Cruising Through Ha Long Bay

Feeling very ready to break away from Hanoi’s chaotic environs, Matt and I rose early to meet our shuttle for a two-day, one-night cruise through Ha Long Bay. Located about four hours from Vietnam’s capital city, Ha Long Bay is a stunning UNIESCO World Heritage Site composed of limestone rock formations jutting out of a 600 square-mile bay. Words hardly do the natural wonder justice! Ha Long Bay was famously the filming site for “Kong: Skull Island” and sees over 1 million tourists per year for overnight and day-long boat cruises. Apparently the government is phasing out overnight cruises, however, because the influx of tourists has led to too much pollution and trash in the bay. We booked our cruise with Rosa Cruise Line, one of the best-value options we could find after conducting thorough online research. A splurge for us, the two-day visit seemed like a must-do when in Vietnam!

Our slightly older but very comfortable “junk boat” accommodated 14 tourists—mostly couples—from all over the world: Belgium, England, the US, the Philippines, and Germany. Each stateroom was equipped with air conditioning, a private bathroom, electricity, and a large window that looked out to Ha Long Bay. There were also a few common spaces on the boat to relax including a dining area, full bar, upper deck with lounge chairs and tables, and a lower patio near the captain’s quarters. The cruise included all meals, served family style with lots of seafood and vegetarian options for me. We frequently sat with our new American friends—a similarly-aged couple from New York City who worked in the hotel business and are taking a full year to travel around the world. We instantly connected with them because of our shared nationality and experiences living in East Coast cities; it was refreshing to have such a natural, free-flowing conversation with fellow Americans!

On deck in Ha Long Bay!

In our fancy (but very small) stateroom on the junk boat.

View of other boats in the bay. The white one in the distance looks similar to our cruise boat,

The weather was cool and slightly foggy, which was a relief considering that rain had been in the forecast. On Day 1 our cruise stopped at a Pearl Factory and Museum, which offered a small exhibit about the history and process of making pearls as well as a large shop selling jewelry. The whole thing felt like a tourist trap, so our group quickly returned to our cruise boat and proceeded to our next item on the agenda—kayaking! We donned life jackets and each couple climbed onto a double kayak. We had about 45 minutes to explore some of the limestone mountains up close from the water, which was a fun experience. It’s really amazing how trees and shrubs grow out of the rock and that monkeys and other wildlife can survive on these small, relatively simple ecosystems. After kayaking we relaxed on the upper deck with tea and fruit, enjoying the view of the rock islands passing us by and chatting with our fellow travelers. Everyone we meet has a unique story and journey through Asia, some traveling just for a two-week escape from work and others spending years exploring far-flung places like Australia and New Zealand. Hearing about these long-term travel plans always makes Matt and I feel reassured that our decision to take these months off for exploration is worthwhile and not crazy. Americans have less of a travel culture than Europeans and Australians. We meet so many of them doing gap years or mid-life travel journeys while we rarely meet Americans on the road! After a multi-course dinner, Matt and I went to sleep while many of the other tourists drank and sang karaoke in the dining room. As we tried to relax at the end of a long day, we could hear our fellow cruisers belting out lyrics to “Dancing Queen” by ABBA and “Hit Me Baby One More Time” by Brittney Spears.

Kayaking together in Ha Long Bay.

An interesting-looking smattering of limestone rock formations in the bay.

Afternoon tea on the upper deck.

Ready for dinner!

I tried to drag myself out of bed for sunrise at 5:30am but turned off my alarm; it just wasn’t going to happen! I did, however, rise at 6:15am for morning Tai Chi. Matt did plenty of Tai Chi during his study abroad in China during college and chose to sleep in instead of joining me, which was fine! There were only five of us on upper deck following along as the boat’s bartender-turned-Tai Chi instructor guided us through the most standard slow movements. I can’t say it was a great workout, but the class offered me a solid excuse to stretch my muscles and enjoy morning views of Ha Long Bay. After an early breakfast, our tour guide escorted us to Sung Sot Cave—a huge cave system in one of the limestone mountains. He pointed out many stalactites and stalagmites that looked like animals or humans and had been given various nicknames over the years. The ceiling of the cave looked like the surface of the moon, having gotten its shape from millions of years of waves washing against it. We wrapped up the afternoon with a 15-minutes cooking demonstration followed with a spring roll-making session. Everyone else made pork and vegetable spring rolls while they set aside vegetarian ingredients for me. After we were done, the chef fried up the rolls and they were served with our final lunch on the cruise! We disembarked and boarded a 4-hour bus for Ninh Binh, our next Vietnam destination. The Ha Long Bay cruise was so memorable and it was a treat to be served all our meals and shuttled around through a pre-planned itinerary. Sometimes it’s a relief to kick back and follow along rather than creating your own adventure!

Inside the Sung Sot Cave.

Outside of the cave with a beautiful view of Ha Long Bay in the background.

Making spring rolls after our cooking demonstration.