h. Halong Bay & Vong Vieng Floating Village

Halong Bay

The name Ha Long was derived from the Chinese characters “Xia Long” or “descending dragon”.

Ha Long Bay is one of the world’s natural wonders. It has over 1,900 islands and covers an area of over 1,500 sq km. Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its remarkable limestone karst landscape, geology and geomorphology.

The outstanding karst landscape is the result of a complex geological process taking over millions of years. It is majestic, imposing, mysterious and romantic.

There are many caves within the islands and more than 10 floating villages in the Bay. It is also an area which has been home to the ancient peoples of Vietnam in prehistoric times.

We took a cruise in Halong Bay in a boat called “Lagoon Explorer Junk”. The boat had four air-con bedrooms each with a bathroom attached. The boat could accommodate eight passengers. It was clean and comfortable and the crew was very friendly and helpful.

Besides us, there was an Australian couple with two young children and another couple also from Australia.

All meals (two lunches, one dinner and one breakfast were provided for. But we had to pay for all drinks we ordered, except plain water.

The food prepared by the two young chefs was exceptionally good and the dishes were well decorated.

We started our cruise after lunch on 22nd Sept. and passed by many limestone islets of all sizes and formation. We dropped anchor in the shelter of Cong Do Island in the late afternoon for the night.

Some pictures of beautiful scenery taken in the Halong Bay

Vong Vieng Floating Village

The village is off the beaten tourist track. In this fishing village there are about 50 families and the population is about 250 residents, mostly all related through marriages. These families have lived in this village for generations. The village is poor and the residents earn their meagre income from fishing, oysters and pearls. Traditionally food and potable water are imported from the mainland. Now, thanks to the tourists, there is some supplementary income from them and there is primary school for the children in the village too.

Back to Halong City

D.  Epilogue

A journey through North Vietnam is an unforgettable experience with a lot of remarkable and unexpected beautiful landscapes, fascinating history and colorful and friendly population.

It was one of my most memorable vacations with an opportunity to explore the remote part of the country with its hidden values and admire the beauty of the rich nature and meet the local ethnic minority peoples with their interesting culture etc.

It would have been my most unforgettable travel adventures if not for some hitches in the itinerary which I had pointed out earlier and a couple of miscommunications between the tour agent and others connected with this tour.  

There was one occasion which caused a lot of anxiety to both of us; that arose because of miscommunication between the tour agent and the hotel where we would be staying. When we arrived at Lao Cai railway station at about 5.30 in the morning and at the exit of the station we saw a man carrying a white board with “Mr & Mrs Toh written on it and also the name of the tour agent. We identified ourselves and were led to a van at the car park. Before we left, I asked the man where we were going and he told us that the van would take us to the hotel in Sa Pa. When I told him that a tour guide was supposed to meet us at the railway station and start the tour in Lao Cai, he replied that the tour guide would meet us at the hotel. When we reached the hotel just before 7.00am, no one was there to meet us. After anxiously waiting in the lobby for about an hour, we ordered our breakfast as we were hungry. Soon after, a lady approached us and after ascertaining that we were waiting for our guide told us that the latter was still in Lao Cai railway station looking for us! She then handed her mobile phone to me to talk to the guide. I told the latter what happened and he said he would come to meet us at the hotel. It was nearly 9.00am when the guide came and we were very much relieved after the ordeal was finally over.

Later that day when we returned to the hotel after the tour, the boss of the hotel (an Australian) met me and told me that when the tour agent in Hanoi booked the room, she did not leave any instruction with his receptionist on transport arrangement for her guests from the railway station to the hotel. He further said that it was the hotel’s normal procedure to fetch the guests from the railway station and the room charges were inclusive of this extra service.

After checking in, I discovered that the room was small with an attached bathroom and furnished with only a queen-sized bed and a chair. It was a 0-star hotel for back-packers! It was noisy as it was located near the entrance of the Sa Pa market.

Sa Pa is a touristy town with many hotels. I had requested the tour agent to book us into 3-star hotels in our stay in N Vietnam, but why book us into a hotel for back-packers?

There was another occasion of miscommunication and this was between the tour agent and the driver who came to the Hanoi airport to fetch us to the hotel. Before arriving at the city of Hanoi, the driver, who spoke hardly any English asked me which hotel to go to. I took out the copy of the itinerary and pointed out to him the name of the hotel (Gia Boa Grand). He took a look and continued with the journey. Soon he stopped the car in front of a hotel and a boy came quickly to take our luggage to the reception. The receptionist asked me for my name and after checking the register told me that I had not made any reservation to put up at this hotel for the night! I took out the itinerary and pointed out to the receptionist the name of the hotel we were to stay. After a quick glance she said “No, no, wrong hotel!” I was astounded and asked her the location of Gia Boa Grand. She walked out of the hotel, pointed with her left hand and said “There.” But the car which took us here had left and it looked like we had to drag our luggage to the hotel located at the end of the opposite block of buildings, may be just 50 meters away. However, the bellboy was kind enough to carry our luggage to the new hotel. The name of the first hotel we went to was “Gia Boa Hotel”.

At the Gia Boa Grand, we registered and were led by the bellboy to our room (deluxe double room). When the bellboy opened the door I was shocked to see that the room was in total disarray with the TV still blaring! We came down to the reception and were told that there was no other room available and we had to wait for the room to be tidied up. But it was already past 9.30pm and no body was available to do the job! The duty manager had no choice but to put us up in the one and only luxury VIP suite!

Last but not least, I would always like to taste local food and beer when I visited foreign places. In N Vietnam, what I treasured most was the “Bia Hoi”! It was sold along roadsides or outside coffee shops. I used to “ta-pao” (take away) Bai Hoi in a plastic bottle and consume it in the comfort of the hotel room!

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