Halong Bay: In a junk

Of course, the following morning, I couldn't wait to get out of the first hostel. I am so glad I did not pay or book in advance for the rest of the trip. This way, I have the freedom to choose and leave if the place didn't live up to its name. I checked into Hanoi Hostel at Hang Ma, it was good to meet Mike, the owner, whom got me my Sapa tour. His staff has arranged for me the night before, with a short call to Mike, he managed to get it sorted for me; they are all young and genuine people, none of them tried to sell me anything.

I was picked up at the first hostel for the Halong Bay tour. A very pretty boy guide named Duc went around to fetch everyone. He, like the "con man" was very good with words, he sure could sell. Both of them didn't give me any good vibes. Anyway he entertained us with lots of stories during the 3 hours journey there; it was a good mix of crowd we had - Japanese-American, Dutch-German, Iranians, English, Singaporean, Vietnamese and French.

We arrived past 1pm and soon after we got onto our junk named Halong 10. We were joined by another 20+ people, I was told the junk could hold over 48 people. It was white, with a proud Vietnam Flag flying on the deck. Lunch was soon served while we set off further into the bay. I sat with the Singaporean family whom invited me, and a Vietnamese uncle.

Halong Bay

At our first stop, we got down on a floating platform, we could either go for a floating boat ride or kayaking. There was only 3 of us kayaking, as the Japanese-American dude set off alone, the Dutch-German bloke offered to share one with me. I haven't done it for years, so it needed a bit of warming up ;) But at the end, we had fun and of course I took a lot of nice photos for him. After that, we went back up on the junk and continued to the second destinatinon, Động Thiên Cung Cave. It was a  long climb up to the entrance, the interior of the cave was lit up with various colours, and streaming with tourists. I wouldn't say I wasn't impressed but with the number of tourists in it and the fake lighting, it wasn't as pleasant as I would imagine. I wish there was less people and we could have the time and space to really appreciate it :)

Động Thiên Cung Cave

Back on the boat, there were souvenirs on every table for you to buy, then we headed back to the harbour. No sea sick! Phew! It was another 3 hours journey on the bus.

I finally got back past 8pm, very hungry. I went around the corner, found a stall still open, raised my index finger and sat now. Food was served, great, without me speaking a word. It was Bánh cuốn (Quoted from Wiki: Rice flour rolls stuffed with ground pork, prawns, and wood ear mushroom.). After the tummy is filled, I decided to continue my venture to the Dong Xuan weekend market, as it was the only day I would be in Hanoi over the weekend. It was an eye-opener; mostly patronised by the locals, shoes and clothes were really cheap but still things I could find in Singapore. It was a long stretch with a small alley for food, the rest mostly sold stuff, but by 11pm some were already winding up. Then it was time to get some rest!

p.s: Halong Bay is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.