Cruising Along Halong

[Day1-2] One thing we didn’t know about Hanoi when we went there was that it was winter time. Apparently, northern Vietnam has four seasons (as supposed to the south where they have the sunny-rainy seasons like in the Philippines). And apparently, we didn't bring anything that spell winter clothes. Good job.:))

Got to Noi Bai International Airport at 1am their time (they’re one hour behind), with five hours to kill before would get picked up to get to the travel agency’s office where we would get picked up for our pre-booked Halong Bay cruise.

Touchdown, Hanoi.

First international selfieee!

From the airport, we drove for 45 minutes to the travel agency's office at the Hanoi city center. We were starved by the time we got there. It was foggy, and drizzling and darn freezing. And the smell of hot noodle soup cooking along the sidewalk was enough to get our stomachs rumbling in the morning cold.

Busy morning. Sidewalks lined with noodle stands, people stopping by for breakfast before heading to school/work.

The real stuff.

Pho ga (pho means "soup" and ga means "chicken"), were the first Vietnamese words I learned.:) I wish my palate could say the same at that time but we didn’t have Viet money that early in the trip. Dee, the guy from the travel agency, was nice enough to exchange our dollars with some Dong from his own wallet. For 50 dollars, we knew what it felt like to be millionaires- literally. Haha.

Filling our bellies with authentic Vietnamese chow.

Thanks, Dee, for saving our starving asses!

Drive to Halong takes about three and a half to four and a half hours, including a stop at this art center that employs Persons With Disabilities (PWD’s). The place is pretty neat but I wouldn’t recommend buying souvenirs there if you’re on a budget.

Hello, Halong!

It was my first time go on a cruise and I would have to say it was pretty cool. The package cost us $140 per person (almost P6,000), inclusive of the tour, food and transfers in Hanoi. There’s a wide range of cruise packages you can choose from online, from the basic (bordering on unsafe-looking) small vessels to the large luxury cruise ships. We got the mid-range one. It looks safe, the place was clean and the food was awe-some (no food photos though, cause we share tables with other guests hehe).

Clockwise, L-R: taking photos at the view deck; at the dining area; with Mau in our room;
 other guests enjoying the MIA sun at the deck.

You can also choose the duration of the cruise. Of course the longer you stay, the further down Halong you go and the more spots you’d get to visit. Ours was an overnight stay. Short and sweet. Enough to visit the Hang Sung Sot (which translates to Amazing Cave), go kayaking around Luon Cave and stop by Soi Sim beach. We also had the option to attend Tai Chi session on the view deck during sunrise, but waking up early was never our talent. Hehe.

With other guests. We were the only Asian tourists in our group.

Hang Sung Sot was discovered by the French in 1901 and developed in the 90's.
It's been flocked by tourists year after since.

Our tour guide says the entire cave area is around 500sqm. 

View from top. Reminded me of the view of rock formations in Kayangan Lake, Coron, Palawan.

Clockswise, L-R: foggy view of Halong from the Soi Sim view deck; afternoon kayaking;
 Mau and Bri doing fake selflies and

Here are more photos from the cruise.

Day trip cruise ship.

Our tour guide, Kwang, says the cruise ships used to be natural wooden brown color. They were mandated to paint all vessels white due to accidents when ships mistake others for rock formations at night.

Some cruise stop over at the Halong fishing village.

Store with oars. 

On our way back to our ship. 

Until it was time to head back to the port and drive back to Old Quarter, where we were staying another night.

Together with the tourists we've met on the trip- merce. Shokran. Cam on. Salamat, Halong!:)

Of course, we were just getting started. Next stop: Hanoi. :)


*thanks Brian Feliciano for some of the photos I used in this post.:)