So excited so excited!!! After a stormy day, the weather went fine! I had never missed the sun so much (of course, if I had to skip my Halong Bay tour, I would be so upset). We were picked up from hotel at 7.15 by mini van. This was not a private tour, there were 8 of us and we were the only Asians. It was fun to meet new people, hehe. Our tour guide, Dan had a fun personality, telling us stories about Vietnam, had been entertaining and taking care of us during the trip. I would say that he had a relatively good command of English. Click here for the tour program.
In case you are wondering, we paid 170 usd for 3-day-2-night tour, but it was shortened to 2 days only due to bad weather. Reservation was done online and deposit was paid. The amount would be refunded depending on the type of cancellation. When we wandered around Old Quarter, there were countless number of travel agencies selling Halong Bay packages at very cheap prices. Ours seemed overpriced, hmm. However, I am not quite sure about the quality of the tour if you decide to go for the cheaper option. Depending how long you want to stay in Halong Bay, there are different packages ranging from 2D1N to even 4D3N. You can also do a long day trip to Halong Bay but personally I wouldn't recommend as it would be very tiring and rushing. And in order to fully admire the beauty of Halong Bay, you need to at least stay overnight and embrace the sunrise.
We had to take a small boat to board the larger boat because large boats were not allowed to be too close to the shore as this would damage the large boats. It was a relatively short trip. The main boat looked slightly aged but overall it was decent and clean. After a welcome drink at the dining area, we were assigned to our room number.
Joke aside, let's talk about our first meal on the boat. Though all meals were provided during the tour, you had to pay for the drinks. And what's better than beer on a sunny day like that? Chinese food were served and I found them rather delicious though the other travel mates didn't quite agree.
After lunch, we had some free time while heading to our next destination - Hang Sung Sot cave or "the cave of surprises". Having visited so many caves in my life, I wouldn't say this was the most impressive one, but the view from top was stunning. Dan did a great job introducing the unusual and interesting looking rock formations.
Without any delay after return from the cave, we were urged to put on proper attire for kayaking. Two of us were busy applying sunblocks and tying our hair. It was not surprising that we were the last pair to get on our kayak. I took the front seat. Not a sporty person, I rely on my good friend Jasmine to guide me. Still remember my previous experience with kayaking - unable to control the direction and get stuck. It was a peaceful evening. I really enjoyed the tranquility, just us and the water, though I had to admit that kayaking was extremely exhausting. T.T I had to rest my muscles every few minutes. And yes, with the help of my talented partner, I didn't embarrass myself today.
After cleaning ourselves up, it's dinner time! It started with a short cooking class on how to make traditional Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, what a lovely idea! The dinner turned out better than in the lunch in term of the presentation and taste of the dishes. We did some fishing after dinner. We spent 3 hours chatting and fishing but ended up empty-handed. =.= No lucks. As some rebellious girls, we slept on the sun loungers on the upper deck, instead of the beds. It was really cold up there and the view was amazing. Luckily it didn't rain.
Heading to Hoi An next!
In case you are wondering, we paid 170 usd for 3-day-2-night tour, but it was shortened to 2 days only due to bad weather. Reservation was done online and deposit was paid. The amount would be refunded depending on the type of cancellation. When we wandered around Old Quarter, there were countless number of travel agencies selling Halong Bay packages at very cheap prices. Ours seemed overpriced, hmm. However, I am not quite sure about the quality of the tour if you decide to go for the cheaper option. Depending how long you want to stay in Halong Bay, there are different packages ranging from 2D1N to even 4D3N. You can also do a long day trip to Halong Bay but personally I wouldn't recommend as it would be very tiring and rushing. And in order to fully admire the beauty of Halong Bay, you need to at least stay overnight and embrace the sunrise.
We had to take a small boat to board the larger boat because large boats were not allowed to be too close to the shore as this would damage the large boats. It was a relatively short trip. The main boat looked slightly aged but overall it was decent and clean. After a welcome drink at the dining area, we were assigned to our room number.
