Ha Long Bay...

N 20 deg 54.160’
E 107 deg 01.078’

The van picked us up early and we began our three hour drive to Ha Long Bay. This is a very scenic part of Vietnam on the open water. Our transportation upon arrival at the docks was a junk. No, that’s not just a name; it was actually a piece of floating junk. If I had a dollar for every cockroach I had encounters with I’d get the tour for free and they’d still owe me.

This is what the junks look like. All of them in Ha Long are cookie cutter similar.

The name of our junk was particularly ironic, I thought. The sign is cut a bit in this pic, but there were only two stars on there to see anyway.

As we pulled away, we instantly saw the wondrous mountain islands.



We also made a stop or two. One was to walk through and explore one of the many caves. The cave we went to was completely re-done by the government. It didn’t feel very authentic. They told us “ancient tales” that related to the way some of the shadows formed. Of course, those shadows were only there due to the way the lights were placed by them, so I had a feeling that story was made up some time in the mid nineties.

After the cave we had to find which boat was ours. Harder than it sounds.



We then drove through a fishing village at the GPS coordinates shown at the top of this post. In this village the people don’t spend much time on land. They literally live in a floating city. The kids will swim to school and in the off time, come around in boats selling stuff to hungry tourists that don’t trust the roach infested kitchens on the junk. We also got to get out and kayak around the village.



As the sun set, we laid anchor. It was cool and fresh air. Not being any close-by land, there were no mosquitoes. A welcomed break.



In the morning we expected to see a half dozen other things that our tour itinerary said was included. But we drove straight back to the docks. When we asked the guide why we were getting short changed he looked at the printout my dad brought. Then he said, “Well, this island on the list is right there. And we sailed by that island yesterday. That cave is the one you were next to in the kayak. And this one is right there. So, you’ve seen it all now.” What a rip off.

Either way, it was a nice relaxing trip. If you go, bring some Raid and sanitary wipes, but also, bring a good camera. The amazing view is worth it all.