Enjoy A Day On Halong Bay Cruise Biking Tour

Halong Bay cruise biking tours are conducted by various tour operators and these biking sessions provide the travelers time to bond with the nature and observe the beautiful sights there.



Biking on Halong Bay

Halong Bay, located in the Tonkin Gulf, includes around 1600 islets and islands forming spectacular seascapes of limestone pillars. Due to the precipitous nature of the islands, most of them are unaffected and uninhabited by human presence. The outstanding scenic natural beauty of the site is further complemented by places of great biological interests.

One of the ideal ways of exploring the place is through Halong Bay cruise biking as it brings the travelers face to face with many of the varied aspects of the bay. There are various tour operators who conduct biking trips along with the cruises, which includes cycling, boating and visits to fruit gardens, cottage industries, locals’ homes and floating markets. Biking offers the travelers a great opportunity to explore the place in an entirely different way.

Types of Halong Bay cruise biking tours:

If you are the kind who want to experience a diverse adventurous sensation along with fascinating trails of the bay, you can choose a cruise biking program offered by the various tour operators out there. The different terrains and varied topography of the place offer one of the greatest opportunities to practice biking here. The programs are offered in different difficulty levels so that everyone can take part in it, regardless of his or her previous experience or physical condition.

There are different types of biking tour programs which include those designed for observing mystic forest vegetation and the interesting bird life in these, those for highlighting beautiful landscapes of the place and those for observing impressive coral reefs, caves, grottos and hidden ponds. Some of the tours are also conducted for exploring the beautiful sandy beaches along the Halong Bay.

The biking sessions can be conducted during day or night for a duration of about 2-5 hours, depending upon the interests and physical condition of the guests. Cruise biking is an exciting and different kind of adventure, which provides an opportunity to enjoy unseen corners of the bay and to bond with the nature.

The travelers can choose to cruise their favorite destinations in a distinctive manner and get to enjoy the moments from off beaten tourist tracks with these guided biking excursions. The experienced guides provided by these tour operators will lead the tourists and show them some of the most interesting and sought after sights and places of the area.

These tour operators offer biking tours with varied difficulty levels so that whether you are a passionate biker or a novice, there is surely something waiting for you to explore.

Whether looking for relaxation or for adventure, you are welcomed at these biking excursions so that you can have a memorable holiday experience. You will be accompanied by qualified guides who will give you valuable tips and interesting information about different destination coming your way. These tours will provide you more time for sightseeing and relax on beaches or in cafes along the coast.

These biking tours also provide sufficient breaks so that you can click pictures, relax, enjoy the picturesque views and explore the points and sights of interest. Before going on a biking excursion, make sure that you have a well-maintained bike, a helmet, rucksack, fitness bar and a bike bottle.

Recommended tours for biking on Halong bay: Indochinasails and Active Travel Vietnam

An Exhilarating Day near Da Lat

(A French tourist told his wonderful trip in Da Lat and gave useful suggestion to others)

I climbed a mountain today. Probably the oldest, fattest American ever to climb it, and I can hardly believe I did, but I did. We have pictures to prove it.

We signed up for the "easy" trek with Groovy Gekko, an outdoor tour company right next to our hotel here in Da Lat. Mercy. We went straight up the side of a mountain. No steps, no walkway, just tree roots and dead pine needles to give you traction. Our ever cheerful and encouraging guide Thanh and my companion Joseph both supplied a helping hand or shoulder for balance at times, but I actually made it all the way up on my own legs.

Paradise Lake from mountain

On the way up, a local Vietnamese mountain climber passed us as if he did the climb every day (I suspect he just about does). Later he came back down holding a bright yellow yard-long poisonous snake over his head. He let us "pet it" all the while Thanh was explaining to us how deadly it was.

At the top we took in the view, had our picture taken by one of the Buddhist monks camping at the top of the mountain who graciously broke from his meditation to come take pictures of the three of us at the summit, and then we each ate a couple of bananas. Okay, time to go down the other side. I was hoping for a more leisurely way down. After all, this was the "easy" trek. But, alas, no. If anything, the way down was steeper than the way up. After timidly progressing 20 yards or so down, I was ready to accept that I may just hae to stay there, and depend on passing Vietnamese to give me something to eat and drink now and then, and perhaps bring me a change of clothes now and then.

