We rose early on the morning of the 17th, enjoyed a quick breakfast, and caught our ride to Halong Bay City. After a four hour minibus ride, we arrived at the wharf, set sail on the Santa Maria Cruiser, and thus commenced our 2 day exploration of Halong Bay. It is no wonder that UNESCO has twice declared Halong Bay a world heritage site. The bay is blessed with spectacular limestone islands that jut defiantly out of the serene turquoise water and tower over passing boats. Numbering close to 2000 in total, these limestone monoliths seem to be as plentiful as the verdant rice stalks emerging proudly from the miles and miles of inundated rice paddies we passed enroute to Halong Bay City. These magnificent formations feature spectacular limestone cliffs and whatever isn't a sheer rock face is smothered in luscious green vegetation. The whole bay seems cloaked in secrecy and contains myriad hidden islets and secret lagoons.
Some of its best kept secrets are hidden not outside of the islands, but inside of them. 23 grottoes (caves) have been discovered in the islands of Halong Bay, and now display their stunning collection of stalactites, stalagmites, and cavernous chambers to hordes of tourists. On the first day we stopped and explored Thien Cung Grotto (Heavenly Palace Cave) and Sung Sot Grotto (Cave of Surprises). The caves were very touristic and were similar to Chang Cave in Laos - they had neat stone walkways through the caverns, the walls and stalactites were illuminated by different colored lights, and they were teeming with camera toting tourists.
This is not the ideal time of year to tour Halong Bay due to the prevailing weather conditions. For the duration of our cruise, the sun remained hidden behind a blanket of clouds, while a lingering fog and constant mist threatened to conceal the natural beauty of the bay. Fortunately, the limestone islands refused to remain entirely obscured by the uncooperative weather conditions, and the overall effect of the weather was to eerily shroud the bay in mystery and suspense. It was, in all senses of the word, fantastic.
The second day we awoke early and spent the morning exploring the islets and lagoons of the bay by kayak. Our guide led us through a series of caves and tunnels to a "secret" lagoon. Inside the lagoon, there was a troupe of indigenous monkeys playing and eating in the surrounding foliage. It felt as if we were on some sort of National Geographic expedition. Even though the lagoon was obviously no longer a secret, the locals had done a great job of preserving its natural state, which was truly awe inspiring.
After the kayaking, we cruised back to the wharf and headed back to the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, all the while wishing we had booked at least one more night on the Santa Maria Cruiser.
Those are ships in the background, not limestone outcroppings.
Kayaking and swimming was fun, although the water was pretty cold for swimming. Diving from the sundeck on top of the boat made it worth it though.
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