Halong Bay was breathtakingly beautiful! I love how every area we travel to has such unique beauty - being in Halong Bay was like nothing we have experienced to date - just like being at Lake Toya in Japan. The nature and scenery are so unique compared to what we enjoy in Canada.
The bus ride was long but apparently much shorter since the national highway was finished during Covid. Instead of 4.5 hours it was only 2.5 hours. I believe I messaged a few of you about my butt hanging off the seat on said bus - apparently all I had to do was lift the armrest up and I could “hang out” more comfortably!!
Watching the boat being loaded was something! Everyone working so hard behind the scene to make our experience special!
As mentioned, we have travelled to other communist countries but Vietnam is nothing like Cuba or China - although Hanoi was frantic in pace, it was relaxed in every other way.
We had to be shuttled out to our boat in Halong Bay by a tender wearing “life jackets” (in name only)... once on the boat, we were treated like royalty. The boat was by no means a palace but it was lovely and the staff were so fabulous! The room, or cabin, had comfortable beds but the maximum I would want to stay in said cabin? Probably one night.
But the view!!!!! Honestly, as my Chrissy always says - I was feeding my soul for the entire 24 hours of the trip. Incredible views.
On the first day, activities included swimming and chilling on an island in the bay (some walked 450 steps up to a viewpoint) and then kayaking through a cave into a private bay - breathtaking!
On the boat, the food was great, as were the beverages. We had GOOOOOD wine on this adventure, something we have been missing!! Before dinner we had a cooking class and learned how to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. Delicious!
The people on our boat were lovely! We chatted with an awesome family from Denmark who had been travelling with their 2 teenage daughters for over 9 months! So cool! There was a lively group of Vietnamese people who were reunited from Vietnam, Chicago and San Francisco - loved them! 3 Canadians and 3 people from Spain. After dinner we got our karaoke on!! I sang with the grandma from Denmark (also a doctor) a couple of times!!
The last day we hiked up and down an island, about 200 steps to see incredible caves - GIANT caves…
Doing tai chi on the top deck at 6:30 am was amazing!! As I looked around the bay at the gorgeous scenery, I felt humbled and blessed. What an experience. Having said all this, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I felt uneasy about the number of boats and some garbage in this pristine piece of nature… I worry what it will look like 20 years from now.
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