If you can only visit one place in Vietnam…you must…no, must…visit Halong bay. The name Halong translate to descending dragon which does look like a dragon landing because of all the islets.
In this article, I want to tell you about my cruise trip to Halong bay and help you decide if you want to go on a cruise or not.
When I was younger, we would go to Halong bay and stay on the beach. We would take a boat out to the middle of all the islets and hangout. But my husband and I were given a three day cruise trip to Halong bay (thanks auntie!) and it was THE best way to see Halong in my opinion. The first reason is that you stay on the water in between the islets most of the time, and the islets are what Halong bay known for so what better way to stay there. The second reason was that we didn’t have to plan anything after getting the tickets. The cruise company planned out all our activities and food. The company was called Au Co. The price wasn’t cheap but so worth it. We went during the end of September and it was perfect weather!
The company will pick you up at one of their locations in Hanoi to the dock at Halong bay where you will meet up with the crew. The crew that we had was just the friendliest people we have ever met. From the moment we stepped foot on the ship, they were so welcoming and were willing to help out with anything. The room we stayed in weren’t that bad either, when I say wasn’t bad I mean there were air-conditioner, your own balcony (yes…a balcony), and your own bathroom. I guess it didn’t matter very much what the room had since our schedule was pretty full.
For the first day, the crew had a gourmet lunch prepared for us with a small welcoming presentation. Then we got to kayak to a small private beach to hang out and take a few pictures. Then at night they had happy hour for drinks (which is not good because the drinks were delicious!) and a Vietnamese cooking demonstration. At the end of the night…the ship was docked and after we’ve had more drinks than needed…we got to talk to the crew member while fishing for squirt late into the night.
I learned a lot about the crew member and their interesting life stories (thanks to being a little tipsy -_-…). Most of them were far from home and making money to help their families. Some of the learned English by watching a lot of American movies. But all of them were happy to be part of the crew and meeting so many people.
The days kind of blended into each other after we arrived on the ship. Some activities that I can remember doing was visiting the floating fish village, kayak through the lagoons, and visit Surprise cave.
The floating fish village was the coolest place I have ever visited. Just like the name suggested, it was a village that had people living on floating houses on the water…crazy right! We got to visit a floating school in the village. I don’t know how these kids learn anything when they had a view like that.
Our trip continued on with more happy hours and delicious gourmet foods.
I was sad to leave after being treated like royalty for three days. I was sad to leave the wonderful people I had a chance to know. And I will definitely remember this trip forever.
Happy eating! -Trang-
