Coming from the mountains of Sapa, the next stop of our adventure is a totally different place. We will now proceed to the majestic Ha Long Bay.

Our tour operator picked us up from our hotel around 8 AM. After picking up other tourist that will join our trip, we proceed to Ha Long Harbour. It took almost 3 1/2 hours to reach our destination which included a short 15-minute stop over for wash room break. We then rode a small boat to transfer to Lemon Cruise Ship.

Upon arrival, the tour guide briefed us on the itinerary before we checked-in to our rooms.


Lunch was served around 2 PM as the boat started its journey to Ha Long Bay. Fresh seafood was served with vegetables and rice.

Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Within Quang Ninh Province, in the northeast of Vietnam, it is 165 km from the capital of Ha Noi.

Halong translates as ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’, and legend claims the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon from the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When it finally plunged into the sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, a trip to Hanoi should never be without a visit to this place. The island's exceptional scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest. The mystical landscape of limestone islets is often compared to Guilin in China or Krabi in southern Thailand but in reality, Ha Long Bay is more spectacular.

Our first activity is visiting the Sung Sot Cave,which translates to "Surprising Cave" in English. During the walk, our tour guide shared different animal figures that can be seen around the caves. The cave was very big and well lighted, so pictures look great.

Light at the end of the cave

At the end of the walk we get to see top view of nearby islands.

Next we proceed to TitoV Island with white sand beach where people can go swimming. We also went for a short trek up the hill (around 420 steps) to get some more pictures of the islands. Warning: You need to be physically fit to go up the steps. Another warning is to be careful with monkeys around the area because they steal food and they may bite!

Our activities for the day isn't over! Up next we went for kayaking in nearby area as the sun is setting. It took a little bit of practice before we can move around with ease in our kayaks. 

As it was getting darker, we went back to return the kayaks to the crew. After a short rest, we then had Spring Roll making lesson from crew members. They then cooked the finished products for our dinner.

After dinner, we tried squid fishing but sadly didn't get any catch. Other people went for videoke but since we are tired from our previous day's trip, we decided to rest early.

Breakfast

The following day we woke up early to get a picture of sunrise. We then had a simple breakfast of eggs, jam, butter, bread and fruit. 

We then went for a tour at the Ha Long Bay Pearl Farm where they showed us how pearls are being made. We get to see several types of pearls that they are selling.

Relaxing at Cruise deck

We then proceed to check-out of our rooms while we wait for lunch to be served. We had lunch while on a slow cruise back to Ha Long Harbour. Upon arriving, we then took the small boat to bring us to the harbour where the mini van is waiting to take us back to Hanoi.