Luckily, our guide had a better idea. He was carrying a plastic tarp for us to sit on for our lunch later in the day. Instead, I used the tarp as a sled, and SLID on my butt DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. Thanh said he thinks he may have hit on a new sport–butt mountain sledding–for his company to promote. Needless to say, once we hit on the trick, going down was much faster than going up, and my rear end is only a little sore from the couple of times I completely lost control and shot out into mid air for a few seconds before coming down to earth again.

A bit about our guide: Thanh is a recent college graduate. He's been leading these tours for about two years. He told me he's lived in Da Lat all his life, and went to college there, but that his parents are from the north. Other than English, he also speaks Russian, which he said he studied in college primarily because his grandfather, who studied in Moscow, told him not to take it because it was too hard. I suspect grandfather was perhaps applying a little reverse psychology there.

Fishing in Paradise Lake

The whole trip today was truly incredible. Before the real mountain began, we went through a small family-run pineapple and coffee farm where I had my first taste of berries from a coffee tree. And after our descent we had lunch next to Paradise Lake in a lovely park filled with an amazing collection of flowering trees and shrubs, and with hundreds of butterflies, with seemingly no two butterflies alike.

After lunch, we shared a boat with a passel of drunken fishermen to cross Paradise Lake. They kept trying to convince us to share their wine, and two of them couldn't resist the urge to rub the fat foreigner's belly. I told Joseph my tummy should be pretty shiny by the time we get back if people keep rubbing it at this rate. One drunken fishermen stumbled and almost overturned the boat at one point, my reaction to which they all found very amusing.

Once across the lake, I faced the last challenge of the day, a 222-step climb to the largest Buddhist temple in the southern part of Vietnam (another way of saying it's the second largest Buddhist temple in Vietnam). The place was just crawling with monks and nuns. If I remember right, about 250 live there. We got to listen in on a class taught by the head monk, an 84-year-old who lectured with a very VERY tranquil voice, which was nice to hear after our challenging day. It was only after our climb up the steps, and a tour of the place, that I discovered the aerial tram that takes most tourists from Da Lat on an easy ride right up to the temple - no steps required. Sigh.

The Crazy House in Da Lat

After the temple, we jumped in the tourist company van and headed back to the hotel for a shower and to drop off my dirty clothes at the front desk for the evening laundry service. Then a stop at the bakery, and then finally here for beverages and a little Internet time.

Today was a truly amazing day. The last time I did a rough mountain climbs like this was in northern China, again a long climb up a mountain to visit a temple. I have friends who actually do things like rock climbing on purpose, but for me, walking up a mountain is almost always something I find myself surprised to be doing, not something I do by choice.) For that mountain in China, I was much younger, lighter, and more vigorous then - maybe 18 years ago or so. I'm not sure how long it will be before I try this again. Right now, though, I feel GREAT. We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Tomorrow's outing is sightseeing - mostly by car. I understand that a couple of the stops feature a lot of steps, like the temple today, but after today's mountain, that will be like a cakewalk.

The Chicken Village

In general, I'd not recommend heading to Da Lat for these "sights." But the surrounding countryside is beautiful, and if you're into hiking, biking, or motorcycling, this is really a great place to visit, and the weather's a real break from the sweltering humidity of most of Vietnam. A number of outfits here will rent you motorcycles or bikes so you can go exploring the surrounding mountainous terrain or your own, or even cycle or motorbike all the way back to Saigon. I have searched on internet and found an attractive website about adventure www.activetravelvietnam.com. So cool! I like Kayaking tour, I should come to Ha Long bay soon, I can't wait anymore.

If we have time tomorrow, we'll head for a southern district of Saigon that's supposedly just crawling with monkeys. Who can pass up hanging out a few hours with a bunch of monkeys? Not me!

More information about Adventure tours, please view at:

www.activetravelvietnam.com
www.bikedalat.com

Sapa adventure with motorbike

(Ryan shared his trip to Sapa with motorbike, where he went, what he saw in the magnificent landscape)

Sapa is a pretty town in the mountains of northwestern Vietnam near the Chinese boarder.

