Once we had made up our minds that we would be stopping in Viet Nam, we were certain that Ha Long Bay would be one of our stops.   It's described by many as one of the most beautiful spots in a beautiful country.   The bay is filled with thousands of rock formations rising out of the water, and more than 25 boats take tourists on excursions, some of them day trips, most over night. The tour guides and some tour books claim that there are 1,969 rock formations but that's inaccurate. That number has been used for a little over forty years, since 1969 was the year Ho Chi Minh died.

Our boat for the night was the Alova Gold Cruises. We boarded it at the busy wharf in Ha Long City, which was bustling with hundreds of other tourists getting ready to get on boats of all shapes, sizes, age and seaworthiness.

I think I've made the statement previously that as a swimmer, I make a good golfer. I can technically swim, meaning I can move my arms and legs about to propel myself through water, but I can't tread water. So I've never been that confident or eager to get on boats, especially without a lifejacket on. But after a quarter of a year on the road, and being in a wide variety of travel situations, I wasn't anxious at all. I did make a mental note of where the life jackets were stored, but felt fine as our skiff chugged it's way out to where our boat was anchored, belching out gray smoke that matched the skies above.

Blog's Author by Bill and Annie

(Steve) After a fifteen hour night train from Hoi An we emerged bleary eyed into cold and cloudy Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Bombed to the stone age by the Americans, most buildings here are relatively new, even if they don't look it.

We checked into our hostel and hatched a plan for the next few days. We decided that Hanoi would be good for one or two days, but the real point of our existence would be Halong Bay. So far this has been my favourite couple of days.

From the early stages of planning our adventure, Halong Bay was a place that we were really excited for. A UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, this place is special. The spectacular limestone cliffs that rise from the sea and dominate the horizon make you feel insignificant

Choosing a tour to Halong Bay probably justifies a blog on its own but to cut to the chase we were recommended a two night trip with Alova Gold Cruise on Twitter and decided to go with it.

Author: by Steveandclaire in Travelpod

J1 : Réveil à 7h sous la bruine… On finit les sacs et on va déjeuner à l’hôtel. On espère vivement que la météo ne s’est pas trompée et que la baie d’Halong bénéficiera d’un climat plus ensoleillé et plus doux qu’à Hanoï. Le mini bus vient nous chercher à 8h3 et on est parti pour 3h3 de route avec un stop pipi-attrape touristes bien rôdé. On est en plein supermarché à touristes avec le coin des bijoux, le coin des vêtements, le coin des statues… Ils sont fort ces viets et bien malins côté tourisme-conso…

On arrive finalement à 12h à Halong city, le temps est gris mais pas pluvieux…IL n’y a pas les hordes de touristes attendues … Il y a beaucoup de jonques différentes amarrées ici qui attendent leurs vans de touristes mais ce n’est pas la cohue.

On embarque directement sur une p’tite barque pour rejoindre notre jonque: la Alova Gold !

Le personnel est super sympa. Il y a entre autres Sunny, le viet, et Sydney le holandais-manager.

La jonque est luxueuse, en bois exotique bien lustré et on commence par boire le cocktail de bienvenue en écoutant le speech de Sydney. Puis on grimpe sur la terrasse pour profiter de la vue sur les pins de sucre se profilant au loin pendant que les 14 autres passagers se voient attribuer leurs chambres.

On n’est pas inquiet car le patron de l’hôtel nous a réservé la 9 : la plus calme, avec une belle vue. Petit hic, quand on descend, ce n’est pas celle-là qu’on tente de nous refiler… On refuse la chambre et tout un mic-mac de changement s’opère. Gênés, on finit par en accepter une autre, laissant la nôtre à un couple américano-allemand car ils ne restent qu’une nuit. Un couple d’australiens en revanche se fait déloger et ils font la gueule, normal ! On a une jolie chambre quand même et on aura la nôtre demain, rien de grave en soi.

