Phoenix Cruise at Halong Bay

A little over two years back I went on a Halong Bay cruise, two years later the memory that stood out the most is not the view, it's the food.

For a little over a hundred dollars to experience all that I did, it felt a more than a bargain. It was worth more than what I had assumed. We paid $155.00 for a 2D-1N stay on a small cruise ship around Halong Bay; this included hotel pick-up, accommodation, a tour, kayaking across one island to another, and food─THE FOOD─urgh, so so good. T-T It was one of the few occasions that I totally enjoyed eating more vegetables than meat.

Our welcome drinks, some four season juice drink.

Our shuttle service was comfortable enough for the three plus hours land trip
from Hanoi City to Ha Long City where the boat was docked.

This is where we spent about a 20-minute stopover. A small department-store-like
building where they had clean toilets, as well as souvenirs and refreshments.

It was a scenic 3.5-hour ride across the countryside of Vietnam. It looked very familiar with beautiful rice paddies stretching as far as the eyes could see. There were the occasional houses of small villages that we got to zoom pass through, and then as we got closer to Ha Long large limestone rocks started appearing, jutting out in between the rice fields. It felt like being in some farm village in one of the J-RPGs I once played. It was stunningly surreal, especially with the looming calm waters out the distance─argh! Take me back! And no, I wasn't able to take of photo of what I'm talking about because I was too much in awe at the scenario that taking pictures escaped my thoughts.

The deck of the boat where we could just freely lounge around.

Our first meal on the cruise. My fave of the lot is the papaya salad, and I'm
saying it without reservations.

The room I stayed in with a friend. It was one of the best sleep I got─EVER!
Imagine a nice firm mattress to lay on, and as you lay flat on your back you are
slowly being cradled by the waves that is rocking your boat then there's the slight
hum of the aircon in the background. Just perfect. 

And you won't have a problem with using the toilet either.

Yes, that's a rain shower, and I enjoyed my bath there.

From the dock, we got on a small boat that took us to the bigger one. Surprisingly enough, there were just ten of us guests that occupied the boat. I loved it because it meant we got to have a lot of breathing space all to ourselves. It was five of us, a family of Swiss, and a young French couple. Since we left Hanoi pretty early, we arrived in the Ha Long right before lunch. After the feast, we got to settle down in our rooms for a few minutes before we were dropped off on wooden planks and made to kayak all the way to the beach of one of the islands.

It was my first time to kayak, and it would have been fairly easy if it wasn't a two-man one, add to that my slight fear of being unaware of how deep and what swam beneath murky the water I was treading on was. We were going against the current, my friend was going hysterical at the situation, the rest of pack were nowhere to be seen...yep, it was a less than pleasant experience, but I'd definitely do it again, on clear waters and with a different partner.  

This is the beach where we kayaked to...the water felt dirty with traces of trash
floating near the shoreline, so swimming there didn't felt tempting at that time.

Instead we went through 200 steps up the island to see this view. It was beautiful.
Basically this is Halong Bay, bigger than the frame, but mostly jagged limestone rocks.

This was our dinner, lots of healthy stuff, and shrimps steamed on heated rocks.
What they did was heat the stones on fire, place it on a pan, add water and toss
in the shrimps for a few seconds and served it hot. But I'm not sure if that's what
happened because there was so much steam in the room that I didn't see much of it.
The shrimps where perfectly cooked though.

We caught four squids in total, one I threw back in the water.

Day one ended with our guide asking us to have a hand at squid fishing. Right after dinner we headed out the back of the boat and saw the Swiss family tugging up and down a long string on the water. The guide explained how to catch them tentacled things, it's to put a small fish as bait on a squid-shaped hook then briskly move the string up and down where they were pointing a large spot light on the water. He said they were attracted to the light plus the fish...but as all things goes, it took a while before I got my first bite. It squirted ink all over the place and the Swiss were amused by that move. The old mother said they don't have squids where they live in Switzerland, so I pulled off the head of the squirming thing and showed them the basic anatomy of the squid. I pulled out its beak and invisible plastic-like spine for them to see. They smiled as I burst the ink sack on my palm, causing an explosion of black goo that stained my skin. At least they were entertained. Just as amusing, they said we were the first Filipino tourists they encountered on their trip, and by that she meant all over the world. Awesome!

The night ended with the guide joking about cooking for breakfast the squid we caught that night. True enough, we had pho and calamari for breakfast. I checked the net, and the squid were still there where we left them the night before, drying up in the morning sun. 

Fighting cock rock...can't see resemblance, but pretty.

All their boats had the Vietnam flag on them...something
I don't see being practiced in the Philippines. I could see
the pride they have of their flag is something to look up to.

We passed by a small floating village where they farm fish on those dock-like planks.

This is the typical small boats that service tourists to and fro their boats.

Their watermelons were really crispy that I could hear my teeth sinking in at
every bite, but taste-wise, it wasn't as juicy and sweet as ours. The Vietnamese
coffee on the back was so bitter that I didn't manage to finish the whole cup.

We had a mini cooking lesson for day 2, it was how to create spring rolls.
Their spring wraps needs to be moisten on damp towels before it could be
lined with the vegetable, vermicelli and mushroom filling. After the quick
lesson, the spring rolls were deep fried and ended up as crispy little morsels. YUM.

Other food we snacked on. As much as I think we ate like pigs, everything they
served was healthy that it felt right over eating then. What can I say, the Vietnamese
know how to cook their vegetables to tasty crunchy perfection.

I was the first to wake up the next day, even before the sun rose that morning I was out and alone on the deck, waiting for the money shot. I didn't get it then, but I found it in another area of the boat. Getting that me-time while breathing in the reality of it all made me feel at peace with nature. I saw several small fishing boats paddling across the tranquil waters, and it soothed my soul to be somewhere totally far from home. My wanderlust found satisfaction at that present. I had taken time to find a sense of place in that moment of aloneness, and it felt right being where I should be that day, on a boat floating somewhere in Halong Bay, Vietnam.  

The beauty of the bay lies in the layers of islands that one would typically see in paintings or on photos where the horizon appears in gradients, the furthest shaped in misty hues, and the closest in full detail of tree-lined landscapes...yep, it's romantic and photogenic...but the charm lies in the experience, the memory of the cruise that truly makes it worthy of the reputation.  

The cruise ships are anchored in clusters for the night. This photo was taken
a few minutes before the sun broke out on the opposite side of the horizon.

We were anchored at a not-so-perfect spot for the sunrise, but it was still a
breathtaking view despite being ruined by the two huge rocks in obstruction.

This was the money shot I was talking about, the shot that perfectly summed up
my experience, a statement that said, yes...I'm in Halong Bay and I'm loving it.