Hanoi - Part Two (Kid-Friendly Cruising on Halong Bay)

Our Sister Ship, The Paradise Luxury 2

Before relocating to Singapore, I had never heard of Halong Bay, though it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. (Honestly, I had never heard of UNESCO World Heritage Sites either.)  Since arriving in Singapore, I have seen a ton of photos and have heard friends and co-workers talk about the beauty of the bay on numerous occasions.  I had to see it for myself!

Literally translated to "Bay of the Descending Dragon", Halong Bay has historical roots dating back more than 16,000 years to the ancient Soi Nhu culture who lived on the fish and shellfish living in the bay. Local legend says that the bay was created by Gods to protect early Vietnamese cultures from attack and that a family of dragons lived in the bay to provide protection.  Supposedly, these dragons still live in the bay...but uhh, I didn't see any.

At the close of my first Hanoi post, I noted we were all climbing on board a van for the four-hour journey from Hanoi to Halong Bay.  The truth was, at the time we were climbing into the van, I was expecting a max 2-3 hour drive!  It is, after all, only a 150 KM (~90 mile) drive and I could have sworn I heard someone mention it only took that long during dinner the night before.  To my dismay, the drive was every second of four hours.  For those who have ever driven with me, you can imagine just how pleasant I was after four hours of slow, methodical driving.  Did I mention I was sitting in the front seat, but wasn't driving! (Jennifer's note:  Oh my gosh, I could feel the annoyance emanating from Jason...luckily I had my good buddy Rachel to chat with so I could easily ignore him!)

"Traffic" & School Children Along the Way

Still, the drive was very interesting.  Like many of our trips through Southeast Asia, we got a brief glimpse into day-to-day life in Vietnam, albeit through the dusty windows of the van. During the drive we came across children on their way to school or headed home from it. (schools are on a half day schedule)  We saw a variety of roadside vendors selling everything from fresh bread and cold drinks, to the occasional shoe salesman with dozens of leather shoes neatly stacked on blankets long the road.

Shoe "Store"

We passed hundreds of rice fields, all tended to by dozens of workers, most wearing the distinctive conical straw hat you'd expect to see in Vietnamese rice fields.  Similar to our experience in Cambodia, the fields were nearly all worked by hand with very little, if any, automation or machinery visible.



Rice Fields

Delivery Truck

Among the more bizarre sights along the way were the fully-loaded motorbikes, carrying such enormously oversized loads that it seemed they could tip over at any time.  We also sped by mopeds with two, three, sometimes even more passengers, often texting as they zig-zagged through traffic.  By far the oddest sight was the two mopeds that seemed to intentionally drive along side our van so we could all get a good look at the cage full of kittens they were delivering to...well, I don't know for sure where they were being delivered, but I have to assume it was more likely a kitchen than a pet store.  Cooper agreed, proudly proclaiming (to Sophia's horror) they were soon to become 'Kit-Kats'.

Look Closely - Basket and bag both full of "Kit-Kats"

Arrival at the Cruise Center

Upon arriving at the Halong Bay Cruise Center, the surroundings changed dramatically. About a dozen large, freshly painted, white cruise ships sat on the water, with another two dozen, smaller "day trip" boats motoring in and out of the small port.  Several cruise companies operated from the port, and each had their own reception areas complete with buffet lunches, drinks, comfy seating, and restrooms.  Clearly the Bay produces a tremendous amount of tourist revenue, as the buildings that housed the cruise centers as well as the condos all around the port were new and modern.

The rest of our crew

After about an hour of snacking and clearing my mind of the "kit-kats", we were invited to board our ship, Paradise Luxury 3.  As we walked along the dock to the boarding ramp, it quickly became clear that not all of the cruise ships were as "freshly painted" as I had assumed they were from a few hundred feet away.  Luckily, Jennifer's TripAdvisor research came through and we were on board one of the most beautiful and well maintained ships on the Bay.

