We were picked up in a minivan, which whipped around collecting more travellers, before leaving Hanoi. During our 2 hour ride to the coastline of Halong Bay, our guide (nicknamed Tiger) introduced herself and explained the itinerary for the coming days.
The pier was crowded with hundreds of boats - both fishing and tourist boats. We boarded our Chinese Junk (pictured above) and headed out on the water.
The group we toured with are all in their 20s, from UK, Canada and Holland. Tiger is the lady in red to the right of Princess.
This bay has 1969 islands, and many are small and steep.
Halong Bay is part of the same formation of Karst rock that we saw in Laos - stunning!
We cruised through an area surrounded by cliffs that enclosed a floating village. The local inhabitants spend nearly all their life on water here, and have a long history of expert fishing.
The village has everything they need: a school, a shop, and a few other necessities.
Can you see the fish?
Here is Princess enjoying the front deck, as we head to one of the big caves of the islands.
This is the walk up to Hang Sung Sot Grotto - the Cave of the Surprises.
Looking up, we can see the lookout where we exit out of the cave later on.
This is Tiger giving us the background on the cave, which was discovered by the French in 1901.
It is huge and has been lit with color, giving an amazing ambiance.
The karst limestone has lots of formations, shaped from the water flows and drips.
This picture is oddly reminiscent of the computer game Doom.
Thats not a camera flash, its the blue 'mood' lighting.
This is the crowning glory of the grotto - the complex is named after it! This surprise novelty shaped rock is the source of innumerable giggles.
The attempted Timfoolery was marginally successful.
We headed out the other end of the cave onto the lookout. What a view!
One of those Junks is our one. Standing at this lookout, we were talking to a Dutch couple, Robert and Marloes, hereafter known as the Dutchies. Robert was trying to get a picture, but the camera didn't want to work properly.
Toolman offered to take a photo and email it to them - here is the result. We chatted about Holland over an icecream and drink, then wandered back to the boat. Our next cruise took us to a beach with a lookout. We could either climb up for a great view, or just go for a swim...
It was far too nice a beach to miss swimming, so everyone ended up goofing around on the beach for a couple of hours. Back on the junk after our swim, the staff were serving up a great cooked meal.
Dinner was followed with drinking, relaxing and socialising. Throughout the evening, a few other tour boats visited us, so we met a few other groups touring around. One particularly amusing group included 2 American guys who were pretending they were Canadian while they travelled Vietnam (to avoid the inevitable US bashing).
We spent most the night drinking, and hanging out with our new friends the Dutchies, and A swiss guy called Etienne.
We were Gansta as! Eventually we all retired to our small twin room with ensuite for some deserved rest. Unfortunately the walls were paper thin, and some weird noises kept us awake longer then we'd have liked..
The next morning a couple of the lads, including Toolman, went for a swim by jumping off the roof of the junk.
Nothing like a swim to help those fuzzy mornings.
After a nice breakfast, we switched to a smaller boat to go and kayak.
The rental kayak shop was floating of course. We got in 2 person kayaks, and cruised around a group of islands nearby.
The water was flat, the weather was great, and there were lots of alcoves and tunnels to explore.
Our destination on the kayak tour was Monkey island. There is a timid monkey that lives on this small island, and some lucky visitors get to see him. Unfortunately we must have scared him off, as no one saw the monkey. Still, it was great to paddle about and see the islands up close.
After paddling back, we were pretty exhausted. We boarded the boat, and it took us on to Cat Ba island where we had a hotel room arranged as part of the tour.
Cat Ba island is one of the largest islands in Halong bay. We checked in to our rooms, then had a well deserved lunch, shower and rest.
This is our guide for the afternoon, Joe. He is a 70 year old with so much energy and stamina it was embarrassing for us unfit 20-somethings. He is still perfecting his English, and writes down all the improvements he picks up from talking with us.
Karst limesone produces many caves, and so we explored a few as we walked.
Though not as impressive (or surprising) as the earlier cave, it was still interesting to walk through.
We all follow the trail up to the peak. Joe lead the trail, and was lightning quick heading up!
As we get to the top, we gather our breath and gather to admire the view..
Stunning! This photo doesn't fully capture the depth and number of islands that cascade into the distance.
Princess and the Dutchies lead Toolman back down the trail.
The trail was quite slippery with gravel and pine needles - there were a few slips and dirty butts by the end of the descent.
On the way down, Toolman spotted this brightly colored bug.
We arrived back at our accommodation for an evening on Cat Ba island just in time for an amazing sunset.
The next morning we boarded our junk-boat and slowly cruised Halong bay for the morning, before heading back to the mainland and pier to board our bus back to Hanoi.
