The last 2 days Joe and I spent cruising through Halong Bay. It was such a different experience than I expected it to be.
We got picked up from our hotel in Hanoi in the morning and went to the harbor by minibus. The way there was quite unspectacular – it took almost 5 hours and was really boring.
Once we arrived at Halong Bay we got rewarded for our patience, the rock formations are perfectly visible from where we waited to board our boat. Once we were on it we had lunch while sailing through the breathtaking landscape.
In the afternoon we docked at a small island which had a viewpoint at its peak.
Afterwards me and a Dutch couple Joe and I hung out with ran into the water. But wow it was very different from Thailand – the water was absolutely freezing! The outside temperature was around 24 degrees and felt like an oven for me when I jumped out of the water just as quickly as I dived into it.
Then we went kayaking through some beautiful caves and were soon after again surrounded by rocks again. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been to, there was no noise but the sounds we made when the paddles hit the water.
After sunset we headed back to the boat for some dinner and my favorite card games, Dobbles and Jungle Speed. An older lady came up to our boat to sell us crisps, sweets and alcohol. We saw her again the next day – a supermarket boat, what a clever idea!
We also learned how to make fresh spring rolls which was super easy and delicious. I can’t wait to make them once we are back home.
The next morning we got up really early – breakfast was served at 6:40 (impossible!) and afterwards we headed to the biggest and most famous cave in Halong Bay. It only got discovered in 1994 by fishermen who were seeking shelter from a storm. I have never seen anything like it before! The cave was absolutely massive and really impressive.
From there we sailed to a pearl farm where the guides explained to us how pearls are grown there. I volunteered to pick a closed shell and open it, a wonderful pearl came out of it – so cool!
Once we were back at the boat it was lunch time (10:50!) so we could all eat together once again while sailing through the bay.
The two days were an amazing experience and the people we met were so nice as well. I would totally recommend it to everyone coming to Vietnam. We paid around $90 each for the cruise which is an incredible price. We booked it with Awesome Travel in Hanoi, just the evening before it started.
MAKE IT BAKE IT TAKE IT 