcoming will be on Day 2.
Stay tuned!
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