One Day Trip to Halong Bay

We recently went on a holiday to Southeast Asia. I had always wanted to go to this part of the world. thailand with its wild nightlife and beach parties and Cambodia with the best temples imaginable, had been pulling at my heart strings since schooldays. The big surprise though, was Vietnam. I had no idea just how beautiful this country was. I had hear about the two big cities Hanoi and Saigon abvipously but it was not one of these that blew us away completely. It was a boat trip on the sea. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it, but there is nothing simply about Halong Bay Vietnam . Well nothing simple apart from the simplicity of its staggering beauty. If you have never seen pictures of this place, look it up. It is incredible.

Halong bay Vietnam

The bay is enormous, it just seems to go on for ever. It is peppered with tiny islands that just stick out of the sea, and tower above everything. They look unreal, steep sides, luscious greenery on the tops and beautiful beaches at the shoreline. There are hundreds of them. We booked a day trip and the only annoying part was that we didn’t book for longer. I could easily have spent a whole week here.

We were picked up at our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, there’s a whole other story about this place as well, and driven for about 3 hours or so to Halong City, and the boat. The drive out is great, its in the Red River Delta and the countryside is really pretty. Watching the farmers and the water buffalo was really cool. We jumped onboard the boat and the staff welcomed us with a drink. We sailed around Halong bay for about 4 hours. The boats just idle along at a leisurely pace, weaving in and out of all these unbelievable islands. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

We stopped of at one of the islands and was taken round a really great cave. Massive stalagmites and stalactites were everywhere. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. We stopped of at another island and were able to jump in the sea and do some snorkelling. It was brilliant. The water here is so clear, you can see everything. Eventually it was time to go and the boat took us back to the pier, where our minivan was waiting to take us back to Hanoi. I really didn’t want to leave. It was an unforgettable day and one that I hope I am lucky enough to repeat sometime.
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