Vietnam: Halong Bay
If you're in Hanoi, going to Halong Bay is a total must! Our day-trip package to Halong Bay was a 7-hour cruise through the bay and included: kayaking, swimming, a cooking class, a visit to a fishing village and food: morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea + dessert.
At 8 AM our driver picked us up from our hostel in a…limo?! The limo was complete with WiFi, giant soft leather cushion massage seats and some fancy shmancy jazz music that we could tell was playing from the drivers phone through the aux cause when his phone rang, we all knew it. We were really suffering during the 2-hour drive. We arrived at the port at 10:00 and filed onto the cruise ship! Our boat had a dining area and a top deck with lounge chairs for relaxing. We explored around the top deck, took photos and soaked up the sun!
Lunch was served at 11:30 and we shared a table with a couple named Mikael and Louise from Sweden. They were both so nice and fun to talk to! We all instantly became friends. We exchanged stories about our home countries, our favorite foods and of course crazy anecdotes from our travels. It was great to hear about Swedish culture, mostly because the only things I knew about Sweden were the little red fish and a One Direction song called Stockholm Syndrome. (Turns out they’ve never had Swedish Fish…and I didn’t ask about the One Direction song for embarrassment sake.)
Lunch was served family style, and waiters would bring out multiple different plates of food sporadically. From shrimp, noodles, clams, rice, egg omelets to spring rolls! I didn’t know when the food was going to end and all of it was so delicious! (Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the food because we were all so hungry and ate once the plates hit the table!) We enjoyed our food looking out at the giant islands and cliffs that surrounded us. You gotta love food with a view!
At 1:00 we arrived at a floating dock that had kayaks. John and I shared a kayak and took off rowing! The water was a beautiful jade green and if you looked below you could see down to the bottom. I felt so small when looking up at the massive cliffs! It was amazing.
John and I paddled through a cave and it was kind of scary inside because it was so dark! We took a ton of photos and relished the beauty of being at one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. After an hour of kayaking we headed back to the boat.
After drying off, we went inside the dining area for a cooking class. We were making spring rolls!! (I made veggie rolls and John made pork rolls.) The chef taught us how to properly roll the spring roll and how to make the dipping sauce. We cracked a raw egg on a plate and mixed in all the ingredients with our hands. We put the filling on a rice paper and rolled in up like a burrito.
John was really good at wrapping the rolls because of his many years as a Chipotle customer wrapping his burrito bowls into burritos. Some of mine were really stuffed, but surprisingly they didn’t fall apart! The chefs fried them for us and then we got to enjoy our creations! They were so tasty!!! John and I said that we would definitely be making these for dinner when we get back to the states.
At 4:00, we arrived at a fishing village. The villages were floating the middle of the bay and were connected to each other by long bamboo planks. John and I were surprised to see so many animals; there were chickens, dogs and PIGS. It was really interesting seeing their homes and learning about their livelihood. Sadly, we were told that the children that grow up in these fishing villages only have schooling through primary school. After that, they begin to work on the fish farms.
We arrived back at the port and said our goodbyes to our Swedish friends. Needless to say, we were exhausted after our jam-packed day. I was happy to see our limo pull up and I couldn't wait to pass out on the comfy massage chairs! John and I slept easy after all the activities and our day exploring new places.
John and I LOVED our day-trip and would highly recommend it to anyone planning to travel to Hanoi. There are so many different tour packages and many offer overnight accommodations. If you are only in Hanoi for a few days like us, then this day-trip is perfect! Our cruise was Estella Cruise and you can find our exact package + itinerary + pictures at: http://www.aclasscruises.com/carina/itinerary/estella-cruise-ha-long-bay-luxury-day-tour.htm