On s’installe et puis on se régale d’un copieux menu composé d’une grande diversité de plats : légumes, poissons et viandes en regardant défiler les pains de sucre. Un déjeuner de rois !

Le décor est grandiose. Ces falaises karstiques sont immenses et il y en a à perte de vue.

On est aux anges. Après le repas, on va digérer sur la terrasse, allongés sur des transats à se délecter du spectacle.

On s’arrête ensuite sur une petite île-pains de sucre du nom de Ti Top. On débarque et là : magie ! Le soleil apparait accompagné d’un ciel bleu somptueux.

On est enchanté et on gravit les 4 marches en faisant d’innombrables pauses photos et ménageant la migraine de Soso. Le panorama est à couper le souffle.

On redescend et on retourne sur le bateau pour enchaîner par une heure de kayak au milieu de ce décor somptueux.

Puis c’est l’heure de la douche chaude et du repos sur la terrasse!!!

A 18h3, on se réunit tous pour se rouler et déguster quelques rouleaux de printemps. On adore le nuoc cham qui l’accompagne. On discute avec le couple d’allemano-américain vivant en Chine et avec un polonais en buvant un cocktail, c’est ça le voyage qu’on aime… On va ensuite se délecter encore d’un délicieux repas que l’on partage avec Sydney et Sunny. Ce sera plus une croisière Trois Gros qu’une weight watcher !!! Puis Juju tente de pêcher des seiches pendant que Soso repose sa migraine. Un peu de tri de photos et de mise à jour du blog et au dodo, demain réveil pour le lever du soleil à 6h !

J2 :Juju, courageux, se lève tant bien que mal pour aller guetter le soleil. Mais cacher derrière brume et nuages, il ne pointe pas le bout de son nez… Il rentre bredouille avec le lumix et s’assoupit avec Soso jusqu’au petit déjeuner. 7h3, c’est l’heure, tout le monde à table pour un ptit déj de rois à 2 calories : toats, pancakes, sirop d’érable, beurre et confiture, fruits, œufs, saucisses et bacon… L’orgie ! 8h1, ça traîne pas : tout le monde sur la navette direction l’ « amazing cave » !

On est loin d’être les seuls mais cette grotte est tellement grande que cela reste supportable.

Halong toute en langueur...

Une heure plus tard, retour au bateau et on nous transfère pour la suite du programme sur une autre petite jonque. Celle-ci n’a rien de luxueux, on s’installe avec le couple d’australiens et Tom, le polonesh, sur le deck pour une heure de navigation au milieu des formations karstiques.

On en prend plein les yeux malgré le temps maussade puis on finit par tous se réfugier à l’intérieur, transis de froid. On passe par l’un des petits villages flottants de pêcheurs de la baie puis vient l’heure du canoë : aucun volontaire à dénombrer !

L’équipage nous conduit alors visiter une ferme perlière flottante.

Ici les huîtres perlières sont de petite taille et produisent uniquement de petites perles « crème », rien à voir avec celles de Polynésie…Cependant la visite est agréable et instructive.

On nous invite alors à regagner le bateau pour le déjeuner. Rien à voir non plus avec l’Alova Gold Cruise -nom de notre bateau de luxe- On est serré comme des sardines et les plats ne sont pas appétissants du tout… le poisson a le goût de vase…On mangera mieux ce soir. On repart pour une heure de traversée à papoter pour Juju et à se reposer sur le deck pour Soso. On fait escale sur un petit îlot où l’on boit un café sur une plage artificielle.

On prend un peu de hauteur pour prendre quelques clichés et avoir un meilleur panorama et c’est déjà l’heure du retour sur l’Alova Gold Cruises.

On découvre notre nouvelle chambre, la 9 initialement réservée. On est content car elle jouit d’une vue plus dégagée. On prend une douche bien chaude et on s’active pour le blog : tri de photos et vidéos… et oui encore…dans l’espoir d’alimenter la curiosité de nos lecteurs et de raviver leur commentaires qui se font de plus en plus rares…

Puis : "gling gling", rassemblement : tout le monde à table pour une séance fried spring rolls !

