So we booked a 3 day, 2 night Halong Bay trip with our guesthouse in Hanoi. There were three levels based on price, and we were pushed to move to the middle one instead of going to the basic one, because the food would be much better, and the tour as a whole would be drastically improved. At the same time, she suggested we leave for Halong Bay a day early instead of our original plans, because the weather was supposed to be much nicer. This was the case, and I am thankful to our host for her advice, because in fog, it's not nearly as dramatic as on a nice day.
So, as usual, we go on a bus. 3.5 hours to Halong City. It was a nice ride, filled with views of some motorbikes carrying pigs, some carrying chickens, lots of industrial parks, and country towns that we passed through. As annoying as being on a bus is, it's really nice to see the countryside passing by, and some of the stuff that you see out the windows really is amazing. For example, the Vietnamese have made an island and filled it with a huge resort offering everything cool that can be done in Vietnam (adventure/beachwise) all in one place. According to our guide, it is where many people go on their honeymoon...
At Halong City, we are dropped off at the tourist wharf, where we join throngs of tourists waiting to get on boats. It's mass chaos. We get handed off from tour guide to tour guide, walk all over the place to find our boat, and have to take a small boat to a bigger boat, swapping people in our group around 3 times. Like everything in this country, the organization needs a bit of work.
The boat was very nice, and our tour group was pretty good. We made friends with an Australian guy and a British girl, only to be separated at the wharf (to be reunited the next day, because we were on the same tour, but happened to be on different ones), and our boat was filled with mostly older people and a young Canadian couple. There were a few Finns that were very good conversationalists, and everyone was generally friendly, which was good for people locked up on a boat together.
Halong Bay is a Unesco World Heratige site, and a 2 time natural wonder of the world. It consists of a bunch of limestone karsts (big sharp island things) jutting out of the water, forming a bunch of islands and waterways that feel like something out of a naval movie/lord of the rings. It really is a beautiful place, but in more of an atmospheric way than as a "holy crap this is amazing" way. It kind of blew my mind at the beginning, but then I settled into the idea and it became a really nice place to kind of cruise around in. We ventured into natural caves filled with all sorts of rock formations (and multicolored lights to emphasize them), around all sorts of interestingly named islands (kissing chickens island is the symbol of Halong Bay), and through floating villages based around fishing.
These villages sold seafood, and I bought a blue swimming crab from them for dinner (not a bargain, but definately really freaking fresh!). It was cold, but I did some swimming in the bay anyways, surrounded by women in boats trying to sell me beer so that I would warm up when I came out. After dinner, there was karaoke (helped along by corn liquor brought by the Canadians), but I went to bed kind of early.
Digression: All of the beds in Vietnam are very hard. I rarely sleep well, and my back isn't in the best shape after all of this... Might get a massage when I get back to Saigon...
We did a bit more sailing the next day, but transferred boats/tour guides because we were staying one more night (on an island). We then met up with our British/Australian friends, had lunch on a beach of one of the islands along with some kayaking. Kayaking around was fantastic, and if I had more time I would have tried to do more of it. The karsts look much more majestic when you're in a small boat, and there are tons of nooks and crannys that you can go through and explore. There are tours that do more kayaking, but with so many options, it's sometimes overwhelming to shop around and find what you want to do, especially when travelling with others.
Side note #2: Every single lunch and dinner was the same. Squid, grilled shrimp, some sort of pork, some sort of green vegetable, and some sort of chicken dish. There was only a very slight variation on the sauces, and huge variation in quality (my beer steamed crab was excellent, however). It was really annoying to have the same thing for three days, and it may have messed with my stomach a little bit, but I was more annoyed with the idea of being in Vietnam and not having the amazing variations of food that there are, and that the people should be proud of...
We ended up on Cat Ba Island, a great base for trekking/kayaking/beaching, but without enough time to do any of it. Us younger people went drinking at a bia hoi stand. This is a streetside beer place that serves fresh, unpasturized beer at crazy cheap prices (3.5 dollars for 2 pitchers), and the idea is to get completely plastered with friends. A definate positive aspect of Northern Vietnam. This was before dinner for us, however, so we drank a bit too slowly for the proprietor. She would constantly come sit down at our table, keep our glasses topped off, and push us to drink. I imagine that it would be a really fun place to spend an evening...
The next day was all travel back to Hanoi. 3 hours on a boat, lunch, 3.5 hours on a bus. It was alright though, since the weather was very cloudy (it would have been our second day if we stuck to our original plan, so I was happy about that), and I learned how to play an interesting Chinese variation of chess on the boat ride. I lost twice (it was very complex), but I feel confident enough to sit and challenge random Chinese people in a park..
So, Halong Bay. Many people say that it is THE thing to see when you come to Vietnam. As with everything here, some people have loved it, and some people have thought it wasn't worth it. I think, as with everything, you get out what you put in. More money for a less crowded tour/better tour guide/better boat. The time is definitely a factor as well. A one day tour would be useless once you factor in travel time. Three days was nice, but because of the atmosphere and amazing amount of things to do, I think the best way to do it would be to park yourself on Cat Ba Island for a week, and just go out and kayak one day, beach one day, cruise around the karsts/see the caves one day, etc... Those huge tourist destinations seem to hide so much from people because many lack the patience to understand what they are. Spending a few hours at the Empire State building or Eiffel Tower is one thing. Places like Halong Bay, the Grand Canyon, or even the Louvre really require you to give yourself over to them. I wish I had more time (of course), but that's the trick of travelling: making the most out of the time you have, and being ok with it...
On the plus side, I made two friends that will be in Sydney when I'm in Sydney. Rock on.
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