One of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World...it's no wonder why! Halong Bay is breathtaking at every angle. Some serious and much needed relaxation was had while cruising this magical bay.
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| Ready to set sail!! |
On only our second day in Vietnam, we met our tour company in the lobby of our hostel to head out on the four hour bus ride to Halong Bay. What we had previously thought would be just a bus ride, turned out to be an extremely comfortable journey in a luxury van that was equipped inside with all the same amenities as a limo! It was nice! We chose a tour company ahead of time, as was suggested by friends that had already visited the bay, in order to make sure we weren't going to fall into any tourist trap. Our cruise was with IndoChina Junk (junks are what they call the traditional style of boats that we were sailing on) and it was perfect! Upon arrival at Halong Bay, we boarded the Dragon Pearl III and set out for a full two days of endless scenery, sunshine, and absolutely delicious food that included tiger prawn, oyster fritters, mussels, fresh grilled veggies, rice, and freshly squeezed juice (I had mango and pineapple) - two thumbs up for our chef!
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| Welcome aboard the Dragon's Pearl III! |
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| My beautiful view while catching some rays! Halong Bay really only sees 150 days of sunshine per year and we were lucky to have 2 of those! The weather really could not have been more perfect. |
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| Our boat from afar! We anchored to explore a cave - one of many in Halong Bay - and enjoy some time swimming at kayaking at the beach! |
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| The best pictures are when you're not actually trying to take a good picture... |
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| Back on board, I enjoyed some fresh pineapple juice :) ..I think I need to buy a juicer! |
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| The sun setting over Halong Bay |
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| Relaxin' after the first day's activities! Next time, I would choose the 3 day/2 night cruise option! |
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| The morning of our 2nd day we visited a floating fishing village and oyster farm where they harvest pearls! Check out our hats! (I think my Aunt Julie needs one to wear out in her garden!) |
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| Just harvesting some pearls! |
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| Back on dry land and headed back to Hanoi, we stopped at a water puppet theater. Doesn't look like much but it's a traditional part of Vietnamese culture and actually turned out to be a pretty cute show although you can't tell much from the pictures. |
Halong Bay did not disappoint in the least and as I say so often, the pictures don't do it justice. They just don't. Not for just Halong Bay but for anywhere. You can never experience through a camera lens what you can experience in person. Nonetheless, I try to capture everything through my camera seeing as I am such the professional photographer and all! (That, of course, is a joke.)
We could check Halong Bay off of our list but our trip in Vietnam was still just getting started. A post on Sapa and the rice terraces of northwestern Vietnam is next!
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