Halong Bay, Vietnam - Of Caves, Grottoes, & ALMOST Frostbitten

I know ... I know. It's been nearly a month since I blogged about my Hanoi trip. Yup, I'm easily distracted, plus the repeated visits to Langkawi had me reeling from all the travelling. The icing on the cake? Food poisoning right after the 2nd trip to Langkawi, no thanks to either the Nasi Kandar meal in Penang, or the dinner of mild-looking Economy Rice in Ipoh. Obviously, the booze and the chocs can't be the culprits, can they?!!

A case of over-binging, I supposed. But on the road to recovery now ..... Hence I'll write a short post on Halong Bay .(Erm, short in my dictionary may mean excessive rambling in others, so do take it with a pinch of salt! Hehehe) So, here goes ....

View from the top deck of our boat

After the satisfactory lunch (dismal from a discerning foodie's standards, but me being a Motormouth aka garbage bin, I walloped every single strands of fibre and every piece of flesh from the nameless fish, with MUCH gusto!) on the boat, we were transported to some caves, an obvious tourist spot, with many other junk boats docking.

Every hill, every grotto looks like what YOU imagine them to be. Much like clouds.


Dong Thien Cung - Reminded us of Ipoh's caves aka the legendary Sam Poh Tong, Kek Lok Tong etc. But with added glamour in the form of colourful spotlights!

Being a tourist attraction for the masses, aside from the need to climb some flight of stairs, one does not need to rock-climb, abseil, nor crawl underneath some treacherous structures. Though some adventures would be fine, given the cold weather, almost to the point of numbing our senses. No joke, it was midday and some Westerners on the same boat were already shivering and hiding in the cabin, whilst we were having a whale of a time on the top deck.

Surreal right? Especially if you listen to the tour guide's explanation and descriptions of the structures in the cave!! ROTFL, more like it! :)

Just look at the number of boats docked at the port, and you'll realise the cave is one of the must-see when one visits Halong Bay. Entrance fee was covered by our package (USD33/pax)

We visited two caves on the site, Dong Thien Cung and Hang Dau Go. The latter required no guide, as the cave was rather small and dark, with not much attractions. But with more perilous trekking, though not to the point of being dangerous.

In and around our 'home' for the night

Our room for two. Of course, you're not seeing double (triple?), as we were lucky enough to be granted a bigger room on the second level, instead of the lower level.

The rooms are twin-sharing basis, all rooms at the lower level of the boat, but a bigger triple room on the second level, also known as the common level where we had our meals. The beds were clean, with comforters, and attached bathrooms. Note that electricity is only available from late evening onwards, as then only they'll start the generator. Meaning to say, you can only bath in hot shower, as well as charge your phone/camera from late evening until nighttime. But, once everyone's back into their rooms, at about midnight, they'll shut down the generator, and it's PITCH BLACK all the way til morning. Do take note, in case you're intending to charge your electronics overnight.

#Hint : Avoid rooms near to the generator on the lower level of the boat, as common sense would tell you it's akin to sleeping next to a buzzsaw. #

The fishing village (?) where we made a pit stop again.

LARGE mantis prawns. But at RM50 per kg UNcooked, we thought twice. :)

Here's where you can purchase FRESH seafood bred on site, from the average fishes/prawns/squids to some extraordinaire marine animals. You can buy the fresh supplies here, bring them back to your boat, and ask them to cook for you.

In for the kill. No, not the sharks ....

The other boats will dock here for the night as well. The water's calm, no ripples nor waves to throw you off a good night's sleep!

Back on the boat while waiting for our dinner to be served, we sat back and relaxed, soaking in the breeze(and the non-existing sunlight!), lying on the reclining chairs to pass time. Yup, the weather was freezing cold, but the windy weather was comforting, an escape from the scorching hot M'sian weather.

Dinner on the boat - Seems like the fries are HOT in Vietnam, eh? Must be the French's influence!

Pitch black on the outside. And the chilly breeze had us shivering in our ... erm, pants?!

LOL. I wonder what would the foreigners think had they climbed up to the top deck!! =P

At night, there wasn't much to do, except playing cards, chatting in the cabin, or reading a book. But the some of the cabin crew were smoking (!!) in the common room, hence we had to avoid the smoky, stagnant air, and braced ourselves (yeah, 'GREAT' idea ....) against the numbing temperature. We cuddled ourselves up, trying helplessly to warm our frail bodies, hiding behind whatever structures that were available up there. Tough luck.

But it was indeed, a humourous yet memorable experience; Us squatting behind chairs, poles, and water tanks, with intermittent shrieks and chattering teeth everytime the wind blew. LOL.

Good night ... and slept tight, rocked by the gentle waves.

Next morning's itinerary? Kayak-king at 6.30am (7.30am Malaysian time), breakfast on boat, and lunch on land. Then back to Hanoi for the last night in Vietnam .......

(To be continued .....)