Tout le monde se prête au jeu dans une atmosphère beaucoup plus joviale que celle de la veille car certains ont quitté le navire aujourd’hui et d’autres ont pris leur places. Notre coach lui aussi a changé, Sunny est reparti et c’est Manh, tout aussi gentil, qui a pris sa place. L’ambiance est plus détendue, cocktails pour l’apéro en compagnie de Tom, notre ami électricien-polonais qui est vraiment hyper sympa et avec qui on fait plus ample connaissance. Puis on passe un agréable et délicieux dîner à papoter avec lui et un nouveau couple anglo-gallois très sympa qui fait un tour d’Asie en 6 mois. On ne voit pas le temps passer et on file se coucher directement car il se fait tard et que le ptit déj - immanquable- n’attendra pas demain matin.

Dernier ptit déj gargantuesque à côté des « faux argentins » : 3 hispanisants soi-disant argentins qui n’ont rien de l’argentin comme on le connaît, ils n’ont même pas le maté, n’ont que faire de la dulce de lecche et ne sont pas enclin à discuter avec les autres!!!

Waked up at 6.3 am, had my breakfast with “Pho”, a Vietnamese dishes, which Vietnamese get for breakfast. I took something for my trip to NinhBinhProvince, where was ancient capital of Vietnam in 1th century. My tour named “Hoa Lu Tam Coc One Day Tour” organized by Go Asia Travel (GAT).
Waiting for a while, I was picked up at my hotel by GAT’s bus and tourguide at 8. am and departed to Ninh Binh. The bus is very modem with soft chairs and air condition. The driver is very careful. In the bus I met people from different countries, people was so friendly and funny. There were 14 people in our trip. On the way to Ninh Binh I heard the tourguide – Mr. Nam told many things about Vietnam such as history, culture, attractive destinations and traditional foods. He told something about Hoa Lu and Tam Coc, where we were going to visit. Arrived at Hoa Lu at 1. am, we visited temples of two kings Le and Dinh. We heard our tourguide to tell about stories of them, tell about the Queen Duong Van Nga and many stories of the tragedy in royal family, which helped me to know more about Vietnam history.

Sunday morning, we were wakening up slightly by the sea wave; we just recognized that it was Halong bay.

When we started planning this trip Halong Bay was the one place that I was most excited to see. And it didn’t disappoint. We booked a 3 day 2 night trip through our hostel for $18 each. There are so many companies selling trips that you have to just hope for the best that you get a good one. One day with the group and the second day with kayaking around Halong bay.

The tour company ( Alova Gold Cruise ) picked us up at the hotel to bring us to Halong bay harbor. There were 16 guests on the trip, some of which were only doing the one night on the boat. There was a nice Danish couple, an Asian couple with no English, the yank from the bus and four American lads from Ithaca in upstate New York.

I had a wonderful trekking trip with two of my friends in Sapa. Ta Van commune in Muong Hoa valley is located in the south and 8 km away from Sapa town ship. Ta Van means "a big turning road" like a basket brim, or tripod-leg line. Vast terrace fields with unique position of a big turning road become a landscape and a destination of Ta Van. Seo Mi Ti scenery-old pine forest, a half day of sloping road away from township centre, is also a particularly interesting eco-tourist site of Ta Van. We booked our 3 days 3 night’s tour with Go Asia Travel. Our journey began when we board a night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai; we were allocated the Orient Express cabin, one of the higher-end cabins which was available. We had a good night rest before embarking on our two days trekking adventure. Arriving Lao Cai train station at 5.3 am, we took a rest and had breakfast. After that we were having a trekking at 9. am. Our tour-guide was Tuan, who had years of trekking experience in Sapa. We began our trek from Sapa Town to Cat Cat village and we had our lunch in the village.

The view in Sapa was really breathtaking and we continued our adventure towards Ta Van village, where we stayed over for a night. It was my first homestay experience in a rural village and I liked the great hospitality of the house owner who provided us with good meals and accommodations.

