As I said in my last post, we spent a lot of time trying to find a good tour agency for Halong Bay. Well after all of that, the tour we chose ended up getting canceled the night before we were supposed to leave. They claimed engine failure in the boat but who knows what really happened. So we rushed out that evening (after a long day of walking all around Hanoi) and found a new agency- ODC Tours. The one we decided on ended up being great, so it all worked out in the end.
Monday morning we were wisked off from our hotel bright and early to make the 4 hour drive to Halong. Once at the harbor we boarded our "junk" which was to be our home for the next couple of days. The boat was 3 stories with rooms on the bottom, dining area in the middle and a sun deck on top. Everything was really very nice. We met the 9 other people who were joining us on our tour- all Germans, all nice people. They served us an amazing lunch on board with just about every kind of seafood you can imagine. Jason and I both agreed these would probably be the fanciest meals of our whole vacation.
After cruising around the beautiful islands for a couple hours we arrived at our first stop: Amazing Cave. The cave is massive and definitely lived up to it's name. There were 3 rooms, each bigger than the last. Although a lot of the cave has been ruined since the French explorers found it in 1906, there were still some huge, incredible stlagtites/mites to be seen.
After the cave we made our way to a nearby island (Dao Ti Top) which we were able to climb to the top of to get some amazing views of the bay. After that, it was another wonderful dinner and more relaxing on the boat.
The next morning we went over to Cat Ba Island, the only island of the 3000 islands that is inhabited. There is a town on Cat Ba, but we went to another side of the island where we were able to hike to a small farming village if about 200 people. It was really interesting to see their simple way of life, even though they still had satellites beaming TV signals into their one room houses. But the village, and the farm land and the surrounding jungle were all beautiful and we enjoyed a nice lunch here before walking back to the boat. In the afternoon, we kayaked around; in and out of small bays, through arches and around coral reefs. All beatiful.
That night we stayed in a hotel in the small town on Cat Ba. Being that it's off season everything in the town was deserted, including the 3 small beaches. After a night in the hotel we made the long journey back to Hanoi- 4 hours on the boat and 4 hours on the bus! But it was a great experience and we saw some beatiful things. The limestone islands covered in foliage that jut straight out of the water are a sight to be seen. Can't wait till I can post photos!
Tomorrow, off to the mountains of Sapa for several days of treking and visiting mountain tribes...
Monday morning we were wisked off from our hotel bright and early to make the 4 hour drive to Halong. Once at the harbor we boarded our "junk" which was to be our home for the next couple of days. The boat was 3 stories with rooms on the bottom, dining area in the middle and a sun deck on top. Everything was really very nice. We met the 9 other people who were joining us on our tour- all Germans, all nice people. They served us an amazing lunch on board with just about every kind of seafood you can imagine. Jason and I both agreed these would probably be the fanciest meals of our whole vacation.
After cruising around the beautiful islands for a couple hours we arrived at our first stop: Amazing Cave. The cave is massive and definitely lived up to it's name. There were 3 rooms, each bigger than the last. Although a lot of the cave has been ruined since the French explorers found it in 1906, there were still some huge, incredible stlagtites/mites to be seen.
After the cave we made our way to a nearby island (Dao Ti Top) which we were able to climb to the top of to get some amazing views of the bay. After that, it was another wonderful dinner and more relaxing on the boat.
The next morning we went over to Cat Ba Island, the only island of the 3000 islands that is inhabited. There is a town on Cat Ba, but we went to another side of the island where we were able to hike to a small farming village if about 200 people. It was really interesting to see their simple way of life, even though they still had satellites beaming TV signals into their one room houses. But the village, and the farm land and the surrounding jungle were all beautiful and we enjoyed a nice lunch here before walking back to the boat. In the afternoon, we kayaked around; in and out of small bays, through arches and around coral reefs. All beatiful.
That night we stayed in a hotel in the small town on Cat Ba. Being that it's off season everything in the town was deserted, including the 3 small beaches. After a night in the hotel we made the long journey back to Hanoi- 4 hours on the boat and 4 hours on the bus! But it was a great experience and we saw some beatiful things. The limestone islands covered in foliage that jut straight out of the water are a sight to be seen. Can't wait till I can post photos!
Tomorrow, off to the mountains of Sapa for several days of treking and visiting mountain tribes...
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