Shaz and I took at 4-hour bus ride from Hanoi to the bay. With hindsight, staying a night or 2 might have been a better idea.
Nevertheless, seeing hundreds of chinese junkboats called "dao" in Vietnamese against the sublime setting is simply surreal.
If you can afford it, fork out about US$200-300 to stay onboard a traditional junkboat for a night and watch the sunset. We, unfortunately, did not have the chance. But oh well, some other time!
Our tour group was apparently quite small. Our friends decided to go to Ha Long bay on a different day so here we were with just 7 other persons on a big and spacious junkboat with cosy interiors.
As you cruise along Ha Long bay, you will find small families like the one below approaching your junkboat trying to sell you some local produce such as fruits. Don't worry, they are not pirates. Those days are long gone.
Have we mentioned that the babies/toddlers in Vietnam are REALLY cute? OMG.
Looks like a scene right out of the movies isn't it?
Simply breathtaking - the handiwork of God.
The sun was up shining mildly on us. The sea breeze raced through the bay to nothingness. The waters were greenish-blue and looked so inviting.
For lunch, the boat docked near a floating fish farm where our group had the opportunity to purchase their own LIVE seafood to be cooked on the boat and served in addition to the standard lunch package.
There were huge clams, squids, SHARKS, different types of crabs, giant snails and other creatures which I could not recognise.
Some of them bought crabs and clams but the price was a little too steep so we just stuck with the standard lunch package which, trust me, was worth it!
Lunch was so delicious that we forgot to take pictures because we simply gobbled it up. We had a 7-course lunch consisting of spring rolls, tofu, kangkong (I like), sweet and sour fish, squid, fruits and peanuts (I still don't quite get this) all eaten with hot white rice.
For the adventurous and charitable, fork out S$4 to take a short boat ride into grottos and isolated areas where junkboats cannot access. That money will go towards building a floating school. How cool is that... imagine the possibilities. Swimming straight away after class. Students can't escape detention (just unleash sharks to encircle that school).
We visited an isle where the caves were simply magnificent. The air was cool and the sight of giant limestone stalagmites hanging threateningly over you feels undeniably surreal.
Can you really say that there is not a remote possibility that there is a God?