Originally built by the French as a medical outpost, the city is now full of minority people from the local mountains and one of the major tourist destinations of north Vietnam. On Friday, 19 September, Ben, his girlfriend Huyen, Ben’s college friend Paul, and I set out for Sapa. The first leg of the journey began on a night train to the boarder town of Lao Cai. We arrived in Lao Cai early Saturday morning and hired a shuttle to Sapa. Thanks to the infusion of tourist dollars and French planning, Sapa is a very pretty and well-designed town. The town sits on a saddle and overlooks two large valleys. Vietnam’s largest peaks surround the town, and these are rugged mountains with significant elevation changes. Vietnam’s tallest peak, Fansipan, is very close.

Ethnic people, Sapa

The first thing we did after checking into our hotel Sapa GoldSea was rent motorbike. We rented three Honda Waves: one for me, one for Paul, and one for Ben and Huyen. Paul, who’s an actor from LA, had never ridden a motorbike before. We weren’t on the bikes for even two minutes before Paul drove his motorbike directly into the largest curb in Sapa. Apparently he was having difficulty turning and braking. Luckily Paul wasn’t hurt, even though I was convinced that he was going to fly over the handlebars, across the sidewalk, and into the bushes. Ben and Huyen were already back at the hotel wondering were Paul and I were as 12 or 15 Vietnamese men surrounded us and shook their heads, saying to Paul, “you no drive motorbike good.” The damage: the front tire was bent pretty badly. The total cost of the damage: 400,000 VND, roughly 25 USD. While his bike was at the shop, Paul hopped on the back of my bike and we left Sapa to visit some of the minority villages nearby. And Paul and I discussed how to drive a motorbike, which lead him to some success later in the trip.

Motorbike trip

The first village we came to was remarkable only because a sixty-foot section of the road through the village was comprised of one continuous rock. We parked our motorbikes and started walking through the town, but quickly realized that we weren’t going to see much because each of us had three minority (H’mong, I think) women surrounding us saying, “You buy from me? Very cheap for you—good price.” We retreated to our motorbikes and did a bit of shopping for hand woven textiles and silver jewelry, then took the road through town to the cave in the mountain.

Outside the cave stood six young boys carrying flashlights. After haggling with the boys, we rented four flashlights for 10,000 VND each and hired one of them to guide us through the cave. We had been hiking into the cave for 20 or 30 minutes when we made a startling discovery: This was a cave to China. Our guide told us that if you knew the way and had two or three days, the cave would dump you out in China. Needless to say, Ben, Paul, and I were ecstatic. A real tunnel to China? Amazing!

Local souvenirs on sale

We left the cave and returned to our motorbikes to find them flocked with more minority women, again trying to sell us things. One of them lived a short distance from the cave’s entrance and she invited us back to her house. We accepted. The house was a barn, except that people lived there too.

She kept pigs just outside the back door. We asked to see them and she proceeded to feed them corn. There were 12 or 15 pigs, mostly piglets, a few medium sized pigs, and a few big mommas. I asked Huyen, our official interpreter, what a pig costs in the local market. A big pig, one used for breeding, cost 50,000 VND, or roughly 3 USD. A medium sized pig, the best for eating, cost 80,000 VND, or roughly 5 USD. I suggested we buy an eating pig and hire the women to cook us lunch, but between Paul’s protests and the realization that they wouldn’t cook for us, we headed back to Sapa pigless.

Buffalo in Sapa

That afternoon we picked up Paul’s bike and headed into one of the valleys below Sapa. There we visited the ancient stone carvings. There not actually stone carvings, but some black rocks (basalt maybe) that poke up like sea monsters among the terraced rice fields. The scenery was beautiful. It was rice harvest time, so the rice field were light brown instead of rich green. To harvest rice, the locals cut the rice grass and lay it in bundles to dry. Once sufficiently dry, the bundles are beaten over bamboo baskets to knock the rice grains out. The rice grain is stuffed into huge sacks for transport to a machine that removes the husk from the grain. At this point the rice is ready for the market. The whole process relies heavily on manual labor, sickles, and water buffaloes.