The ship had four floors.  The bottom two each had about about 8 cabins, while the third and fourth levels contained the restaurant, bar, outdoor lounge, and a large sundeck.  Though it would have given my parents a heart attack, we put Cooper and his friend Marcus in their own room on the first floor, Sophia and her friend Isla in a room on the second floor, and Jennifer and I enjoyed a "terrace suite" on the second floor as well.  Though the rooms were not very large (even by cruise ship standards), they were comfortable, clean, and more than adequate for a two night cruise.

Paradise Luxury 3 Sun Deck

Paradise Luxury 3 Dining Room

Paradise Luxury 3 - Our Terrace Suite

As we pulled away from the dock, I went nuts taking pictures.  The bay covers more than 1500 square kilometers and contains several thousand limestone islands, but you'd have thought the only rocks available to photograph were those about one km from the port.  (I admit it, I went a little overboard at first with the photos.)   After about 20 minutes, we were surrounded by enormous limestone rocks, jutting up out of the water on all sides of the boat, each topped with lush greenery.  It truly was beautiful, and with every minute (and 20-30 photos) we sailed deeper into the bay and into even more beautiful scenery.  The water was exceptionally calm, so the ship sailed along easily, and steadily...which was good since Sophia doesn't like boats!

Hang Sung Sot / Cave of Surprises

After about an hour of sailing, and a nice lunch, we reached our first "excursion point", the Hang Sung Sot Cave.  We hopped onto the small pontoon boat that was tagging along with the ship, and motored over to a vegetation covered island.  From here, we climbed up about a hundred steps to the entrance to the Hang Sun Sot cave, or "Cave of Surprises". Honestly, it was a surprise, as the cave was massive and seemed to go on forever.  Guides pointed out animal-shaped rock formations and the effects of high water levels that used to fill the cave, but in general I was simply amazed at the sheer size of the place.

Our next stop was Ti Top Island, where we had the option of swimming, kayaking, or walking to the summit, which offered an amazing view of the bay.  Jennifer and the kids relaxed on the beach while I made the climb.  (Jennifer:  To get 2,004 more pictures.)  When I returned, the kids were running, swimming, and laughing with their friends, and I was glad Jennifer had a cold Bia Ha Noi (local beer) waiting for me.



View from the Summit of Ti Top Island

Upon returning to the Paradise Luxury 3, the kids explored the ship from top to bottom.  They quickly made friends with another family from Australia (living in Singapore) and soon the Paradise Luxury 3 became the largest floating "hide and go seek" platform you could imagine.  Luckily our group (including our new Aussie friends) comprised more than half of the available cabins on the ship, and our stern warnings to the kids about running, screaming and general annoying behavior was taken seriously and they all behaved.  (Jennifer:  Well except that bottle of red wine that one child knocked over and broke in the dining room...for the record it wasn't one of our kids!)

Collecting Can Tabs

In addition, Sophia had been collecting aluminium can tabs for weeks, preparing to donate them to a prosthetics factory in Thailand (more on that in March when she goes on the school field trip)...but this activity kept the girls busy during the evening on PL3, posting signs on cabin doors and coordinating with the bar to save and collect as many tabs as possible during our cruise.

Floating Store

For the adults, we were all glad to relax outside on deck or in the dining room with a cold drink...besides, we wanted to do our part to provide Sophia with can tabs.  Sodas, beer, wine, etc. were all available from the PL3 bar, but I also enjoyed purchasing a couple cans from the local women who would paddle by with small wooden boats selling food, drinks and souvenirs.  There was something fun about ordering from the items displayed on the deck of their tiny boats, and having your items passed to you at the end of a 20 foot fishing net pole.

