Halong Bay...Simply Stunning!

14 - 16 February 2015

As soon as we checked into our hotel in Hanoi the concierge asked us what our future plans were.  We told him we were unsure, and he immediately told us we had to book a cruise on Halong Bay.  I had read something about Halong Bay, so I knew that it was a tourist destination so we told him that we were interested and to book us on a 2 night cruise.

On the morning of the 14rh...Happy Valentine's Day by the way...we boarded a van for the 3.5 hour ride east to Halong Bay.  The best part of our trip was the tour guide that told us some interesting facts about Hanoi including the fact that there were 7 million people living in Hanoi (including infants) and there were 7 million scooters registered meaning that there was one scooter per person, including infants.  If you spend 5 minutes in Hanoi you would definitely believe this!

Anyway...after 3.5 hours hours we arrive at Halong Bay in the rain.  This is pretty much the first rain we have seen since we left the US and of course it would be falling the day we are going on a cruise.  First we have to board the dingy that gets us to our boat:

As soon as we got to our boat, V'Spirit, we were given our room key and were very happy with what we found...and the dining area was just as nice:

Nice big stateroom.

After putting our bags in the room we headed back upstairs and to see the view…and what a view!

Taking the word "cruise" to heart, we were served a huge lunch around 1:00 PM as the boat wandered further and further into Halong Bay.  First stop is a Hang Sung Sot, a cave reachable only by boat.  Even though it was very touristy, and every single boat that was on the bay stopped here, it was well worth it:

And in case the cave wasn't spectacular enough, the view from the opening was pretty incredible:

After the cave we then visited a beach with a 20 minute climb up stairs to a really nice view:

Beautiful view fro the top.

We finally got back to the boat, was served tea and biscuits, and then served a huge seafood dinner around 6:00 PM…only 5 hours after eating a huge lunch.  The food was so good that we ate till we felt like we just ate Thanksgiving dinner.  After dinner we hung out with our new friends (from the UK via Scotland and Argentina) drinking beer and wine till after 11 PM…I know…this is the latest we have been up for a while!

Great times aboard V'Spirit

The next morning breakfast served at 7:30 AM…now we remember why we usually don't stay up drinking till 11 PM…and then the lucky 4 of us who was staying on the boat for 2 nights were whisked off to a day boat while the other 14 stayed onboard for a quick kayak and then taken back to the shore for the 3.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  For those unlucky to book the 1 night cruise, they didn't even spend 24 hours onboard…I sure am glad we went for the 2 night.

Here is a video I took on that morning on the day boat as we were on our way to our kayaking destination:

On the way to kayaking there was more incredible scenery, and Tim even got into the moviemaking fun shooting a video of a local fishing village family:

For kayaking we took a 2 person kayak through a 75 foot cave that opened up to a lagoon completely surrounded by mountains.  What an amazing place…unfortunately I didn't want to take a chance and bring the camera with us, so you just have to believe me.

Next stop is a 3 hour anchor for lunch, swimming, and just relaxing:

A typical meal on board V'Spirit

Before heading back to the boat we made one last stop at a oyster farm, that was interesting, but yet another tourist destination where the real purpose is to visit the gift shop, but the oyster beds did make a nice picture:

We then had a great trip back to the boat when the blue skies began to appear for the first time since we boarded the boat yesterday.

As we approached our boat we were welcomed back with full sails up:

I know...that's a lot of pictures of the boat with the sails up, but I just can't help taking pictures of this incredible bay.  Anyway...after returning to the boat...tea, dinner, and of course drinking with new friends that joined us from Norway, and then off to sleep for our last night aboard V'Spirit.

The next morning I looked out the window of our stateroom to this awesome view:

We had breakfast and then kayaked through another cave and arrived in a different lagoon than yesterday and it was just as amazing.  We then got back to the boat for a lesson on how to make spring rolls followed by lunch, and a little rest on the deck as we made our way back to the port.

It is now time to say goodbye to the spectacular Halong Bay and take our 3.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  By the way, we took over 400 pictures of Halong Bay…yes it was that amazing!

After 3.5 hours we returned back to Hanoi and back to our awesome hotel that we stayed in before leaving for Halong Bay.  We chilled out in the room for a bit, went out for some dinner, and returned to the hotel for the night.