Vietnam Day 3- Halong Bay Cruise

I'm easy like Sunday morning…[i]

After a long time, I could say I was free to do as I pleased on a Sunday morning. No little kid poking me in the eye to get up earlier than I wanted to ( I did miss the little munchkin and my heartbeat) but I could also just lie there staring at the ceiling enjoying my Sunday bliss…

I woke up just to smell the fresh air and freedom out in the balcony with my steaming cup of Vietnamese coffee! True, what they say, freedom is also a state of mind…. We can be bound by so many things; self-imposed and otherwise. I believe it is very important to prioritize. I have drifted from one task to another for so long to drown out my inner voice and calling. I literally screwed myself shut inside a bottle and sat on the lid just in case. But moments like this, make one realise, that true freedom is within us.

I am well aware that many countries are at war or under totalitarian regimes, or where citizens are heavily monitored and also the fact that 'freedom' is not always a given; however, I am deliberately excluding those exigencies here. I am not familiar with the constraints enough to fathom their plight or write about them at this juncture. But I would still say the greatest of freedom fighters and revolutionaries remained free even inside prisons and solitary confinement. They were bound physically and tortured and humiliated on a daily basis, but they became stronger each day for they didn’t let their minds be enslaved. They remained resilient and free inside. Our visit later in the week to the Hoa Lo Prison (Maison Centrale[ii]) in Hanoi reinforced this thought. I believe that deep inside, we already know what we can do to liberate ourselves from the mental blockades we cage ourselves in. But, most of us either ignore or drown out or literally water board our true spirit and inner voice.

Today, there was no drowning, only limitless fun on the sea with a beautiful weather…the sun shining down on us even in January! No fog clouding our minds, no rain dampening our spirits…we were ready to soak some sun and have lots of fun on our Halong Bay cruise! We took our time in the morning as our cruise started at noon from Tuần Châu Harbour[iii]. We lazed around, had a hearty breakfast and then took a Grab[iv] to the harbour where we met our tour guide, Duc. There were lots and lots of tiny cruiser boats around with many tour groups, mostly foreigners, but it was not over-crowded. There was free Wi-fi again, plus a few restaurants and bars, a super market, and lot of souvenir shops at the Marina. Our double decker ferry had around 40 to 50 people. Most of the tourists were on a day cruise like us but there were plenty of luxury overnight cruises available. Our cruise was around Rs. 2500(34 $) /person including on board lunch and evening tea and snacks.

Our Ride

We started off with spectacular limestone Karsts scattered across the horizon. The dazzling emerald green water surrounding us, we immediately spotted the Fighting Cock islet[v] ahead of us. Our first stop was Titop Island where we docked and climbed 427 steps to the top to enjoy a panoramic view of the bay and its surroundings. It was a 10-15-minute hike followed by a cursory glance at the white sandy beaches as it was a little too sunny for us Indians to enjoy it. It was beautiful though. We were given the choice to either hike the mountain or relax on the beach; we chose the former. Please remember to carry water in glass bottles. The Island was named by Vietnam’s beloved leader Ho Chi Minh after the Russian cosmonaut G Titov, when he toured the Bay with “Uncle Ho”.

Titop Beach

View from Titop

Thereafter, we headed to Sung Sot cave, also called amazing cave and surprising cave (a Unesco heritage site). It was very similar to the Alhoota Cave, I visited in Muscat, Oman. Beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations bathed in natural sunlight in various places with underground ponds and spectacular rock formations which dazzle as if diamonds are scattered across it. While we made our way to the Alhoota Cave uber luxuriously in a train, there is quite a steep climb to reach the caves in Vietnam, so come prepared with some level of fitness. You will enjoy a breath-taking view on the climb so that’s a big motivation to carry on.

Hiking to the Caves

After the caves, we headed to the Halong Bay Pier where we were again given the option to either tandem kayak or go on bamboo boats to tour the lagoon. I chose the bamboo boat to relax and enjoy the view. My sisters decided to kayak. It was their first time; full of excitement and anticipation! Since both of them had entirely different world view and perspective, they paddled the kayak in their own direction, even when they decided on the same destination! They swung the paddle with such remarkable grit and conviction that they managed to target most of the bamboo boats in the area and occasionally even stationary objects. The highlight of the tour was their encounter with the bamboo boat I was in. I accidently documented the mega-collision. But it was all hunky-dory, my sisters marched ahead with the same grit they had approached us. I am still not sure whether our boat pushed them aside or they had paddled ahead! I was really worried about them but they were still waving and laughing, and more importantly, they both loved the water and swimming, so I decided to relax.

Inside the Lagoon

Our boat took us to a beautiful closed lagoon with monkeys dangling off the hill. Lot of selfies and clicks later, we came out of the beautiful setting. My darling sisters thoroughly enjoyed learning tandem paddling on a kayak. There numerous run-ins on the pier and surroundings didn’t leave them much time to enjoy the lagoon but they had a ball of a time, especially when I showed them their video! We laughed so hard and so long, the entire boat was staring at us! We shared our experiences and joy over a tiny cup of tea and Green (mung) bean cakes[vi] and enjoyed the sun set on the beautiful glimmering Halong Bay on our way back.

Later that evening, we checked out the remarkable Ceramic Mosaic Mural known as Vietnam Heritage and World Natural Heritage[vii] right next to our residential tower. It was a beautiful seamless blend of various heritage sites of Vietnam and the world.

The Ceramic Mural

Our dinner was seafood fried rice with a side of fried spring rolls. We decided to go heavy with all the trek and walk we had done. Once again, a beautiful day with us savouring every minute of it!