Free Delivery

Fishing family

Day two, another excursion...this time, we were off for the entire day.  We left the Paradise Luxury 3 (PL3) and met up with passengers from the PL1, PL2 and PL Peak for a full-day excursion on a smaller boat (called the "day boat").  Our first destination was Cat Ba, the largest island in the bay.  The day boat had a dining room on the first floor, bathrooms, and a large sun deck with shaded areas and comfy seating and was more maneuverable to allow us to cruise into parts of the bay the PL3 wouldn't have gone.

Cooper loved the moped ride

Upon reaching Cat Ba island, we were told we could travel by bicycle or motorbike about 5 km inland to a small village. Cooper, and just about every other kid, was all about the motorbike option... Sophia, not so much.  After learning that the ride was hilly and relatively treacherous, we for some unknown reason decided that balancing ourselves on the back of a moped driven by a Vietnamese villager was the safer option.  Oh, did I mention I didn't have a helmet?  It was quite a ride to say the least, but we arrived at the small village in one piece and took a walking tour to see how people live on this remote island.

The highlight of the island visit was easily our encounter with a young Vietnamese boy (maybe 18 months old) who wobbled back and forth across a small bridge to give high fives and grab onto the kids in our group.  He was really cute and the kids had a good laugh as he ran back and forth, smiling and laughing each time he approached us.  After a cold drink (we saved the can tabs) and a few more high fives, we hopped on board our "chaffeured" mopeds and sped back to the awaiting boat.  Again, we all made it back in one piece, but I did leave with a pretty sweet burn from our moped's muffler.  I'm fairly sure it's going to be a permanent reminder of this adventure.

Making friends in the fishing village

Back on board the boat, we sat for the most enormous lunch I've ever seen.  Spring rolls, noodles, geoduck, curry chicken, beef wrapped in greens, prawns, asparagus, salads...it was never ending!  Our group of 12 was full, and our table was still overloaded with half-full serving dishes.  Once we reached our next stop, however, we were glad we hadn't overindulged.

Exploring caves with Coops

We stopped in a quiet little cove, surrounded by a number of islands.  From here we had the option of swimming, kayaking, jumping to the bay from the roof or relaxing and taking advantage of a foot massage.  While Jennifer opted for the latter, Cooper and I ventured out on a kayak to explore the bay and squeeze through a few of the nearby caves.  I'm glad we did, as we really got a different appreciation for the bay, the size of the rocks and how the area is ever-changing due to tides and erosion. The caves we explored were caused by continuous erosion from the water lightly lapping against the limestone.

When we got back on board the boat, it was time to jump from the top deck into the bay. Cooper and Sophia had both looked forward to this since we boarded PL3.  Once they started, it was difficult to get them to stop, and they (and the other kids) jumped over and over from the top of the boat.  Several of the adult passengers (myself included) did the same, but the kids clearly took top prize for the most creative and sheer number of jumps.

As the day wore on, we headed back to the PL3.  On board, we enjoyed another dinner, a fried spring roll cooking class and a "drinking class" during which the adults learned how to toast in Vietnamese while drinking local rice wine.  Soon, "Mot, Hai, Ba, Yo!" (cheers in Vietnamese) could be heard from several boats in the bay, as the guests on other boats nearby took part in a similar toast on their sun decks. 

Typical House Boat

After our second night on board, we enjoyed an early breakfast and sailed back toward the cruise center.  Another excursion was available early in the morning, but our group all decided to relax and take in the scenery from the comfort of the PL3 instead.  As we sailed to the dock and the cruise center, the wind was picking up and the temperature dropped.  The bay wasn't quite as calm, and we all realized we were lucky to get three days of pleasant weather...knowing the people about to board the PL3 were likely to get some rain, wind, and cloudy skies for their journey.

At the cruise center, we grabbed a few cold bottles of water and found our driver for the four-hour trek back to Hanoi.  This time, I knew full well what I was in for, so it wasn't quite as painful. Besides, we were now looking forward to two more days to explore Hanoi, do some shopping, and enjoy the energy of the busy city.  More to come soon on our last days in Hanoi...