Vietnam Part 5 of 5: Ha Long Bay Cruise

For years I had dreamed of visiting Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.  The photos I had seen painted a gorgeous landscape of green islets set in emerald waters.  I was worried that real life would be nothing like reality.  I feared dirty waters and too many tourists.  However, this is one time where reality far surpassed my expectations.  

We departed Hanoi for a 2 day/1 night cruise of Ha Long Bay.  Our Vietnam tour company booked us on Mila Cruises, and everyone going on the cruise was picked up from their Hanoi hotels and driven in a bus the two hours (plus rest stop) to Ha Long Bay.  There we boarded the 22-cabin luxury boat that was only half full.  We traveled during low season - in August -  when it can be extremely hot.  Luckily, the weather was great and there were few tourists.  There were about 20 tourists total on the boat, which meant we were sailing at half capacity.  This was so amazing, because there was plenty of space to roam the deck and enjoy the views.  I am pretty sure there were as many crew members as there were tourists on the boat.  If I had known how wonderful the mini-cruise would be, I would have definitely put us on a 3-day/2-night cruise instead. 

Traditional boats of Ha Long Bay are 'junk boats' i.e. traditional Chinese sailing ships with a flat bottom, a central rudder, and a high stern.  Some of the tourist boats we saw tried to look like junk boats with the decorative sails, but ours didn't put in much effort.  I did love our boat though and its layout.

The views were stunning from the moment we left the dock.  We were in the middle of idyllic scenery. 

The cruise was jam packed with activities - another reason I would have loved an extra day on the boat.  Besides being fed constantly (buffet lunch, afternoon snacks, formal dinner, buffet breakfast and lunch), there were organized activities all the time.  First up was kayaking from a spot that also doubled as a fish farm. 

Nate and Derek shared a kayak, Karina got her own, and Lydia and I shared one.  The water was very calm and easy to navigate and there were workers to help us in and out of the kayaks.  

Later on, we visited Hang Sung Sot cave ("Surprise Cave").  There were lots of steps inside ascending, descending, and then up and down again visiting the various chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, and a couple viewpoints as well.  Our guide said that during high season, boats often wait in line for an hour for their passengers to be allowed in the cave.  Luckily we had no wait. 

I loved the views from the top:

The second viewpoint:

Back on the boat, the sunset from the boat was beautiful and relaxing. That is where we also docked for the night.

The boat had a mini golf area that Derek hogged. 

Karina naturally spent her free time reading.

Lydia enjoyed the view with Nate and me. 

Nate, Lydia, and Derek participated in a Vietnamese cooking class and made spring rolls.  I was impressed that Lydia also ate hers.  (I ate Derek's)

Dinner was a fancy multi-course meal.  Karina and Lydia were good sports trying new foods.  Derek special-ordered some plain food: rice, chicken with ketchup, french fries, and broccoli.  The workers carved up pineapples and put lights inside similar to jack-o-lantern pumpkins.

Squid fishing was up next.  Lydia and Derek tried for a long time to no avail.  No other tourists got anything, but the crew members had a net of squid they had caught, so we remained hopeful. 

Eventually, Lydia and Nate gave up on catching any squid, but Derek and I stayed.  Finally, we saw some action and saw a worker catch a squid.  Nobody told the tourists, but the point of moving the home-made fishing rods up and down in the water was to attract the squid, not catch them.  Once a squid came to the area, the workers first covered the boat light with a red dustpan leaving a weird red glow.  Then another worker stood on the edge of the small boat (that was used to ferry the passengers to the activities) with a net.  He waited for the squid to come in range and then quickly swooped down with the net and caught the squid, which he then dumped into the other net with the other live squid.  Derek and I kept watching and saw the crew catch another squid, and I got that process on video (the action starts around 40 seconds in).

In the morning, Nate got up super early to watch the sunrise.  I got up in time for the organized tai chi class.  Here are some of the pictures Nate took of the glorious sunrise over the islets in the bay.

 

Then after breakfast, we went to a beach.  There was a choice between a hike to a viewpoint or playing on the beach.  Nate chose the pretty hike, and I took Lydia and Derek to the beach to play (and Karina to read).  Here are some of the pictures from the viewpoint on Nate's hike.

 

 

At the beach, Derek and Lydia immediately began searching for crabs. It was a reminder of their crab obsession in Norway (especially Derek).  They mostly found ghost crabs:

Unfortunately, Derek cut himself pretty badly on a rock on the beach.  Lydia and Derek were flipping rocks over to search for crabs.  They learned that technique in Norway to great success.  Derek had a deep cut on his thumb that we got cleaned up back on the boat.  

We did swim in the water too.  I also pointed out to the kids that this was our third ocean of the summer.  In Norway, we were in the Atlantic Ocean.  In Thailand, we were in the Indian Ocean.  In Vietnam, we were in the Pacific Ocean.  However, I have since learned that I could be incorrect.  Ha Long Bay is located in the Gulf of Tonkin, which is a part of the South China Sea, not the Pacific Ocean. (Though other sites tell me that the South China Sea is technically part of the Pacific Ocean).  And, where we were in Thailand, in Krabi and Phi Phi Island, the waters are in the Andaman Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean. 

Then we had a buffet brunch and sailed back to where we started and took a bus back to Hanoi.  It was a wonderful mini-cruise that I would love to go on again!