Halong Bay

Hanoi to Halong Bay, Day 61

So it's an early rise for us at the Hotel. A quick grab at our final buffet breakfast here, and we then get picked up by a limousine / fancy minibus vehicle, which takes 6 people, and we're off to our cruise at Halong Bay. There are 2 other couples in the transfer van with us - a young couple from Singapore and an older Indian couple.

It's about a 3-hour drive from Hanoi to the Halong Bay terminal (Tuan Chau international terminal), but there is a stop midway for refreshments and a toilet break. The ride was very comfortable, with WiFi available and bottles of water handed out to everyone on arrival. Once we arrive at the terminal, we 'check in' and are given our colour-coded cabin key (the colour signifies which boat we get, I think). We leave our big bags and are informed that they will be deposited inside our cabin once we get to the big boat. After a short time in the waiting lounge area, we get on a transfer tender boat, put on our life jackets, and it takes about 1.5-2 hours of very slow and smooth sailing until it docks at the big boat. Everything was very well organised and seamless.

As soon as we arrived at the boat, we were greeted by the crew members who stood to welcome us aboard. Then we were directed immediately to the dining room for a welcome drink and a buffet lunch, and where the cruise manager would give us more details of what to expect as she went over the cruise schedule with us. The boat was already moving at this point, and the scenery was just jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It was actually hard to eat, as all we wanted to do was look at the amazing views. I think especially as our experience of Hanoi (and of Ho Chi Minh City) was really busy and chaotic, so this was just divine by comparison!

The buffet lunch was amazing too - there was so much food and a fantastic selection to cater for all tastes and cuisines. We were introduced to Harry who would be looking after us during our meals and he was great and so attentive to everyone.

You will see from the schedule below that the cruise was pretty full on with various activities planned and spoiler alert - we didn't make any of the 6.00am Tai Chi sessions but we heard that they were excellent as they took place on the top deck of the boat as the sun was rising, so it was very beautiful going from dark to light whilst doing this gentle exercise.

We booked the 3 day/2 nights cruise via Mon Cherie cruises as we had heard they were very good. We had an elegance balcony suite on the 2nd floor and it was absolutely amazing. I think having the balcony and seeing these stunning views all around was just 'pure dead brilliant'. I could have stayed on the balcony the whole time!

But of course we didn't stay on the balcony and as soon as we had sorted out our stuff, we headed out to explore the ship some more. There was a small jacuzzi at the back of the lounge area, the lounge area itself was lovely with various comfortable seating and a bar.

WiFi was only available in the public areas and it was pretty rubbish at that, hence the reason why we were incommunicado for a few days. We also didn't have any inclination or time to switch on our phones or laptops as we wanted to soak in as much of the scenery as possible.

Then, before we knew it, it was time to go kayaking and swimming. This was taking place in the Tra Bau area of the bay. Now it has been many, many years since I was last in a kayak (like I'm talking High school!) and R had never been in a kayak before (you see where this is going, don't you?). We had decided to do the kayaking as neither one of us is are great swimmers and whilst the water did look very clean, we still didn't want to end up ingesting any of it.

Getting into the kayak was a feat in itself but with that first hurdle dealt with, we were soon on our way to enjoy a small portion of this majestic bay. I was at the front and his nibs at the rear and oh my goodness was it hard work trying to co-ordinate with him. Instead of moving in the direction we wanted to go, we just seemed to end up spinning in circles!

Finally, we managed to 'get the rhythm' and we circled around one of the small islands/rock formations. Now, just to clarify, there are lots and lots of big boats in this area, and they are all pretty much doing the same thing with the cruises, so you do see others kayaking and swimming, and you just want to be careful that you don't get too close to the big boats.

Of course the scenery was again, just breathtaking and we both loved every minute of it. Although I was less keen on R's dodgy oar technique that resulted in me having a rather soggy bum! Note: the last photo below is of the young Singaporean couple (from our bus) that were still in the water after we had finished and were back on our balcony, but it's a good photo which gives an idea of what it looks like.

After kayaking, we had a short time to shower, change and enjoy the magnificent sunset from the balcony. I mean come on, does life get any better than this?

Just stunning.... the view not the photo of me! But quite a cool photo I think with R's reflection on the window of him taking a photo also.

Then it was party hour, and we got our first sunset cocktails of a mojito for me and a Mai Tai for R. Drinking in this beautiful location was again just heavenly. Some snacks were also provided during the Happy Hour.

Next, it was time for the cooking demonstration, where we were able to take part and see how spring rolls were made. This was fine - I'd been on a Chinese cooking class previously and learnt how to make spring rolls (which R often reminds me that I spent the best part of a weekend making them - but it was all the preparation of the ingredients that I had to do!).

Some young kids were running about and the fact that there was a pan of hot frying oil and a trailing electrical cable was giving me the heebie jeebies, so I couldn't quite relax as I was constantly watching these kids (not sure where their parents were!) just in case they got too close to the cable and brought the pot of hot oil down on themselves. The staff should have been a bit more careful around this but they didn't seem to notice, so I'm not sure if that's just me being overly cautious or them being used to unsafe acts and conditions in Vietnam (note: we have seen some quite scary sights that you just don't see back home!).

After the cooking demonstration, it was time for the evening dinner, and oh boy, we had no idea how we were going to struggle with this. We got the menu and I thought it was a choice of two starters and two main courses, but it wasn't - it was a FIVE-course dinner! Had I known that, I would have passed on the spring rolls from the cooking demonstration and the party snacks at the Happy Hour bar! We managed the first two courses ok, and then we had a SLAB of sea bass which was just enormous - delicious but way, way too much.

We then passed on the next course of deep fried tiger prawns to have space for the tiramisu and I have to admit this defeated me and I could not finish it. I had hit the wall!

Defeated by a small Tiramisu....(not as good as A's either, I may add!)

It was at this stage that we had to throw in the towel, and we told Harry that we could not eat another morsel as we were stuffed to the gunnels. We retreated to our cabin and sat outside on the balcony for a bit, watching all the boats anchored in the bay, and a short while later, we headed out to try the squid fishing. This was a little disappointing as nothing seemed to be biting - we stayed around for a short time before calling it a day as we had another early rise tomorrow....

Halong Bay, Vietnam

19 January 2025