Cute children in Sapa

We came back the hotel after an interesting trip day. Having dinner at The Golden Restaurant, we had a happy time to relax.

Further information about Adventure tours, you can visit:

Activetravel Vietnam
Activetravel Shop

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay - Fantastic and unforgettable experience

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay is more than an indulgence, it offers vistas not reachable by other means.

The setting cannot be more dramatic. Thousands of limestone peaks rise magically from crystalline emerald waters, dotted by islets and deep, mysterious caves.

However to access all of them, conventional boat tours are not the best way, say both experienced and greenhorn kayakers after doing their thing in the famous Ha Long Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, and in the running for adjudication as a natural world wonder. Over the last decade or so, kayaking has become a popular activity in Ha Long Bay, which covers an area of 1,500 square kilometers, offering many options for both the less and the more adventurous.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

With modern kayaking equipment, visitors can maximize on speed and maneuverability as they explore the open sea and many hidden lagoons and stalagmite caves that are difficult to access by other means. After a day of paddling amongst islets, visiting hidden caves, lagoons, unspoiled beaches and floating fishing villages, they unwind on the boat and enjoy a sumptuous dinner.

Kayaking tours in the northern town of Ha Long offer tourists several different routes, overnight stays on boats, and different kinds of seafood. With dozens of tourist agencies offering Ha Long kayaking tours, each one strains to make its service unique in some way.

Kien Tran, production manager of Active Travel Vietnam Company, says “We use private support boats when paddling to explore hidden and untouristy corners of Ha Long Bay. That makes our itinerary different from those organized by other tour operators who just use kayaking packages offered by the overnight boats.”

“If you thought the hideout in the James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun” was spectacular, imagine a place where there are 3,000 such limestone islands clustered together in the East Sea of Ha Long Bay”, enthuses Kien.

Indochinasails - Luxury boat

As usual, a trip to Ha Long sets off from Hanoi in the morning.

On the three-hour bus ride, short breaks are taken for refreshment that are also shopping opportunities. A popular stop is a handicraft center where workers make jewelry, embroidery, lacquerware, stone carvings, and other artifacts on the spot.

Upon arrival in Ha Long, they board a wooden boat for a seafood lunch and a short cruise to Thien Cung Cave.

Mary says, “I don’t know that paying US$70 for our overnight cruise got us any better a boat than the $48 we were going to pay - but our crew and our guide were fantastic and I can’t even begin to describe the food we were served - it just kept coming and coming and coming!”

After a short exploration of the caves, the group begins its exploration of the bay paddling through an area of limestone islets. They pass a floating village to reach the Luon Cave – which is a tunnel thrusting through a mountain, and then paddle through the tunnel to explore a beautiful secluded lagoon. They finally meet the mother vessel, a Chinese style junk, anchored in front of the cave for dinner.

The second day at Ha Long, they start paddling to Van Chai Floating village and then continue to Dark Cave.

Tide permitting, they explore this amazing cave on the kayak. The cave is a 200-meter long, dark tunnel thrusting through a limestone mountain. The tunnel is the only entry to a secluded and beautiful lagoon. “Our first stop was some amazing caves that were only discovered in the late nineties,” says an Australian tourist, Caroline.

Kayaking in a nice day

Caroline’s brother David says, “I had never done it before. Caroline had once, so she was deemed the expert and took the lead in the front seat”.

“I saw lots of massive jelly fish everywhere which rather put us off this idea of swimming.”

After lunchtime, the group paddles to the Ba Trai Dao Lagoon, along a stunning and fairly rough sea channel, to explore its beautiful beaches.

Ben, 30-year-old British musician, who has returned to the hotel in Ha Long Town, says: “I went kayaking just to fulfill one of my Vietnam dreams. Paddled through limestone pillar islands, explored deep dark tunnels emerging in isolated lagoons or to be faced with fresh, new karst island formations. It was brilliant”.

He recalls: “The second night at Ha Long, my friend Danny and I were the only folk on deck and it was only 9:30 – a night swim was the only answer. It was a good idea.”

“The water was deliriously refreshing in the tropical heat and gave my fading brain a much-needed wake up call. The idea of swimming to party at one of the other boats docked nearby was raised, but there was nothing going on there either. So jumping off those sweeping Junk boat eaves was really the only answer.

