The bay has over 3000 limestone islands called karsts. The islands are uninhabited which makes them quiet and peaceful, except for the 800 tourist boats that cruise through them everyday.
The scene was chaotic when we arrived at the dock to find our boat. It had rained hard in the morning so the boats could not go out and all were given the okay to leave just when we arrived.
We were on a private tour but we did not expect our own boat! There were the two of us, along with our guide, with five people to take care of our needs.
Once on board we were served a huge lunch of crab, shrimp, octopus, fish and squid, all cooked in a true Vietnamese style.
We spent most of the four hour cruise on the upper deck of the boat watching the scenery and boat activity.
We made one stop at two caves that were discovered in 1993. We found this cave to be special because it was almost raining inside due to the recent rainfall outside. The government has done a tremendous job building the walkways inside and out and they were not slippery!
Getting to the caves was an adventure as it seemed all 800 boats were trying to dock at the same unloading area at the same time. After the captain dropped us off he had to move away from the dock so others could do the same. It appeared that there were only inches between the boats, but our captain knew what he was doing, even if he did look to be fifteen years old.
We were back in the car by 4:00 and home by 8:00. The drive to Halong was bad enough in the daylight, but coming back at night was "troublesome". The thousands of motorcyles seem to drive without lights and are everywhere on the road.
Our tour guide and crew were great, the boat wasn't the newest or best on the bay, but the day was something to remember.
1 comment:
Can't imagine the chaos with ALL the boats trying to leave at same time! No doubt this and the trip home at night were value added experiences that you did not have to pay for. Sounds like an adventure.
Post a Comment