Ha Long Bay

Tuesday 16th to Thursday 18th June

Islands in Ha Long Bay

Ha long Bay consists of between 1600 and 2000 islands (the number varies with who you ask) which vary in size from tiny pinnacles to large islands with a permanent population.

First night sunset

There are also supposed to be some floating villages but our tour guide said these people had been relocated to the mainland.

Fishing boat

We booked a two night, three day tour, the first and last days included three hours of travelling to and from Hanoi.

Ha Long Bay

Ha Long City harbour

Once in Ha Long Bay we got onto a cruise ship and we sailed out to the islands to spend our first night on board ship.

Island where Ðong Thiên cave is

Fishing boat

En route, we stopped off at a show cave, Ðong Thiên Cung, poorly lit with coloured lights.

Ðong Thiên Cung

On arrival at our first stop off point there was time for a bit of relaxation and kayaking before dinner.

First night sunset

Fishing boat

The next day we had an early breakfast while travelling to a Pearl farm which we visited before transferring (those of us who were staying a second night) to a smaller boat for the ride to the Nam Cat resort.

View from our room at Nam Cat

View from our room at Nam Cat at night

View from our room at Nam Cat in the morning, no water!

When we got on to this boat, things looked bad, there was a bloke with a woolly hat (in this heat!What an idiot) strumming (badly) a small toy guitar. I thought there might have to be an accident involving a boot and the guitar but fortunately he didn't 'play' for long.

Approaching Nam Cat

The ride to the resort was through amazing scenery, you can see why it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with lots of small floating houses and fish farms?

Floating house and cafe

Girl in floating house

Once at Nam Cat we had lunch before taking to the water for more kayaking, there was plenty of time for this and we eventually managed to find our way to complete a circuit of our island. After the kayaking we had a swim out to the nearest island, bloody long way for me, no problem for Ruth.

Kayaking at Nam Cat

The next morning, the water had all gone! It was possible to walk out to the island and the locals were all over the place, collecting seafood.

Approaching Nam Cat

Sea cave through trip

Our early morning kayak was rather limited as the water was too shallow in many places, it looked like it would have been possible to walk around the island!

Leaving Nam Cat

After breakfast we set off back to the Pearl farm to transfer (again) back to a bigger boat before cruising back to the mainland at Ha Long city.

Island pillar, how does it stay up?

Talking to other tourists, there seem to be mixed reviews about Ha Long Bay, some say it is just full of rubbish. While there is some rubbish, it doesn't distract from the sheer beauty of the place although one couple who were on our tour went to Cat Ba Island instead of Nam Cat and they said that there was too much rubbish to swim in the sea. So perhaps Cat Ba is best avoided as a stop over point. I would recommend the two night option as you do get to see a lot more of the islands.

Leaving Ha Long Bay