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October 23, 2018October 24, 2018

Halong Bay

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This post is part of a series called Vietnam 2016
Show More Posts
  • Hanoi
  • Temple of Literature in Hanoi
  • Perfume Pagoda
  • Halong Bay
  • Imperial City of Hue
  • Imperial Tombs of Hue
  • Hue to Hoi An by car via scenic Hai Van pass
  • Historic Hoi An
  • My Son ruins
  • Whale Island Resort

After visiting the wonderful Perfume Pagoda, I spent another night in Hanoi and next morning headed out to Halong Bay for the much anticipated 2 days 1 night cruise around the famous World Heritage site. The weather was not picture perfect, with grey and hazy sky – it’s good that I decided to go on a splurge here and booked myself a luxury boat: small, cozy, with nice interiors and attentive personnel, so my experience overall was very satisfying.

Halong Bay, Vietnam
Misty Halong Bay with its scenic limestone peaks.

The tour operator (Bhaya Cruises) picked me up from my hotel in Hanoi in the morning, and after a couple of hours we arrived to where the cruise boats depart from – Tuan Chau wharf. The company has its own pier with its own guest lounge where you can wait for departure in comfort, sipping a drink.

Then they invited us on board – 6 passengers in total. The boat (ours was Bhaya Legend) was absolutely wonderful inside out. I felt like my trip was made just by being able to spend the night there. Of course, the itinerary was good too – all the places they took us, all the scenery we saw along the way. The sky was grey, but it didn’t rain and it was warm enough. Had the weather been nicer, my pictures would’ve turned out better, but this is just one tiny thing that doesn’t overshadow the joy of the trip.

Halong Bay with Bhaya Cruises
The boat, Bhaya Legend. At the time of my visit she was running Bhaya Classic Premium cruises (the one that I was on) – things have changed since then and now vessels of this type only do private cruises. This means I was lucky to be on it, after all.
Guest cabin on Bhaya Legend premium cruise boat - Halong Bay, Vietnam
Cabin interior. Every cabin here has a private balcony, which is awesome.

Guest cabin on Bhaya Legend premium cruise boat - Halong Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay with Bhaya Cruises
Orchids were initially on the beds (nice touch) – and I’ve quickly turned them into photo props. View from the cabin balcony.
Corridor on Bhaya Legend premium cruise boat - Halong Bay, Vietnam
Corridor
Dining room on Bhaya Legend premium cruise boat - Halong Bay, Vietnam
Dining room

Dining room on Bhaya Legend premium cruise boat - Halong Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay with Bhaya Cruises
Upper deck
Halong Bay with Bhaya Cruises
And off we go

Our first stop was at a sea grotto, where they take you in a small rowboat through a water cave. Some people kayak here. Larger boats arrive, everyone gets off and goes for their respective activities, so the place has a little bit of a traffic hub feel to it.

Halong Bay with Bhaya Cruises
One of the larger Bhaya boats “parked” at the hub.
Kayaks in Halong Bay, Vietnam
Kayaks…
Kayaker in Halong Bay, Vietnam
…and kayakers.
Boat rower in Halong Bay, Vietnam
But I opted to be a passenger again. We are being pushed forward by a rowing lady while the little one keeps us company.
Dark and Bright lagoon in Halong Bay, Vietnam
Here we go into the sea grotto. It’s called Dark and Bright Cave or Dark and Bright Lagoon.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay, Vietnam

After we got back from the sea grotto to our main boat they took us to a pearl farm. I love pearls, and it was interesting for me to see how they are being cultivated.

Pearl farm in Halong Bay, Vietnam
At the pearl farm
Pearl cultivation in Halong Bay, Vietnam
This is how oysters are arranged before they go in the water to grow.

Pearl farm in Halong Bay, Vietnam

When we got back to the boat again it started getting darker, and it was time for dinner (food was delicious throughout the whole cruise), and then the boat stopped and anchored for the night. Thus ended day 1.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Day 2 started with a visit to a limestone cave – there’s many of them in Halong Bay, and tour operators will pick one for the itinerary. By the way, itineraries, apparently, change – I’ve checked Bhaya Cruises website and now for the same cruise they offer a totally different set of sightseeing points than 2 years ago. At the time of my visit the cave on our itinerary was Sung Sot Cave.

Halong Bay, Vietnam
Our night stop location was somewhere nearby, so that we could arrive early in the morning and beat the crowds.
Entrance to Sung Sot cave in Halong Bay, Vietnam
We really were among the first visitors to the cave. Here’s its impressive entrance (to get there you’ll need to climb a few sets of stairs).
Sung Sot cave in Halong Bay, Vietnam
Colorful light-up inside

Sung Sot cave in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Sung Sot cave in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Sung Sot cave in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay, Vietnam
The cave was nice, but what I liked the most here was this view of the bay from the entrance.
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Having spent some time in the cave, we returned to the boat and headed back to Tuan Chau pier.
Halong Bay, Vietnam
This final part of our journey still took more than an hour and I mostly spent it on the deck, taking in the scenery.
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Then it was time to go back to Hanoi.
Posted in Vietnam
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