Ha Long Bay, Ha Noi, Vietnam

As usual when I suggested guest posts, Sudha, picked up our Day 3 trip to Ha Long bay, and was done with the post even before I finished my post for second day. As always its a pleasure to read her posts and to me, and when it is posted for all of us it will be a revisit to one of our favorite days of the trip.  

So Ladies and Gentlemen, Sudha's guest post.  

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Now that we are sharing the series on the ‘Babes to Vietnam’ escapade, let me take this opportunity to re-live the Ha Long Bay day with you. 

In the planning: 

Jay (who now seemed convinced with the choice of Vietnam) asked why a full day for Ha Long bay. I told her, it’s like westerners coming to India and not wanting to miss out Taj Mahal one of the seven wonders of the world, similarly Ha Long Bay is the top most attraction of Vietnam and is one of the natural wonders of the world. Then I sent virtual footage of the place, so they know what to expect. Don’t know if others were equally thrilled, to just go around in a boat seeing limestone formations covered with trees. But it looked ethereal to me. I read up as much as possible. I knew already that it is going to be ‘the best’ of what Vietnam could offer and told Vincy I will write the ‘guest’ blog for Ha Long bay :-). Given just 5 days at Vietnam, we did not have the luxury of time to spend a night and two days there, like what many travel blogs suggested.  So we settled in for a day trip.

On the day, on the way:

As always up and ready early, for the adventure.

It was day 3 of the trip. We were already in the touristy rhyme and rhythm of what is expected of us and got ready for the big day. This was a group tour in a luxury bus - Hanoi to Ha Long bay. It was WOW. Really plush leather seats, WiFi, Aircon and a handsome English speaking guide, who wanted us to call him  - Mr. Vietnam (Mr.V). Our co-passengers were a Japanese mom and daughter, a young Korean Couple, and few other tourists.  Mr.V welcomed us onboard. He spoke with passion and conviction. Took us through the sad History of Vietnam, the bombing, the civil war, the repercussions. He told us about the food, language, and briefly about the cultural customs. There was so much to listen to and assimilate, I took charge of capturing it on the action camera, recorded for posterity. The road trip was smooth. We were awe struck to see the clean and green landscapes on our way. Plantations, Paddy fields, Lotus ponds, Cattle and Poultry Farms,  the place looked so fertile and bountiful. This was juxtaposed with what Mr.V was telling us. We had similar thoughts of how in 20 years the nation has risen to this level.

The destination: 

Ha Long Bay

Our Guide, Mr. Vietnam

What Mr. V and Wikipedia told : Ha Long Bay is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The name Hạ Long means "descending dragon". The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen bio system,  oceanic and sea shore bio system. Conferred : New 7 Wonders by New 7 Wonders Foundation. We have seen this place in movies, travelogues, Instagram and the whole virtual world.

The Tourism symbol of  Vietnam

Through the DJI OSMO lens

What I finally saw :

Emerald green water, Sapphire blue sky, sunlight glistening into the waves like Diamonds. Yes l do love gemstones, so excuse me for this. The limestone cliffs were sprouting out of the water in random and some were in a solo setting and some were clustered.  We walked up the pier, and shot pictures of whatever took our fancy. 

The scenery of Ha Long Bay for a Vantage point

Our package included  - lunch, Kayaking OR boating, visit to caves.  But what we got was all in the superlative – an abundance of exotic food served on the table. A window seating with an uninterrupted view of the bay. I perched my camera clipped it to the windowsill to capture 1*5 speed footage till the battery lasted J we had our mobiles for the insta moments of #foodporn #windowithaview #cruisefun #babestogether and whatever the mind could conjure.

Food - Served just for us

Vincy gave us some insights of the NV food. Showed us how to eat prawns and Oysters … we have it on video. Helped us retouch our makeup. Kept a watch on what I would eat, tasting and telling if I should try. Being a ‘strict’ vegetarian my choices were limited . Love her : feeds me full and then shares fitness tips, well balanced ehh.  Jay is a more adventurous vegetarian and Rosy could eat anything :-) 

While we came to the end of our meal, logically we had to end it, Mr. V summoned us to the deck, so we don’t miss seeing the National Symbol of Vietnam. Oh my! what a sight, it was to me like 2 rocks kissing each other. Let the pictures do the talking. Here the sea was a very deep blue, the sky was clouded, the rocks were looking kind of ‘cute’ on its own to me.  We then went up to the upper deck to capture more pictures. We did group and solo shots of ourselves with the Ha Long bay in the background. The seascape was fantastic from this view point.  The day was interjected with a light rain. We were then scheduled to get down and get into smaller boats.

This was an amazing Sight !!!

When the smaller boat took us into the caves

Having fun at Ha Long bay

The smaller boats took us to places where the bigger one could not go to. We meandered through hanging rocks and creeks through the limestone islets, the water was so clear and pristine. The day was quite hot and humid after the spell of rain. But nothing could deter our spirits, we were awestruck of this nature beauty.

We then went to explore Sung Sot Cave : In a place filled with natural wonders, Sung Sot Cave has earned its spot as one of the best Halong bay cave to visit. Its name means Surprising Cave because of its unbelievable beauty. The cave was crowded with tourists. It was enormous, was lit naturally in some areas and artificially in other areas. The shadow play of the sun on the rocks was magical. Some of the natural formation looked like eagle, turtle, etc. Mr.V spoke about them, its historical importance, ecological significance et all.  The cave has chambers creating upper and lower levels. Narrow pathways where we had to wriggle through. It was fun. We kept hydrating with tender coconut and sugar cane juice. The exit of the cave area provided wonderful photo opportunities. We could see the bay from a much higher vantage point. How I wish I had a drone (: anyways Vietnam does not allow one easily.

Inside Sung Sot caves

Shopping at Night market

Came back to the boat and back to the bus. The drive back was beautiful too. It rained heavily for a while. We enjoyed the views and took some much needed rest during the 3 hours’ drive.  Did the day end …. NO we freshened up, had some coffee and move on to shop. We wanted to see Hanoi by the night. We felt safe. We walked to the night market area. Bought gifts and travel mementos, while polishing our  haggling skills. Came back with a treasure trove of memorabilia and memories to cherish.

One more view of Ha Long bay through the action cam

PS. Would definitely sound cliché I know, but nevertheless, I want to go back for 2 days and a night to this place. The ‘things to do’ here is exhaustive. I don’t want to dwell on what we missed… but the day in itself and time out with the babes was magical. A bucket list, ticked.