Halong Bay

By Andrew

No trip to Vietnam is complete without a visit to Halong Bay. It is one of the nation's biggest drawcards, and was attracting more than 9 million tourists annually before the pandemic. With more than 500 boats traversing the waterways each day we were hoping that we might be able to find something a little bit more secluded. We had done some research that suggested Lan Ha Bay might be more our style. It's at the southern end of Halong, and is comparatively quiet. Comparatively...

We booked onto a lovely cruise that spent 2 nights amongst the amazing limestone karsts, but even that felt a bit like a tourist factory. It was no fault of the cruise, and I think it taught us more about our style of travel. We aren't really "cruise" people, apparently. That being said, not sure how anyone can really get much of a unique experience at Halong Bay nowadays, without a seaplane or private charter.

We were also still being plagued by the same problem that had followed us since Bangkok... the relentless smoke haze of South East Asia. It broke our hearts that even in an amazing place like Halong Bay we'd still be making memories in monochrome.

The experience started at the marina, which was a bit surreal. Just like in Da Nang, there were endless hotels and resorts popping up, but they all seemed to be empty. Our minivan zigzagged between them until he found the building that Dora Cruise departed from. We paid the bill and boarded the transfer boat that had just returned the previous cohort of tourists. Apparently the cruise ships aren't allowed to dock in between cruises, so they all sit out in Lan Ha Bay, replenished daily with food, fuel and a fresh batch of tourists. From here, all the ships seem to anchor at the same two spots before repeating the process.

The cruise manager was a jovial guy named Bruce Panda (not kidding). He and the team on board were probably the best part of the whole cruise. Sure, the scenery was stunning, the cabin was lovely, and the food was amazing, but the interactions with the crew were a highlight. Once we made the effort to get to know them, they helped teach us more Vietnamese words (which we butchered) and opened up about life in Vietnam (which we couldn't believe). In the end, kayaking was the only activity that we did while onboard, and we spent the rest of the time just relaxing and soaking in the scenery. Both of which could be done from bed!

Sadly the scenery included a heartbreaking amount of rubbish in the Bay. This was a real eye opener, and definitely something that you don't see in the brochures. Apparently there are clean-up efforts in the works, but it's sad that this isn't at the top of the government's agenda for a UNESCO-listed tourist hotspot.

It took me quite a while to write this entry, as I'm a bit conflicted about Halong Bay. It's an undeniably beautiful location, but it made me sad. I get the feeling that it is (and you are also) being exploited, with most of the money going to the Bentley-driving fat-cats in Hanoi instead of maintaining the environment or supporting the locals.Read more