Lauren –
Pete, David and I woke up feeling pretty excited about the three days ahead of us. We were headed off on a two night/three day boat cruise around the famous Ha Long Bay.
I had done quite a bit of research on what boat we should choose (you have everything ranging from the $10-a-night junk boats to the exorbitant $1000-a-night luxurious experiences. We decided to settle somewhere in the middle with Aphrodite Cruises (and all shared a room so that we could splurge a little more).
We waved goodbye to the strange Ha Long Bay City, all agreeing that we were glad to have experienced it, and zoomed off towards the Port. We checked in, slurped our welcome lemongrass teas and eagerly stepped onto the old teak boat.
Our room was at the back, was well sized and the beds were some of the softest any of us had ever come across. So much so, that we were unsure the mattress had enough tension to even hold our bodies up!
We barely had a moment to unpack before lunch was announced over the loud speaker. I knew that the food on the boat was one of it’s ‘unique selling points’ and one of the main reasons I had chosen this company, so I was eager to see the lunches offerings. We were all pleasantly surprised (well I felt more a sense of validation) that the food was delicious! Every meal was around 5 courses long! Vietnamese traditional foods and seasonal produce. Good start!
Not 10 minutes after we finished this decadent lunch we were told that the afternoons excursions would begin, we rushed to pack our hats and sunscreen before jumping onto the smaller motorboat which would take us around the Bay.
We spent the afternoon visiting some amazing caves, swimming at a (not so nice compared to Australian) beaches and climbing to some amazing (yet very sweaty) lookout points to take in the stunning views.
Dinner was a familiar experience, a five course feast with Argentinian Malbec (we decided it was worth the splurge) followed by some squid fishing on the back of the boat! David and Pete decided now would be a good time to sample some of the local rum that they had (smuggled) onto the boat, they looked very smug whilst pouring each other a glass only to exclaim that it tasted rather like petrol. We then decided to call it a night, another big day on the bay ahead!
The next day we again boarded a smaller motor day boat and set off for an adventure. We enjoyed the perks of low season as there was no fighting for the best spots on the boat to relax and take in the views!
We first visited the famous floating village in Ha Long Bay, taking a bamboo canoe around the village and chatting to the local people. It was really interesting to learn about their culture at the floating museum they had set up for tourists, although we were all a bit alarmed to learn that the villages once were home to over 2000 people, spanning generations.
The UNESCO world heritage listing had shone a spot light on Ha Long Bay and the Government forced the villages to resettle in Ha Long City to make way for the booming tourism trade. Only around 100 people remained, we all felt a little sad.
We then set off in kayaks to a secluded beach and spent an hour or so chatting and taking in the scenery. We knew that lunch followed the kayaking so we all made an extra effort to kayak extremely quickly on the return journey. Lunch was (as usual) delicious, and a welcome break from the sun and sea.
We spent the afternoon chilling on the sundeck with (happy hour) cocktails as the sun went down. We decided to get another bottle of Malbec with dinner and called it a night. The boys attempted again to squid fish, but were disheartened by the lacking equipment and morale.
All in all we had a brilliant time in Ha Long Bay. We knew it would be touristy (and it definitely was), but that didn’t take away too much from the beautiful landscapes. We had been extremely lucky with the weather – the day we were leaving it was pouring!
Next stop Hoi An!
Far Away From Home 