Breathtakingly Beautiful – Halong Bay

When I was planning this trip to Vietnam, I knew I wanted to go to Halong Bay. I found the riverboat cruise company that offered a two day package out on the bay and we were set. Many of you have seen the iconic shots of pillars of rocks shooting out of the water surrounded by pristine aquamarine water. Well this is the place. Not Phuket, Thailand although they too have these amazing boulders but on a smaller scale or so our guide has told us.

Before we reached Halong Bay we made a stop at a Pearl processing center and learned a little about pearls and their shells.

It was interesting but we didn’t want to purchase a pearl necklace.

When we finally arrived at our ship, the Paradise Elegance, we found it befitting it’s name. Classic design with dark woods and glass. It reminded us of an Agatha Christie novel. I almost felt I should be wearing evening gowns to dinner at night especially when they served water in cobalt blue glasses.

Lunch was awaiting us in the dining room. It was a mixture of salads, sushi and Vietnamese cuisine. It was all very good and served buffet style.

After lunch we headed out for a hike in one of the large caves. We transferred to little boats to get there.

The climb into the cave was about 900 steps with stops to look at the view. They told us upfront that if you didn’t think you could do it, don’t go. There is no turning around.

When we reached the top the view was magnificent! I was awestruck.

One of the cave formations looked like two legs dangling off the side of the cliff.

Entering the cave itself brought tears to my eyes. I’m not sure why. I’ve been to Luray Caverns in Virginia and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico but something about these caverns provoked an intense feeling of wonderment in me.

One of the formations looked like a turtle and turtles are sacred. People left money by the turtle and you could rub its head for luck. Of course we all stopped for a quick rub!

After the cave we went kayaking. We were in two man kayaks but they didn’t have backs. Ouch!

I think our tour guide, Ang, really liked this gig. Beats working in a factory!

On the second day I wasn’t feeling too well so Bruce and I stayed on board while Terri and Keith did some kayaking. I spent most of the day photographing.

Wherever we stopped boat girls rowed out with beer, booze and pearls peddling their wares.

We stayed on deck trying to capture a sunset. In fact, I ran around the ship but to no avail. However, I did get some interesting photos.

We had a wonderful last dinner on board.

In the morning, we had breakfast and then headed back to Hanoi for our last night in Vietnam.