Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay: Magic on Earth

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also often listed as one of the top natural wonders of the world. I simply call it ‘magic on earth’! This magic is formed by the blue waters of the bay coupled with the densely forested limestone islands that rise mysteriously out of the ocean floor at about 1,600 places.

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Immensely popular with backpackers around the world, Ha Long (descending dragon) bay in Northern Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province is seriously special as it provides you with the experience of some of the most scenic ocean karst topography in the world. Most visitors soak in these lovely views while living in a local cruise ship on the Halong bay waters for a few days to a few weeks.



They fish, they swim, they relax on its pristine beaches and they make merry. They climb to panoramic viewpoints, they watch different flora and fauna, they go on cave adventures, explore hidden lakes, experience floating villages and a lot of partying during the night.



The adventure enthusiasts have a much different kind of fun. From rock climbing to cliff jumping and from kayaking to caving, Halong bay spoils the ocean adventurer. The many different crags on these limestone mountains excite the rock climbers, who sweat it out while climbing these steep rocks and then finally cool it off by diving into the ocean waters for a relaxing dip. As most of the limestone karsts are closely packed together with shallow waters between them, the cruise ships cannot come close to them. Rather, it is the kayakers who can explore its many hollow caves, shallow waters and the many desolate, white sandy beaches that are teeming with hermit crabs and other exotic marine species.



The land adventure lovers are not to be left far behind as there are the many rich and biodiverse islets that are home to many endemic floral and faunal species that have made this place their home amongst the tropical evergreen oceanic environment. You can simply climb up the small ones for deeper exploration and panoramic views or trek through the dense foliage of the much larger ones to be simply amazed at the variety that this place has to offer. And sometimes you can climb into the hollow confines of some of these islands that are home to enormous cave systems and gape at the wonders of the numerous stalactites and stalagmites.



Whatever be your thrill, this natural wonder called Halong Bay is bound to delight you with its magical elements. I am pretty sure that most of you will have it right up there in your Vietnam travel bucket list, but even so, do ensure that you keep some time at hand to experience the magic of Halong bay!

Best Season to Visit



The summer months are usually the best time of the year to explore Halong Bay as that is the time when the days are bright and sunny and the views are clear. Usually winters are wet, cloudy and gloomy with poor visibility. But, having said that, ocean weather is unpredictable and can change any time. Halong bay is open all year around except for when there are heavy rains and/or storms.

How to get there



The nearest airport is Hanoi and it is the nearest large city for all emergency and luxury hotel needs. The nearest road access is Halong city. Usually, visitors opt for tours from Hanoi, but I would also recommend staying at Cat Ba Island and exploring Halong Bay from there, either as day trips or on cruise ships.

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Travel Photo: Sunset over Halong Bay

Halong Bay is one location that ensures your jaw drops when you see it in photographs. But, it is only when you travel there that you realize how difficult it is to get the right weather as the weather here is so unpredictable. One day, it will be nice, clear, bright and sunny and the other day it will be all misty and grey.


Thankfully, for me, it was one of those days when the evening cleared up leading to a great sunset over the bay. I got to see this stunning view from on top of Cannon Fort on Cat Ba Island. I really like the moored boats in the bay as they add variety to the mighty mountains in the background. Cannon Fort is one of those places where you can get mind blowing views of the Halong bay from at least 3 different directions.

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KS Ngoc Khanh Hotel: A Super Budget Option on Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

Like any other island, Cat Ba island too has most of its hotels facing the water front. If they are not facing the water, they are on the beach and such ones are the luxury resorts, which are located on private beaches. The backpacker and budget type hotels are located on a road that runs perpendicular to the waterfront road and is right opposite the main boat jetty of Cat Ba Island. I found a great budget hotel on this strip and ended up staying for 4 nights. The below review is based on my recent stay here.

1) For its price, this place is a steal. For USD 4, you get a very large room with 2 double beds and a big window, a fan and an attached bathroom with hot shower facility. There is an option for AC in the room, for that you will have to pay another 4 USD.

