Karsts and isles of Halong Bay : One way ticket to Paradise

February 2016 in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Map of Cat Ba islandsHalong Bay in pictures below the text

So, I went on a trip. Two night, three day trip to Halong Bay. One night on a cruise boat and one night on a resort island.

Halong Bay a.k.a Descending Dragon Bay, a home to thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a MUST see landmark. You cannot leave Vietnam without visiting Halong bay first. Check the weather forecast before you purchase your trip. You wouldn’t want to go there and spend three days in fog with zero visibility.

The bay is a center of a larger area which includes another bay up North and Cat Ba islands down South. I spend a night on one of Cat Ba Islands – Nam Cat. The ‘other bay’ is prettier and less crowded but more expensive to visit (or so ‘they’ say).

My three-star package included: transport from and to the hotel, transport to and from the island, 1 night on a cruise boat and one night in a bungalow, all meals (not drinks though), cave and pearl farm visits, kayaking, cooking and tai chi class.

Restroom stop

The bus took some 4.5 hours and was boring. 170 km of nothing to see/do. Bring your own entertainment if you don’t want to catch up on some sleep. The bus itself was a far cry from the Sapa Express comfort. It might have, however, had something to do with my three star package. There was one restroom stop that lasted 30 minutes – to make sure you have enough time to get a good look at some very pricey souvenirs on offer in a shopping center hosting the restrooms.

We arrived at a 500 (?) meter long jetty. There were hundreds and hundreds of people waiting in the sun and plenty of boats. The larger ones were at some distance and you needed to take a smaller boat to board the larger one.

Silver Sea cruise boat

On the arrival, I was greeted with great news. The company upgraded me to another boat. The four-star Silver Sea. Never expected that. On the other hand, I paid 60 USD supplement, or rather penalty, for single cabin/bungalow (one of the disadvantages of traveling solo) so I was definitely worth it.

Once on the boat, we were seated in a restaurant and had a short info meeting followed by lunch. Keys to cabins were passed around without any paperwork. Everything went quick, smooth and efficient. Apparently, the checking was already done on the bus, so don’t forget to bring your passport with you.

Standard Silver Sea cabin

The boat and especially the cabins were fantastic. I particularly fancied the bathroom which was large, all glassed in with full-size window and breathtaking views, well lit, fantastic water pressure … and even a 10 x magnifying mirror so that for the first time since my arrival I could take a proper look at myself. Bathrooms and rooms in all other hotels I was staying at were so poorly lit I needed to use flashlight on my cell to unlock padlocks on my luggage. Luxury cabins had bathtubs and jacuzzi. All meals were served by wait staff (as opposed to buffets) and consumed with fork and knife.

I’ll recommend Silver Sea any day to anyone.

Rush hour at the cave

After lunch, we went to see the Cave. Most tours do the same activities at the same time thus the sites can be quite overcrowded. The cave was palatial and so impressive, the real wonder of nature yet so real and ‘human-adapted’ that it felt like it was man-made.

After that we went off cruising the magnificent bay passing by hundreds of differently shaped karsts and tiny isles with even tinier ‘one man’ beaches. There were also quite a few floating villages and fishing farms. Should you like to spend a night in a floating village – you may – as many offer homestay deals.

At about 6 p.m. we arrived at our “home base” – home for the night, a place on the bay where we dropped anchor. We weren’t alone. There were quite many boats already there. Dinner was at 7 p.m. Whoever wanted could take a swim before. After dinner? South East Asia’s number one pass time activity – Karaoke.

Pearl farm. Only one in three oysters contains a pearl of which just small percentage are of highest quality

Next morning started already at 6 a.m. with Thai Chi class (for those who wanted) followed by kayaking (also for those who wanted). Despite the early hour (and late night) many people showed up for the class.

After breakfast, we visited the pearl farm. Did you know that it takes up to 10 years for a pearl to grow?

Then it was time for me to say goodbye to Silver Sea, board another boat and head for resort island.

The other boat was nothing more than a simple junk. Naively I thought I was to experience wonders of genuine junk boat ride .. not so .. I was simply ‘downgraded’ or rather back to my original package and to the three-star vessel. Oh, well.

Kayaking through the ‘tunnels’

The resort island was a teeny tiny stretch of not so pristine beach and few bungalows. That was all. There was nowhere to go and there was nothing to do. If relaxing is not your thing .. you’re out of luck. On the other hand, one can ‘hit the gym’ or play cards, read a book or just relax. And there is, of course, kayaking. Squeezing in through tiny tunnel under the karst could be just as entertaining.

One word of caution though, there are sand flies on the island. Take repellent with you.

Gym on the island

On a positive note, I had a very pleasant brush with backpackers. We dined together and chatted. What a lovely bunch of people. Dear parents, if your kids like to travel the world – let them do it. If they don’t think about it .. make them interested (as most probably it is your own doing that they don’t;))

After rather uneventful night but covered with sand fly bites I once again boarded the junk boat and was taken back to the Silver Sea and cooking class. We were taught how to make authentic Vietnamese spring rolls.

The cruise ended with lunch. Then it was straight back to the jetty from where we took a bus back to Hanoi.

Summa Summarum

What impressed me the most, other than the bay itself, was how smooth everything worked. So many boats, so many people, a large part of which with very own itinerary hopping boats and islands right and left. Quite an operation. Yet everything worked perfectly. Everyone was delivered to their destinations and no one was forgotten on a deserted island. Everyone got their specially requested meals. Schedules were kept. And it was all arranged by simple phone calls.

What worries me the most is the exploitation of the bay. Too many boats, too many people and too much trash floating around. The trash, however, doesn’t come for the cruisers (we were told) but from the floating villages and farming.

A word of advice

Make sure you know exactly what you’re buying. Pictures can be so deceiving. I personally would not recommend anything less than four stars. It will cost approximately 100 USD more. But it’s worth it. After all, it will most probably be one in a lifetime trip to Halong Bay so why not enhance the experience as much as you can. I originally planned to spend a week there … but then the weather …
Don’t bring all your luggage. Pack a daypack – only whatever you need (as little as possible) preferably in a backpack and leave the rest at the hotel. This type of arrangements are customary here, all hotels have storage rooms and let guests on tours/trips use them to store the luggage.
Pack wisely. Depending on your itinerary you maybe hopping boats 5-6 times during the trip. Your bag will not always be handled with care. Don’t put your laptop in the outer pocket but rather have it wrapped in clothes inside the main pocket.
Bring some entertainment for the bus trip.
If you’re staying on an island make sure to bring mosquitoes / sand-fly repellent.
If you need to have your coffee first thing in the morning bring a few bags of instant coffee. There was a coffee/tea maker on the boat but no coffee. There was no drinkable coffee on the island either. I could easily get some hot water and make one .. if I had my bags.
If you do the island, remember that other than kayaking there is absolutely nothing else to do, so you may like to take a trip to the main island, Caba island, for a couple of hours. This alternative is offered and doesn’t cost anything to go there — but you need to pay USD 10 to get back.
IMPORTANT bring your passport. You’ll be checking into hotels at least couple of time. It is mandatory that hotels report you spent the night with them. You can have a lot of trouble existing Vietnam if hotels fail to do so.