Sail through the labyrinth of islets in Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site off of the coast of Vietnam near Hanoi. The bay has stunning emerald waters with over a thousand limestone islets topped with tropical vegetation, limestone caves, and limestone beaches. The experience of sailing through the bay is so incredible that neither words nor pictures can do it justice. One must simply experience it to know its natural beauty.
The best place to start is in Hanoi, a charming city in Northern Vietnam. The narrow alleyways, cyclers in their conical hats whizzing past you, colonial architecture, the humid tropical climate, plumeria trees lining the streets, and fantastic local cuisine made with fresh ingredients make for an easy 3 day stay.
From there you can easily find a tour operator offering boat tours of Ha Long Bay with transportation from Hanoi to Ha Long. I highly recommend taking a tour on a junk boat. These are beautiful, traditional "sail" boats that are somewhat luxurious. They tend to offer 1 day, 2 day (1 night) and 3 day (2 night) tours. I really wanted to take a 3 day tour but they only had 2 day tours available.
The 2 Day Trip
After a few hour ride from Hanoi, I got to Ha Long and was escorted onto the boat for my two day journey on the boat. It was a beautiful and sunny yet humid day. After placing my luggage in my cabin, I went to the deck and got myself a drink.
The boat was quite big and spacious. They were putting the sails up for the journey ahead. I made myself comfortable on the lounge beds and met some great people on the deck as we hung out and caught some sun.
Off we went on our journey. After sailing through some open waters for a bit, we entered the part of the bay where the limestone outcroppings began. Pretty soon we were in a maze of islets. They were stunning. Every time we turned a corner around an islet a vista of yet another set of outcroppings opened up. It was much like a seemingly endless obstacle course and, much like life itself, gave you a sense of awe and wonder about what to expect around the next corner. You felt the grandness of the bay especially when the boat got really close to the looming islets above and around you. I could have done this for days without getting bored.
Pretty soon it was time for lunch. All of the meals were served in the restaurant on the deck of the boat and were absolutely delicious. Seafood prepared Vietnamese style was a staple. Fresh fruit juices, tropical fruits and fantastic desserts were a great way to end each sumptuous meal.
Along the way, we stopped and got into kayaks and went exploring. We found an arch in one of the islets and rowed through it and found ourselves in a lagoon enclosed by a ring of islets, a rewarding experience after all of the hard work rowing!
Some of the larger islets have limestone caves inside of them and we went exploring through one of these caves. They are lit up with multi-colored lighting.
Later in the day we stopped at a limestone beach on one of the large islets. Some of us just relaxed on the beach and caught some sun while others joined in on a volleyball game with some local folks. My hitting skills were a bit rusty but it didn't take long to bring it.
There were many people who lived on boats along the shores of the bay. You could spot them carrying on with their daily work, laundering their clothes in the water, selling produce on their canoes, or just chilling on hammocks.
As the day rolled into the evening, we got back on the boat and after dinner cozied into our cabins. Most cabins had comfortable beds for one or two people with large windows and great views. We slept well after a long day of activity.
The next morning we began our return journey. They served really good coffee with breakfast. After breakfast we were offered a free Tai Chi class on the deck as the boat sailed back through the maze of rocks. It was quite a surreal experience.
We got back on land, bid farewell to the boat staff and headed back to Hanoi. It is a bit difficult to do Ha Long Bay justice with words or even photographs. It is a place one must simply experience in one's life.
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