That’s the second time I came to Vietnam, The first one I had an interesting time when visiting Halong Bay. So, I made decision to come back Vietnam one more time to discover new places, gain more new experience. After landing the plane at Noi Bai Airport, I took a taxi to the hotel, which I had reservation in advance. Relaxing at the hotel and then I had a waking around Hanoi Old Quarter after my lunch. I came back the hotel, had dinner and packed my package for my trip to Sapa, which I had booked at travel desk in the hotel. The tour owned by Go Asia Travel. GAT’s bus and the tour-guide named Mr. Nam picked me up and left me to Hanoi Train Station. In the bus I met two Singaporeans who are Kenny and Elda, they are friendly. Our tour there was eight people. We got on the train and stared the trip. I slept all time on the train with my soft chair. Arriving Lao Cai Train Station at 5.3 AM. We had a time to take a rest and have breakfast together. The food is quite nice and not to heavy with us, the tour guide said that we will have a trip walking later.

It was a wonderful day in Sapa, walking in those gorgeous glens and we stopped off at a village or two to smile at locals and pull faces at the super-cute children in their house. The village I remembered it has a funny named Cat Cat. Cat Cat Village offered some breathtaking rice paddy views. We took about a 2-3 km hike through the village. It offered a glimpse into the daily life of a big minority group, Black H'Mong. They are much friendlier than and definitely not as aggressive as the Red Zao ladies. The hike through the mountains and rice paddies was just picture perfect. There was a nice waterfall about half-way. And with this village, we got to see how the local people really lived and worked. Water buffalos play an important role in Sapa because they help to plough the rice fields as there is no modern machinery to do this type of work at Sapa.

Got on our bus to Halong Bay from Hanoi at 8.3. 4 hour bus drive, we are on board.

From here we took about a three hour cruise through the cave where we put up anchor to spend the afternoon and night. We were served a delicious seafood lunch and moved into our rooms in this time. The food was truly incredible and the room was quite nice. I hitched up with lik and tek, while baki and alex shared a room. The room was big, had AC, a window with a beautiful ocean view, our own Western bathroom with hot water, everything you could want. It's awful how much money I spent for a terribly runty populate on a cruise board in the Caribbean when I could get this for a kill of the damage.

I won’t talk to much about the views because I can’t say what a picture can and I took a lot of them. It was the most beautiful place we have been on our trip so far and one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We real lucked out with the windward and it was a rattling comprehendible day. You could see rows and rows of colossus limestone hills poking out of the nutrient. They see like limestone icebergs. In the mornings when the period is low, you can see how overmuch of the pitching is worn out from the sea, and it really looks similar these things are retributive floating on the food. Lots of great company to go along with it, about 3 people on the boat, and we settled in for a relaxing couple days.

Went to Vietnam, we took a junk boat for Halong bay tours. Discovering Halong bay, what can I say… It is amazing.  

The photos do not do it justice and the beauty and serenity are endless. We departed our hotel at about 8.15am for the 3.5 hour journey (it’s only 18kms) and boarded our “junk boat” Alova Halong Cruises owned by GoAsia Travel. It is not very luxury boat but the brand new one. But would highly recommend it anyhow. Lunch was served once we had boarded the junk boat and it was certainly plentiful. Plenty of course and very tasty! I found that, almost of food in this boat is Vietnamese oriented one. We set sail and headed for the very secluded islands in Halong Bay, there are thousands of islands to look at and you spend all day just cruising and staring at their beauty.

Once we had been sailing or cruising depending what you want to call it, approx. 3 and bit hours, we anchored at our first destination and got to do a kayaking tour around one of the islands for about an hour. We weren’t so good at it!! Lol And well, they weren’t designed for my big butt!! Lol But we did it anyways and it was great

to  get up close to the rock islands. When back on board the boat you could go for a swim but I (Kattie) wasn’t so keen on that! I don’t really like those big fish with teeth you could say. So we opted for a drink instead!