Halong Bay

Halong Bay, Vietnam

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Sailing into Halong Bay through the many islands was a delight. We reached Halong Bay about 7.30am and after breakfast we boarded our tenders to go ashore. The sea trip was about 20mins and we landed on a jetty right near the main street. A long , wide pathway stretched ahead and so we were quite happy walking along. Lots of people stopped to ask if we needed transport and they were very pleasant doing so. A lovely beach area was all along the road and we eventually reached a market area that was not quite open yet but looked promising. Everone here seems to be very friendly but not overpowering so thats a good start.

Halong City is located on Halong bay and is one of the five UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are two parts to this city, Bai Chay, a tourist area and Hong Gai, the industrial and commercial centre. There are approximately 84 million people in Vietnam and it is one of the world's last one party communist states. Halong Bay has been forecast to be the leading tourist destination by 2010. Our Visit today was a little cloudy and so the beautiful islands were a little hard to see from the ship and shore but the skyline still was magical.

All along the road were lovely buildings - tall and quite slim with lovely windows and unique doors. The markets started to open and there were lots of stalls selling many local souvenirs. It took some restraint not to buy all as the quality was very good.

A long jetty poking out into the sea gave us wonderful views of the shoreline as well as the islands that didn't seem too far away. The weather was getting warmer and so we moved on and back to the main road and shopping area to have a beer or two. Bikes, tuk tuks and boats certainly are the transport mode here and it was amazing to see how many the local Vietnamese could fit on a bike! We walked up a side road to find the local markets where everyone here shops. What a great place! A large area with undercover mazes of shops and you can buy just about anything for just a few dong. The flowers were lovely and even the food smelled good. On the way back we saw lots of small hotels and it appeared lots of tourists and back packers stay here.

There are approximately 3000 islands here and they are the main attraction in the Gulf of Tonkin. they have beaches, grottos and house small fishing villages in some of the bays. There are caves and the shape of the islands rising from the sea give all of this a magical aura that brings people back time and time again. Back on board we prepared to leave and suddenly a small boat appeared and came close to the ship but was warned away and soon we sailed off into the evening for another destination.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

P & O Arcadia