Halong Bay

Again, we woke up around 6 am in the train, worrying if we could reach Hanoi in time. However, as all the return tickets to Hanoi were fully booked, this train we boarded would stop at Long Bien station in the outskirts of Hanoi, and this station we were told, is near to the Hanoi's Friendly Backpacker's Hostel where we were supposed to wait for our pickup to Halong Bay.

The train arrived at 7.45 am sharp, and we scurried off and rushed towards our hostel. It was a Monday morning and we were stuck in the heavy traffic of the rush hour. Fortunately, we were on both our feet, so we could just zigzag in and out between the cars and motorbikes. I can still feel my heart pounding with adrenaline rush, as we could not afford to be a single minute late for our pickup. Eventually we reached our hostel at 7.57 am, and we could see the hostel receptionist waving at us from afar, and the pickup van just outside our hostel!

Thank God we made it!

We dumped our bags into the minivan, and started on another journey to Halong Bay. However I felt like I had caught a flu, with some amount of sore throat and low grade fever, and my right thumb got infected with paronychia! 

The journey from Hanoi towards Hai Phong, where the jetty lies, took around 3 hours, and  our tour guide, a local Viet gentleman, started giving us brief introductions on Halong Bay - the Bay of the Descending Dragon. Somehow the Viets believe that they are direct descendants of a dragon, but from how they trip to rip us off, it would be extremely difficult to make me believe that! Anyway, Halong Bay has been acknowledged as one of the most beautiful places in the world by UNESCO due to the lovely limestone karsts and islands, and no adventure in Hanoi/Vietnam will be complete if you miss Halong Bay!

We reached the jetty and it was already swarmed with tourists. We hopped onto our junk (ship, not trash mind you!) - the Imperial - (apparently all the junks were labelled according to the cruise company's, so there will be a few the Imperials instead of only one), and were given a warm welcome by the ship's crew. So you pay US$65 to US$80 for a 2 days 1 night tour to Halong Bay, which includes entrance fees and food, but not beverages. And it costs US$1 for a small bottle of mineral water or a can of beer, US$4 for a glass of fruit juice and US$30 for a bottle of wine. Besides that, what you pay is what you get; there are a variety of tours available for Halong Bay, and the cheap ones can be around US$30 while the high end ones can go up to US$300! We settled for the medium ones and so far it hasn't been disappointing; US$85 each for a deluxe room, which was a bit bigger than the standard ones, with a jacuzzi in the bathroom, and a bowl of fruits - 2 mangoes, 1 dragon fruit, and a few oranges! I needed the heavy dose of Vitamin C for my cold!

The Imperial embarked on its voyage, and we started off our tour with a quick lunch on the deck. Following that, our tour guide, Mr Hung, started showing us the numerous limestone islands with all sorts of creative names - fighting-cock island, incense-holder island, horse saddle island, etc. And while gazing at the amazing views, we were enjoying the sea breeze and the warm sun. March could be a tricky month to visit Halong Bay, as just like Sapa, it may get foggy and you would end up seeing nothing!

We stopped at the Surprising Cave for a visit; it is one of the largest caves in Halong Bay and the most visited. Within the cavern you'll see zounds of stalactites and stalagmites and by using your imagination, they do have some resemblance with what the tour guide said - animals, objects, and even genitalia. We spent around an hour in the cave, and headed back to our junk, as we were dying to take a shower! (The last time we showered was yesterday early morning before leaving for Bac Ha!)

I wasn't feeling quite well while Jessica was in her usual lazy form, so we did not join the kayaking trip but instead napped in our cabin during the free time before dinner. In the middle of our nap we heard someone tapping on our window which somehow startled us! Who could be tapping on our window in the middle of the sea? And you could see peddlars on rowing the small sampans going from one junk to another, selling their ripped off wares. I had a hard time telling her "No" so I resolved to locking my windown and pulling the curtains together, while waiting for the discouraged peddlar to row away herself.

Dinner was ordinary, and we were seated together with a Finnish family comprising of a young Finnish with his Vietnamese wife who had spent most of her life in Finland, and his elderly parents. It was nice making new friends again! The ship crew actually planned to have a karaoke session with us, but the Westerners seemed not interested with the idea, so I ended up watching a movie on the deck while the rest of the crew, and Jessica went down to the cabins to sleep! 

After the movie and some chitchat with the crew, I retreated to my cabin for my bedtime. I really needed a good rest after the backaching train ride!