Halong Bay
Days Three & Four - Vietnam - 2019
Two days spent sailing around one of nature’s greatest masterpieces.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
Editorial Comment: Throughout this page, I use Vietnamese characters in the spellings of place names whenever possible; however, some Vietnamese characters are not compatible with some of the fonts used throughout this website, and -in those cases- I have used what I can determine to be the most common English language transliteration.
1. Halong Bay #1
Halong Bay attracts over 2 million tourists a year.
Early the next morning, we made our way from Hanoi to Tuan Chau Island, the primary point of embarkation for boats heading out into Halong Bay. The pleasant ride let us leave the hustle-and-bustle of Hanoi behind for a while and appreciate some of northern Vietnam's smaller towns. A few hours later, we arrived at our “junk” boat, a nicely appointed ship that, despite its name, had no sails. After settling in, we had the opportunity to view the approach to Halong Bay from the boat’s wonderful 360-degree top deck.
The following seven photographs highlight portions of that journey, which took about two hours to complete.
2. Halong Bay #2
Halong Bay is composed of over 1,600 islands.
3. Halong Bay #3
According to the United Nations, Halong Bay is the “most extensive … example of marine-invaded tower karst in the world.”
4. Halong Bay #4
Some of the formations of Halong Bay are over 20 million years old.
5. Halong Bay #5
Halong Bay is believed to have been inhabited for nearly 20,000 years.
6. Halong Bay #6
Halong Bay is generally not more than 30 feet (10 meters) deep.
7. Halong Bay #7
The pillars of Halong Bay are believed to have been formed over 50 million years.
8. Halong Bay #8
Halong Bay covers over 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres).
All of the ships from Tuan Chau Island seemed to leave around the same time, forming an armada of sorts across the vastness of the Bay.
9. Sung Sot Cave #1
Sung Sot Cave is access by climbing over 100 stone steps.
Shortly after arriving, we took a short tender ride to the access to Sung Sot Cave, a 10,000 square meter (100,000 square foot) cave sitting about 25 meters (80 feet) above the bay. This gave us the strongest visual representation of how Halong Bay was formed geologically - the limestone mountains here, which were once under water, were pushed up above the sea by tectonic action. Most of the cliffs of Halong Bay are inaccessible, but Sung Sot Cave has steep stone steps providing access.
10. Sung Sot Cave #2
Sung Sot Cave is also known as “Surprise Cave.”
As previously mentioned, all of the ships visiting Halong Bay seem to arrive at the same time; as a result of this, Sung Sot Cave was packed end-to-end with visitors moving in a convoy of humanity.
Photographer’s Comment: If you want to get a nice view of Sung Sot Cave without dozens or even hundreds of people in it, make use of the flat pathway lights along the trail to set up a long-exposure. Everyone shuffles through Sung Sot so quickly, you are unlikely to pick up much residual “humanity.”
11. Sung Sot Cave #3
Sung Sot Cave was believed discovered by the French in 1901.
After exiting Sung Sot Cave, you are treated to a nice viewpoint across Halong Bay. Be aware, however, you may only have a few seconds along the railing before you have to give way to another group. No pressure!
12. Ti Top Island #1
Ti Top Island is named for Soviet Cosmonaut Gherman Titov.
Later in the day, we spent a couple of hours visiting Ti Top Island, one of the most accessible islands in Halong Bay. Again, it was crowded (I can’t fathom how insane this place would be during the high season), but climbing all the way to the top of the island gives you just enough peace and quiet to really enjoy the amazing views across Halong Bay. The climb took me about 15 minutes to complete, and is certainly within most people’s skill-level; there are multiple pull-offs if you need to take a rest. It’s worth the trip, don’t pass up the opportunity!
The next two photographs are from the top of Ti Top Island.
13. Ti Top Island #2
The top of Ti Top Island is 110 meters (360 feet) above sea level.
14. Ti Top Island #3
The top of Ti Top Island is reached by climbing over 400 steps.
15. Mooring #1
As a means of preventing environmental damage to Halong Bay, boats staying overnight are clustered in a small area near Ti Top Island.
After enjoying a little bit of sun at Ti Top Island’s small beachfront, we boarded the tender again to head to our ship’s mooring location. Our ship took the furthest mooring point, which gave us a commanding view of all of the other ships in the harbor. The bobbing of the boat made it tricky to get some photographs with a tripod, but -if you time it right- you can certainly get one or two. Four more photographs from our mooring point follow.
16. Mooring #2
17. Mooring #3
18. Mooring #4
19. Mooring #5
Ti Top Island features one of Halong Bay’s only beaches.
20. Luon Cave #1
Golden monkeys live on the cliffs nearby Luon Cave...
The next morning, I took an optional kayaking tour in nearby Luon Cave. Thankfully, I was joined by about half my tour group, and we had a relaxing time floating around the placid pond behind the cave itself. The pond is home to groups of golden monkeys…
21. Luon Cave #2
…and almost entirely subsist on food provided to them from tourists.
…and we did our civic duty in providing them food from a bag given to us by our tour guide. By Vietnam standards, the kayaking tour was a bit on the pricey end of life, but the equipment was well-maintained and the break from the throngs of people at Sung Sot and Ti Top was worth the price of admission.
22. Magical Carrot
Fact: Carrots are magical.
After kayaking, it was time to head back to Tuan Chau Island. En route, we had a pleasant lunch, followed by a presentation by our cook on how to make nets and flowers with carrots.
My impressions of the boat tour in Halong Bay are overwhelmingly positive. When I booked the Intrepid group tour, I was hesitant since it only included one night in the region; however, I think this was ultimately sufficient. If beggars could be choosers, I would have liked to have visited one of the floating villages, but I can understand how logistically difficult that would be from such a large boat. Perhaps one day…. Nonetheless, the boat was extremely well-appointed and stocked, the staff was extremely professional and polite, and the room was extremely pleasant and clean. If you go to Vietnam and don’t take an overnight boat tour in Halong Bay, you’re messing up!
23. The Obama Combo
Anthony Bourdain and U.S. President Obama met at Hanoi’s Bun Cha Huong Lien for a meal in 2016; Bourdain paid for the meal.
After returning to Hanoi early afternoon, we’d have several hours free before meeting up at the hotel to make our way to the train station for an overnight train to Hue. Originally, I had planned on using this time to visit the famous Train Street, but I learned during my walking tour of Hanoi a few days earlier that the Train Street had been permanently closed by the government for being too dangerous. What a shame. I, then, decided I would make my way to the Bun Cha Huong Lien restaurant where U.S. President Obama and chef-cum-travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain famously met for a meal in 2016 for Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” show. On the bus ride back to Hanoi, I trumped my plans, and -to my admitted surprise- I found myself joined by quite a large contingent willing to make the eight kilometer (five mile) round-trip journey to this small restaurant. On the way, we went through the Dong Xuan Market and stopped for drinks at a bar in the Old Quarter. Passing by Hoan Kiem Lake, we arrived at the restaurant around dinnertime. Looking at the menu, one of the options is the “Obama Combo”, a facsimile of the meal ordered by both Obama and Bourdain. Coming in at a whopping 85,000 Vietnamese dong (less than 4 U.S. dollars), it included an order of bun cha, a fried seafood roll, and a Bia Ha Noi. The food was fantastic, perhaps even the best meal I’ve ever had for less than a fiver. But the meal was the cherry on top of the cake - it was the journey that made it extra special and well-deserved. And that, I like to think, would have put a smile on Bourdain’s face.