2) Proximity is never a problem for anywhere on Cat Ba as it is an extremely small place. All the restaurants, grocery stores and travel agencies are either on this road, the road parallel to it or on the waterfront road.

3) The hotel is run by a family who hardly speak any English, but they try and answer your questions by using Google Translate on their computer. They do not provide any booking services, but sell water and beer.

4) They provide a large pool table at the rate of 40,000 VND for one hour.

5) If you take the corner rooms, not only are the rooms much larger, but you get a hill view too.

6) The main problem with this place is that the wi-fi has pretty weak reception in the rooms and even the speed is less. The speed is less primarily due to the fact that the son of the hotel owner is busy streaming videos on the computer downstairs. If you tell him to go easy on the streaming, the speed will get better.

7) It is a belief in Vietnam that if you are a man, then you have to smoke. Hence, you will always find a cloud of smoke near the reception and at the pool table. Thankfully, this doesn’t affect the stay in the rooms.

For its price and room size, the rooms here are a steal. They are perfect for budget travelers. The only problem being slightly slow internet connectivity.<>/span

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Lost my Temper at Lan Ha Bay (Halong Bay), Vietnam

I am closing in on  four months on my south east asia backpacking trip and today was the first day I lost my temper. Generally, I am very patient, but my patience ran out of all control at Lan Ha bay, which is next to the world famous Halong Bay. And the reason was simple and pure cheating.

We took a boat cruise to the Lan Ha bay and after kayaking, we decided to have lunch at the floating restaurant who rented us the Kayaks. When we asked for the price of a meal, we were told that it is 30,000 VND. We agreed on the price and had our lunch. When we were paying 30,000 VND, the restaurant guy says that we need to pay 50,000 VND for our lunch and that is the price he had conveyed to us earlier. 30,000 or 50,000 VND doesn’t make a big difference for me, but what makes the huge difference is quoting a price for a meal and when the meal is over, then increasing it.  I know that they get food from the island and supplies are expensive, but whatever is the reason, he cannot change a price he quoted 15 minutes back. He can quote 10 times more for all I care, but not go back on his word. I paid only because I didn’t want a poor family to suffer even more, but since I absolutely didn’t like the fact that I got cheated, I just could not control it and had to vent it out.

A similar experience happened with our boat guy who wanted to make more money and said he had paid some entrance fees to some island we visited. All this was a scam as there was no entry for that island and he had no receipt to support it. We didn’t pay here, but again was unhappy at the scams happening in one of Vietnam’s biggest tourism money generators.

And to top this all, I found Halong bay to be one of the dirtiest places in Vietnam and also the most beautiful. It is beautiful when you see the karsts from a distance, but when you are on the water, all you see is rubbish, cigarette buds and oil floating on the water. Sometimes, I think how long will Mother nature tolerate all this abuse.

I think why are the people resorting to cheating when they are so poor and badly need the money. I fail to find an answer. But, I will have to say that the people of Vietnam (generalizing from the tourist district) are possibly the biggest cheats I have come across in Vietnam. They just do not want to do anything legally or ethically. I have so many instances to support this fact. Most of the times, I have stayed clear of them scams, but others have got caught in their net. I don’t know how other tourists tolerate this. May be, they are more patient than me or they simply don’t care. But, I am now contemplating on not visiting Vietnam and especially Halong bay again in spite of both Vietnam and Halong Bay being very beautiful and diverse for a travel photographer like me.

It is very rare for me to lose my temper when I am out traveling, since I absolutely adore traveling and visiting different places. But, when I did lose my temper, it meant, I couldn’t tolerate the nonsense any more.

To all you travelers to Vietnam, BEWARE and STAY AWARE of your tourist connections in Vietnam. The people of Vietnam need to realize that we, the tourists, support their economy in a big way. Even if they cannot respect us, they should not abuse us.

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