Travelling with a camera from Hanoi, next stop was Halong Bay which has 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars topped by rainforests. The advice was unless you are a local, do not use the buses which depart from the centre every 15 minutes!  I found AB Travel from a google search, click here to see the options.  I chose the limousine car for ease as it picks and drops you at your hotels both ends.  Lilia was great from AB and met me at the hotel on the day to collect payment and explain everything. At £14, it was a bargain, so comfortable for the 3.5 hour / 180 km trip. We stopped at what I can only describe as a Vietnamese version of a motorway services.  The toilets were clean, however, be warned ladies & gents, many in Vietnam are stand up ones.  No tips here from me, one to work out your own style…

Reading up on Halong along with lots of other research I had to do for this trip, it really wasn’t clear on where the best place to stay was.  I emailed our Hanoi hotel for some advice, and even they, quote, said ‘don’t stay long in Halong, you get bored’!  I plummeted for the City Bay Palace on the east side of Halong City – a bargain at £79 for 3 nights B&B for 2 people and good English spoken at the front desk.  There are a very limited number of options for eating in the area if you don’t want street food.  You can eat in the hotel or head to the Vinmart shopping centre a few minutes walk away.  This area is not a tourist area, however, I loved being where the locals are and they were very welcoming, however, not much English is spoken.  A tip from me which I have already mentioned on my ‘tips’ page is to take a screen shot on your phone of where you would like to travel when using a taxi or you will not be understood.

There is a large local market area a few minutes away, including a fish market which was interesting to see.  The smell as you get down to the water where they land the fish and clean them was a little bit to be desired for a non local, but, it is as it is.  Wander to the waterfront and here you can see the local boat people.  I felt completely safe and some of the locals like to speak to you to help improve their English.

There is huge development in Halong, and I fear the way of life will change drastically.  I hope not to the detriment of the locals.  Over in the Bai Chay area across the bridge (£3 taxi ride), again, there is huge construction underway, but it mainly stays empty.  Even here on the alledged tourist side, there are very few western restaurants.  However, I can recommend the backpackers pub opposite the Sun World Park.  Great place for a drink, to catch up with a few of the backpackers and they sell more than just beer!  Most place here only sell beer, not being a lager drinker, I was delighted to see a bottle of bacardi!  The food was was great,  Vietnamese and western choices if that is what you prefer which you may do after a week of noodles and rice!  A chicken & mushroom dish with rice was £2.50 to give you an idea of price.

A trip on the Queen Cable Car & Sun Wheel at Sun World is a must.  The cable car holds 2 world records, the highest capacity cabin (230) and tallest tower at 188.88m.

When researching reviews of bay trips, they were not great and very mixed.  The overnight ones are at least £200 & upwards and when you read more, you travel from Hanoi, board the boat at midday then off by midday the next day to return to Hanoi.  I didn’t want to visit the area and not take a trip out so asked the hotel what they offered.  You could take a 4 or 6 hour trip, picked up and returned to Bai Chay.  I chose the 6 hour, £25, which included lunch, tour of Thien Cung Cave (Heavenly Palace Cave), stop at Ti Top island where you can swim or climb the 400 steps for an amazing view, a stop by a floating market at Ba Hang and cruising the bay seeing many of the rock formations.  The company was Ha Binh Cruises, and the young travel guide, Duong, was amazing.  Duong spoke great English and explained everything brilliantly and gave a great talk on the cave tour.  The lunch was very good and cooked on the boat, you share with your table of 6.  There was rice, fresh fish, clams, veg and several other dishes.

Being a UNESCO world heritage site, I do feel that the bay needs to be cleaned up a little.  However, a stunning sight to see.  The Hanoi hotel were right, ‘don’t stay long, you get bored’.

Next stop Danang.