After leaving our hotel in Hà Nội, we hopped onto our bus that took us to Hạ Long Bay. This 3 hour drive was a perfect way for us to see more of the Vietnamese countryside, though squashed in with other travellers, I thoroughly enjoyed the drive. Upon arrival we headed to our cruise junk (boat) which would take us into the bay for 3 days and be our home. Soon after getting into our room we were off into the heart of the bay. This first day was full of simply extraordinary views and stunning scenery. Hạ Long Bay, meaning ‘Descending Dragon’, boasts between 1960 and 2000 limestone islands and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. In 2012 it was also considered as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and any traveller who visits can see immediately why. Located in the Gulf of Tonkin, Hạ Long Bay, is the most visited site in all of Việt Nam.
During our first excursion to our evening stop we naturally spent most of our time on the top deck taking in all the sites to be had, only coming below deck for food and to meet our fellow cruise goers. Later that day we stopped in a popular spot with lots of other cruise junk boats around us and again took in the views. Not long before sunset we hopped onto a smaller boat and travelled to Ti Top Island, or Tivop, named after a Russian cosmonaut who, together with President Hồ Chí Minh, visited the island. A quick climb up the stairs to the top of the limestone island made for stunning sunset photos some of which are pictured here. After the dash up to the peak we went back down and back to our junk for the night. However, that was not the end of the day as karaoke was the main feature of the night. After a lot of persuasion, primarily from the wife, I joined a few other lads in what can only be described as possibly the worst rendition of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ ever to be heard by humans and macaques alike!
The next morning I awoke early to see the sunrise over this idyllic setting and we made off for the days adventures, canoeing around one of the smaller islands. The water was crystal clear and on the island you could clearly hear wild macaques having the run about the place, sensibly though I left my camera aboard out junk so as not to drop it in the bay by mistake! After we had our fill of canoeing and exploring, we headed back to the junk once again. As we were on a 3 day cruise and some others were on a 2 day we had to change our cruise companions. Whilst the current cruisers were ferried off to see a pearl farm we relaxed on the top deck and took in more of the sites. Returning to Ti Top we picked up our new companions and the wife immediately hit it off with a fellow Pokémon fanatic around our age! Her companion and I spent time sharing travel stories whilst they compared the best time to catch a Pikachu, so all in all we were very happy with our new friends.
Heading off again from Ti Top we went to explore a small cave on one of the islands which proved to have amazing views from one of its outlets and many pictures were had. We then settled in for our evening, once again of karaoke, which again sadly I was coaxed into partaking! Across the bay you could hear all the other junk cruises all enjoying their own karaoke, I personally would have loved a cheeky pub quiz, but in this paradise, I could live with out of tune Spice Girls. In the morning we were treated with two doves carved magnificently out of turnips! After taking numerous photos I horrified the chef as I swiftly devoured the head of my turnip dove much to everyone else’s amusement. Soon after the untimely decapitation we had arrived at our destination, Sung Sot (surprising) cave. With a name like, surprising cave, I was slightly disappointed to find it was in fact, a cave! However, my disappointment was not to last as the cave itself was massive beyond belief and the centre piece in the cave, apparently called the ‘Devil’s Finger’, gave me a good laugh as it was pointed out that it did in fact rather resemble a phallus, mature I know. After a good look around the whole cave complex we headed up to the pearl farm that our previous cruisers enjoyed the previous day. Having no prior knowledge as to how pearls are farmed I was equally amazed and disturbed by the process and was happy to leave when we had finished.
On the final evening another dash up Ti Top to see the sunset was available but we both chose to stay on the beach and wade into the bay for a short swim. The night passed and our Honeymoon was almost at its end, but not before yoga was available on the top deck during the travel back to the main land; the wife attempted, I naturally had a beer. On our re-arrival to the mainland we set off back toward Hà Nội and it was here we made our fatal mistake! Some of the passengers on the bus were heading to an airport hotel, much like ourselves, and hopped off the bus early at a roadside stop with taxi’s. As we were geographically closer to the airport we decided to follow suit thinking the taxi ride would be cheaper than from the city. As we pulled up to the hotel we realised the taxi meter was exceptionally high and sadly our remaining Dong would not cover the fee! It turned out that because the taxi had crossed a county line the fee jumped which is apparently a typical practice in Việt Nam, though we were not aware! After a long and heated exchange, lasting over an hour, in which we were threatened with having our passports taken, the wife taken and police called, we were able to loan the money from a different hotel in exchange for our luggage that we would receive after paying the vendor back. A few hurried calls back to the UK and we were able to retrieve our luggage without further issue. In our entire time in Việt Nam, other than the original hotel in Hà Nội which was swiftly solved, we had no problem with any locals, taxis or vendors to this point. At no other point during my travels abroad have I been so tense and quite honestly scared. We both accepted that this was a sign it was indeed time to leave our honeymoon paradise! The next day we boarded our flights and returned, unscathed, back to home.
A honeymoon is a special time as I said in part 1 of this adventure but it cannot be understated how much of an amazing place Việt Nam is on its own. We had ventured further than ever before in our lives, experienced an entirely new culture, bought suits, made friends, seen many temples and sites we would never forget. I cannot promote this majestic and serenely beautiful place enough to any would be traveller, and I for one can’t wait to one day return to the idyllic paradise that is, Việt Nam.
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