ultimatevietnamcambodia2015: Tuesday 20th October

The trip from Hanoi to Halong Bay takes about 4 hours and this was punctuated with a "happy house" stop (bathroom) about half way. This particular stopping point housed a large showroom with outstanding works of art produced by onsite people with disabilities. In addition, there were some beautifully carved figures and sculptures, also carved onsite.

The smoke haze was still a problem in this area but thankfully sunny weather has been the norm for the trip so far. Tinh had some concern over a tropical cyclone that smashed the Philippines as they normally track to Vietnam, but in this case it defied logic and hit Taiwan and headed to China. Probably something to do with weather patterns during an El Niño.

In previous years I've boarded the Halong Bay junk near the hotel complexes in HB. However, this time we turned right entering the town and crossed a causeway to a relatively new port where we came face to face with the the Golden Cruise junk. That is probably an oxymoron as this is a floating palace of golden bling. The interior is ornately furnished with gold colored fittings and the bedrooms likewise. The latter are spacious and extremely comfortable and each room has its own private balcony to watch the other junks pass by. The landscape of the bay is karst topography punctuated with around 1950 islands or rocky outcrops. (When does a rocky outcrop become an island?)

We set off around 12.30 in 5 star comfort and lunched at 1.15pm on a banquet based on seafood. Steamed shrimp with white wine, roasted flower crab, steamed clam, seafood spring rolls, sautéed squid and steamed fish with mushroom made up some of the menu. We cruised until 2.45 and were then tendered ashore to visit a cave system. After that we returned to the boat and changed for a swim at a nearby beach. It is interesting to note that it was low tide and that the range is in the vicinity of 4 metres. Happy hour is from 5.30 to 6.30 and you can buy 2 drinks and get one free. Prices reflect the status of this vessel. Modest for a Sydney bar but expensive by Vietnam standards.

The evening banquet was also seafood based and very enjoyable. The top deck on this vessel is very spacious and it is a great place to sit and take in the ambience of this World Heritage listed area. More cruising awaits tomorrow but if you are contemplating booking a cruise on the Bay then treat yourself with this vessel.