The pier was crowded with hundreds of boats - both fishing and tourist boats. We boarded our Chinese Junk (pictured above) and headed out on the water.
The group we toured with are all in their 20s, from UK, Canada and Holland. Tiger is the lady in red to the right of Princess.
This bay has 1969 islands, and many are small and steep.
Halong Bay is part of the same formation of Karst rock that we saw in Laos - stunning!
We cruised through an area surrounded by cliffs that enclosed a floating village. The local inhabitants spend nearly all their life on water here, and have a long history of expert fishing.
The village has everything they need: a school, a shop, and a few other necessities.
Can you see the fish?
Here is Princess enjoying the front deck, as we head to one of the big caves of the islands.
This is the walk up to Hang Sung Sot Grotto - the Cave of the Surprises.
Looking up, we can see the lookout where we exit out of the cave later on.
This is Tiger giving us the background on the cave, which was discovered by the French in 1901.
It is huge and has been lit with color, giving an amazing ambiance.
The karst limestone has lots of formations, shaped from the water flows and drips.
This picture is oddly reminiscent of the computer game Doom.
Thats not a camera flash, its the blue 'mood' lighting.
This is the crowning glory of the grotto - the complex is named after it! This surprise novelty shaped rock is the source of innumerable giggles.
The attempted Timfoolery was marginally successful.
We headed out the other end of the cave onto the lookout. What a view!
One of those Junks is our one. Standing at this lookout, we were talking to a Dutch couple, Robert and Marloes, hereafter known as the Dutchies. Robert was trying to get a picture, but the camera didn't want to work properly.
Toolman offered to take a photo and email it to them - here is the result. We chatted about Holland over an icecream and drink, then wandered back to the boat. Our next cruise took us to a beach with a lookout. We could either climb up for a great view, or just go for a swim...
It was far too nice a beach to miss swimming, so everyone ended up goofing around on the beach for a couple of hours. Back on the junk after our swim, the staff were serving up a great cooked meal.
Dinner was followed with drinking, relaxing and socialising. Throughout the evening, a few other tour boats visited us, so we met a few other groups touring around. One particularly amusing group included 2 American guys who were pretending they were Canadian while they travelled Vietnam (to avoid the inevitable US bashing).
We spent most the night drinking, and hanging out with our new friends the Dutchies, and A swiss guy called Etienne.
We were Gansta as! Eventually we all retired to our small twin room with ensuite for some deserved rest. Unfortunately the walls were paper thin, and some weird noises kept us awake longer then we'd have liked..
The next morning a couple of the lads, including Toolman, went for a swim by jumping off the roof of the junk.
Nothing like a swim to help those fuzzy mornings.
After a nice breakfast, we switched to a smaller boat to go and kayak.
The rental kayak shop was floating of course. We got in 2 person kayaks, and cruised around a group of islands nearby.
The water was flat, the weather was great, and there were lots of alcoves and tunnels to explore.
Our destination on the kayak tour was Monkey island. There is a timid monkey that lives on this small island, and some lucky visitors get to see him. Unfortunately we must have scared him off, as no one saw the monkey. Still, it was great to paddle about and see the islands up close.
After paddling back, we were pretty exhausted. We boarded the boat, and it took us on to Cat Ba island where we had a hotel room arranged as part of the tour.
Cat Ba island is one of the largest islands in Halong bay. We checked in to our rooms, then had a well deserved lunch, shower and rest.
Our plan for the later afternoon was a guided walk through the hills of the island.
This is our guide for the afternoon, Joe. He is a 70 year old with so much energy and stamina it was embarrassing for us unfit 20-somethings. He is still perfecting his English, and writes down all the improvements he picks up from talking with us.
Karst limesone produces many caves, and so we explored a few as we walked.
Though not as impressive (or surprising) as the earlier cave, it was still interesting to walk through.
We all follow the trail up to the peak. Joe lead the trail, and was lightning quick heading up!
As we get to the top, we gather our breath and gather to admire the view..
Stunning! This photo doesn't fully capture the depth and number of islands that cascade into the distance.
Princess and the Dutchies lead Toolman back down the trail.
The trail was quite slippery with gravel and pine needles - there were a few slips and dirty butts by the end of the descent.
On the way down, Toolman spotted this brightly colored bug.
We arrived back at our accommodation for an evening on Cat Ba island just in time for an amazing sunset.
Our hotel was part of the islands' "Miami style" esplanade lined with hotels, bars and convenience stores for the foreigners. We had a couple of drinks before crashing out and sleeping off all that exercise.
The next morning we boarded our junk-boat and slowly cruised Halong bay for the morning, before heading back to the mainland and pier to board our bus back to Hanoi.
