The Wandering Hart

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and in one short trip there you can easily see why. Tall limestone structures just out of the water throughout the bay creating an almost prehistoric and magical setting.

We went for a 1 night cruise in the bay on a junk boat, which is not junk but is a traditional boat with fully battened sails (although most boats in Halong Bay are motorized and the sails are not used functionally now). The boat, Dragon’s Pearl from Indochina Junk, was gorgeous with small but decent rooms and a nice deck viewing area for watching the limestone structures pass by as you sail into the bay.

The cruise started with a multi-course lunch served on the open deck as we sailed through Halong Bay out to Bai Tu Long Bay. Bai Tu Long Bay is a subsection of the Halong Bay environment on the edge of the UNESCO region. The area continues to have the limestone structures popular in Halong Bay proper but the area is much less crowded, which is why we opted to pick a cruise that would travel there.

After lunch we had some time to continue absorbing the scenery before a stop at Thien Canh Son Cave. The cave is short but has some beautiful open rooms with stalagtite and stalagmites. I have heard the caves toured in Halong Bay proper are longer – so if caves are your thing keep that in mind! From the cave tour we went to a nearby beach and grabbed some kayaks to get closer to the large limestone formations. It was insane to get so close and realize exactly how large they are!

Once we had kayaked enough, it was back to the boat. We enjoyed some incredible sunset views of the bay with cocktails followed by another many course (we lost count!) dinner, which was all delicious. After dinner the crew presented a kind of talent show, which we thought was cute but odd…typically I don’t expect the cruise’s chef to play a flute solo for me. When they were finished we had free time for the night.

On the second day we started with a two course breakfast – one Vietnamese and one western. Then we got a boat ride through of Vung Vieng, a floating fishing village.

After the village tour we had lunch and then sadly the cruise was over. It was an amazing trip to a beautiful place. Would highly recommend it and Indochina Junk as the cruiseline.