Vietnam: Halong Bay

Halong Bay is a UNESCO heritage sight and a must-see for Southeast Asia. I thought OD would like being on the water and taking photos of the limestone cliff formations; I was right -- OD took hundreds of photos, but I've pared them down for the slideshow:

The bay tour was part of our package with Handspan. Supposedly you can just show up and get cheaper deals, but the tours themselves can be hit or miss. We would definitely recommend going with Handspan's boat, as the crew was professional and the boat in good condition. Our tour also went a bit off the beaten path, so we didn't run into too many other tour boats. I thought it might be uncomfortable to spend two nights on the boat, but our room was pretty nice and we could hardly tell we were sleeping on the water (the boat docked in an inlet overnight).

With my tendency toward seasickness I was a bit apprehensive of being on a boat for so long. But the boat went so slowly on calm waters the entire time that it wasn't a problem. After the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and the hiking of Sapa, it was nice to spend a few days just chilling on the deck and letting life pass us by.


Besides lounging on the boat, we went kayaking -- a first for me -- and I thought it was quite fun, once I determined OD wasn't going to tip us over. We kayaked our way through an opening in one of the karsts and into an inlet. A monkey was spotted in the trees by another in our group -- I eventually caught sight of him, but poor OD never did (though he swiped someone's else's photo to claim that he did).


Another excursion was to a beachy island with a bar. We forwent drinks and hiked a short way up to the top for the view.

On the last day of our voyage, we were taken to a floating fishing village -- and though it was a real fishing village, it was also quite the tourist operation. A group of village women, each staffing a small vessel, waited to transport us (so were unable to get an idea of their daily lives when tourists weren't around). We were taken to the village center and allowed to gawk at the children in their one-room schoolhouse (very conducive to learning). The trip ended with our deposit at a pearl farm (and sale shop). Though the experience lacked authentic interaction, it still at least afforded us a small glimpse at another way of life -- and we got to wear traditional Vietnamese hats.