Halong Bay, Vietnam

Hang Dau Go Cave

The next 3 pictures are from the website of Bhaya Cruises, who we did the trip with.  We stayed one night on a 'junk' with our own cabin/balcony and visited a floating village and the famous Hang Dau Go (Wooden stakes) Cave full of spectacular stalactites and stalegmites although we only saw the main chamber of the cave and the time inside was 20 minutes.  We docked overnight in the bay with beautiful views of the stone karsts.  Halong Bay is a Unesco National Heritage Site and it is indeed beautiful, but has become a major tourist attraction.  There was some polution in the bay (plastic bottles) and it occurred to me the diesel used on the many tourist junk boats could damage the water quality, which is the most beautiful emerald green.

picture: lattesandrunways.com/ha-long-bay-with-bhaya-cruises-2-day-1-night-ha-long-bay-cruise-review/

Our cabin, similar to below, was compact so difficult to get a good picture:  

this picture is from Bhaya Cruises Website.

https://lattesandrunways.com/ha-long-bay-with-bhaya-cruises-2-day-1-night-ha-long-bay-cruise-review/

https://lattesandrunways.com/ha-long-bay-with-bhaya-cruises-2-day-1-night-ha-long-bay-cruise-review/

I couldn't believe our cabin on this little boat - it was like a tiny hotel on water, a feeling that you were stepping back in time, tongue and groove panelling and low lighting. Our cabin had room for a double bed, a balcony and (unexpected) a shower! Tiny but functional, I LOVED every moment in there and on the balcony.

small 'beach' within the karsts/bay

The boat felt like something out of a Harry Potter scene, a sort of magical adventure.

The restuarant on board

 Vegetarian food was prepared specially for me (I felt like a queen!) - Vietnamese type vegetable stir fry, rice, pancake rolls.  Everyone else had a choice of a similar style meal with fish or chicken.  Breakfast sitting outside was wonderful. 

food on-board

neighbouring boats docked for the night

view from my balcony at sunset

 We fished for jellyfish at night off the back of the boat by torchlight ...then  snuggled up in a cosy duvet in a luxurious cabin and woke up to a cooked breakfast, followed by a trip to a floating fishing village.
 

 

Supermarket

We were taken from our boat on a little tug to a rowing boat, and then local fishermen rowed us over to a floating village ... the village floats on empty fuel cans and a criss cross web of wooden boards.  People sleep in hammocks in fairly open plan housing/hut type arrangements.  Their food supplies are brought out by boat to them by locals and they make their living. fishing.

rowing with legs!

These were not wealthy people, this is their lifestyle for generations, they have chosen to continue here and are proud of their village and don't want to move into the cities, some people have tried and returned as they don't have skills that can be applied.  The Government wants the village to remain unchanged so tourism is controlled by employing the fishermen to row the tourists over and see the village.  The Government has built a small museum which shows the way the people live and work.

the houses with hammocks

Footnote:  I enjoyed the boat and the fishing village, which was a lovely unscheduled surprise, being a substitute for more caves and time on the little 'beach', this was due to the bay being overcrowded with boats like ours - schedules will change without notice.  I would go again for the experience overnight on the boat seeing the beauty of the bay and its karsts, but not, to be honest, for the caves.