Good Morning Vietnam! (Nov. 2024)

Hallo to Ha Long Bay!

By Allan Brown:

Alongside the Great Wall of China, Ha Long Bay is known for gracing many travel calendars. The iconic karsts of the bay have been seen on screen savers and social media worldwide.

We awoke from one of our fanciest hotels of the trip, the Saigon Halong Hotel, with an amazing view of Ha Long Bay and got our luggage down in the lobby early before getting on the bus. After a short drive to the docks, we walked to our boat that was festooned with pink life rings, which came in handy later when it was time to get on the correct boat for the ride back.

One of the nice things about being on a tour is that you can basically follow the herd without much decision-making involved with regards to driving, parking, ticket buying, bathroom locations, and what boat to get on. It is easy; all you have to do is walk with the crowd, keep an eye on your watch, and know when and where to meet after your free time.

The number 99 boat got underway (my one and only nautical term for this post) as we headed into the bay before us. I have lost track of how many boats we have been on for this trip: canoes, dugouts, long skinny boats, a “dragon boat,” and now this tugboat-looking boat. Marla and I settled in a seat on the shady side of the boat, being the savvy travelers we are, avoiding the already intense sun, and it was starting to get humid.

Everywhere we looked was an Instagram shot, and it was simply impossible to take a bad photo. Most of our entire tour group was on the upper deck taking photos for the envy of their online friends back home. Marla and I did our best to show our Facebook friends our “Instagram Worthy” photos because when in Rome…

The boat cruised for about an hour until we reached our destination, the Sung Sot caverns. We were so absorbed in the beauty of the bay and karsts that I forgot we now had a cavern to explore.

Our trustworthy and thorough guide Bee had listed in the Welcome to Vietnam guide that we would have “about 120 stairs up and 70 stairs down at the entrance and then 120 stairs up and 200 stairs down at the exit.” I didn’t count, but I’m sure it was close. Thanks, Bee! The cavern was a relief from the rising heat and humidity, with the temperature inside around a constant 70 degrees.

I was so disappointed that when I researched the cavern later, I found out that it was NOT used by pirates in the 1,700s and is NOT rumored to still hold buried treasure somewhere, as they all usually do. Or maybe it is still a secret. Shhhh. The bay did hold a valuable strategic importance during various wars and was mined by the US Navy to control the bay during the Vietnam War. The cavern is now home to a couple of snack stands, souvenir vendors, and a café.

On the 200-step walk down from the cavern, we witnessed a delivery to one of the small shops via a porter climbing the stairs with a heavily loaded backpack and wearing what looked like a puffy ski jacket. What, in this heat? When he started to pass us by, we noticed that he was wearing an air-conditioned coat with a fan puffing up the jacket. How cool, literally!

I wished that I had one as we emerged into the hot sunlight headed towards our boat. Thankfully, we noticed the pink life preservers that led us to the correct boat, having forgotten the number of the boat we were on. Such is vacation mode.

Before lunch, some fishermen pulled along the side of our boat, and our tour guide Bee said that the boat’s crew would cook whatever you bought and add it to your lunch. Some members of the group bought fresh crabs and shrimp for their meal.