Heading 4 hours South-East of Hanoi we arrived at a small port with a boat waiting to take us to our Oasis Bay party boat. This is where we would be spending our time cruising the picture perfect Halong Bay.
Halong Bay translated into English means descending dragons. The Vietnamese legend is that Halong Bay was created when dragons were sent down to protect Vietnam from invading enemies. The dragons dropped jewels which then formed the rock formations known as Halong Bay today, and that the dragons now rest beneath. These formations are also thought to be created by the tectonic plates pushing against one another. Either way these rocky plant covered forms are a stunning sight to see and is 1 out of the 7 natural wonders of the world. Another fun fact is that it was also featured in the 2017 King Kong film!
For the first day in Halong Bay we began by kayaking on the waters amongst the misty landscape, eventually passing through a small cave which took us to a lagoon on the other side. The whole area was surrounded by the rocks and plant life, accompanied with the echoing sounds of monkeys and birds hidden away in the greenery high up. Being in a kayak next to these massive formations makes you feel so small and realise how beautiful our planet is. Later on in the day we had some fun, we leaped off our party boat into the cold salty waters, jumped on a floating trampoline, relaxed in a massive hot tub and ended our day with some yoga.
For our second day we got to stay on a private beach. In Halong Bay there are not many island or beach forms around the big rocks, but luckily for us we were staying on the only island in the bay with not 1 but 2 beaches. We took two boats to get to our private island beach stay. My favourite boat we boarded was a tiny fishing boat with beautiful bright colours of turquoise, red and yellow being steered by a friendly local so happy to see us taking in the views. For the day itself, we literally did nothing and it was so good to relax for a little while. Chilling on hammocks, playing pool, taking in the amazing landscape and just dipping our feet in the water felt like pure paradise that day.
After the two days in Halong Bay we reached back at the port and set off to Ninh Binh, 4 hours South-West of Halong Bay. As we drove into Ninh Binh we saw their local delicacies on the side of the road. A fully boiled goat still in tact head to hoof, with its teeth too. I definitely wouldn’t be trying that. After a day of travelling we finally arrive at our homestay which had bamboo huts all along the side of a small lake. The only downside were the amount of mosquitoes around ready for the taste of blood.
The following day and having escaped with only one mosquito bite we had a fully packed adventure to begin. First off we cycled on bikes with really hard seats along the most bumpiest rocky road to reach a river called Tam Coc. On the river we took a very small 4 person boat through the scenic rocky mountains that look very similar to the ones in Halong Bay. The fascinating part about the rowers on the boats are that they use their feet to row the paddles. How they do it? I don’t know! As we floated down the river we also saw mountain goats just chilling high up on the side of one of the formations. This is where Rob said if he would be reincarnated he would want to reincarnate as a mountain goat. Good choice Rob. From there we were back on the bikes and headed towards the Dragon Peak view point that looks upon the Tam Coc river. 480 steps later and we made it to the top and what a marvellous sight it was, mountains and the river on one side and rice paddies on the other. This was the most filled day so far in Vietnam.
To sum up the last 4 turbulent days is that, I feel so grateful to have been able to see and stay in Halong Bay a natural wonder of the world that many people don’t get to experience. Also there are so many hard working people in Vietnam, such as the family who let us stay in their river side bungalows who cooked us dinners, breakfast, cleaned rooms and prepared for our arrival. Next stop Hoi An.
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