Everyone knows that I am very blur. Funny thing happened again. I was holding the key for room 101 but I was mistaken that the room door was left opened for us. Happily entered the room without checking the room number properly. Happily dropping our luggage in the room. Happily examined the room with amazement until the staff came to tell us that the lunch was ready. And then we couldn't lock the room after a lot of trials. Gave up eventually and went to find Dan for rescue.
And the truth was we entered and unpacked in the wrong room - joke of the day !!! And the room we entered was supposed to be Dan's room. I felt so embarrassed =/
How our room looked like. Quite cozy.
Joke aside, let's talk about our first meal on the boat. Though all meals were provided during the tour, you had to pay for the drinks. And what's better than beer on a sunny day like that? Chinese food were served and I found them rather delicious though the other travel mates didn't quite agree.
After lunch, we had some free time while heading to our next destination - Hang Sung Sot cave or "the cave of surprises". Having visited so many caves in my life, I wouldn't say this was the most impressive one, but the view from top was stunning. Dan did a great job introducing the unusual and interesting looking rock formations.
Without any delay after return from the cave, we were urged to put on proper attire for kayaking. Two of us were busy applying sunblocks and tying our hair. It was not surprising that we were the last pair to get on our kayak. I took the front seat. Not a sporty person, I rely on my good friend Jasmine to guide me. Still remember my previous experience with kayaking - unable to control the direction and get stuck. It was a peaceful evening. I really enjoyed the tranquility, just us and the water, though I had to admit that kayaking was extremely exhausting. T.T I had to rest my muscles every few minutes. And yes, with the help of my talented partner, I didn't embarrass myself today.
After cleaning ourselves up, it's dinner time! It started with a short cooking class on how to make traditional Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, what a lovely idea! The dinner turned out better than in the lunch in term of the presentation and taste of the dishes. We did some fishing after dinner. We spent 3 hours chatting and fishing but ended up empty-handed. =.= No lucks. As some rebellious girls, we slept on the sun loungers on the upper deck, instead of the beds. It was really cold up there and the view was amazing. Luckily it didn't rain.
Getting ready to make our own spring rolls.
The first dish served was boiled fresh shrimps. The dish was beautifully decorated. Look at the flowers made from cucumbers and carrots, so pretty
Returning sword to the golden turtle, a tale about Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi.
Dan gave us a challenge on how to use a chopstick to lift a glass filled with rice. We all tried and failed miserably but he managed to do it! Wow, impressive! I think the trick is to tap the rice hard enough to get rid of the air.
The first thing I did when I woke up was to grab my camera from my room downstairs. Couldn't help it because the scenery was too amazing. Apparently other guests woke up early for the sunrise too. Most of us gathered at the upper deck and waited for the precious moment to come. Fortunately that we did not have to wait for too long and the beauty of the sunrise did not disappoint us.
After the sunrise, we went to down to wash up while waiting the cruise to move to our first destination - Pearl Farm. We were the first tour group to reach there. Dan explained to us how the local people breed the oysters. There were also a few ladies showing us how to grow pearls in the mother oysters and how to harvest them. It was such a tedious process.
After returning to the boat, we had breads, sausages and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Simple yet delicious. Time for some exercises at Ti Top Island after breakfast. I agreed that the walk was more intense than the one to Surprising Cave. T.T I was so exhausted when I reached the mountain top. I could feel that my leg muscles were aching badly. Again, the view was breathtaking. But I guess I spent more time resting than taking photos. *sweat*
We were given 20 mins of free time on the island. Some of us went swimming whereas the rest of us just chit-chatted on the beach. This was also the last activity of the tour, and we had to say goodbye to the beautiful Halong Bay.
We travelled past a colourful fishing village. Too bad that we would not able to pause and take a closer look at the village.
Featuring our last meal in Hanoi - beef noodles at a random stall on the street! Love the strong aroma of the herb. The broth was rich in flavours.
Heading to Hoi An next!
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