Wonderful kayaking

“Off the first deck was easy, the second a little daunting and the third, climbing up on the roof, well… there’s really no better way to feel like you’re truly living again. If ever there was a thing to do with your favorite party people, 16 of you in a 6 cabin Junk boat on Ha Long Bay - cruising, kayaking, visiting beaches and exploring caves and tunnel networks by day and partying on deck by night – is really worthy of consideration,” says Ben.

Getting there

The best way to get to Ha Long Bay is to rent a car from Hanoi from a professional tour organizer. It costs approximately $100-$120 return.

There is also a tourist open bus service offered by travel agencies around the Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. Cost is around $8 net/person/way.

Public buses leave from Long Bien Station to the Bai Chay Station (other side of Red River, five km from Hoan Kiem Lake) every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and cost VND50,000 ($3) per person each way. This is not recommended for foreign travelers, as these buses are often crowded, slow and unsafe.

When to kayak
You can do kayaking on the bay all year around but the best time is between October and June.

The kayaking day
A typical kayaking day starts at about 8 a.m. after breakfast. Lunch will be served on the support boat. At the end of a kayaking day travelers return to the junk by 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.

Tourist should bring
Sun block, hats, anti-insect repellents, sunglasses, raincoats original passport.

Further information, you can visit:
Kayak Ha Long Bay
Vietnam adventure tour

Valentine's Day in Luxury cruise on Halong bay

"Everyday is Valentine's Day in February with 14% Discount on all On board Services"

( VALID FROM 1st FEB – 28th FEB 09)





Enjoy the Sweet February on the Bay with Indochina Sails:

• 14% Discount on Beverages, Kayaking, Massage Services and Transportation

• Daily Vietnamese Food Preparation and Carving Demonstrations


Terms & Conditions


• Cruise rates based on groups of two adults
• Advance reservations required
• Supplement cabins for normal walk-in rate without extras
• Other terms and conditions apply
• Available on Indochina Sails I and II only

Cruise Itinerary and program for 2 days on Halong Bay


Contact us at info@indochinasails.com

Source: www.indochinasails.com

Mountain Climbing, tunnel crawing kayaking…. on Halong Bay , Vietnam.

I’m writing this waiting to get the night train to Hue. We just came back from Halong Bay which was an overnight on a boat on the bay. It is a world heritage site and so beautiful. It was misty and a bit rainy but apparently that makes it more atmospheric although I’d say they just tell you that to shut people up moaning. It was a long trip in a mini bus to the bay and of course as usual with organised tours we had to stop at a souvenir shop for twenty minutes more like forty. When we got to the bay our boat was nice and the crew were lovely. It was the four of us and a Canadian couple and a German couple. We sailed off into the bay anyway which is amazing I’ll put up some pictures. they told us we were going to see the caves so I went down to the cabin to get my camera and when I came out the girls were all up on the dock I was wondering what all the shouting was about, the boat was pulling out of the harbour, I was morto, they had to go back in again to drop me off.

Indochina Sails at night

The first cave we stopped at is a really big one, it was really crowded with tourists, but it was great, look at the picture of the fertility symbol (hahahaha). Then back to the boat to a smaller cave. Much smaller. We had to crawl in. Our guide Nga, told us it was a maze cave so she had the girls climbing up into holes to find the way out. She was in hysterics laughing, so was I, I wasn’t climbing into any holes (so I thought!) Sure enough we had to crawl out through a tiny tunnel. I was a bit freaked. It got worse. Nga, told us there was a lovely garden further up, so we climbed up this rock face on a little trail, guided by a rope, with a sheer cliff drop down to the sea. Seriously. At the top everyone is looking at the view “wow’ ‘amazing’. Then it was time to go down but of course I was expected to move at this stage and I was rooted to the spot my legs wouldn’t stop shaking! I managed to hold it together and climbed back down, the bravery was very impressive - no crying and not much freaking out! Cait wasn’t much better than me so I didn’t feel so bad.

Dining in traditional atmosphere

Back on the boat after dinner the crew wanted us to do Karaoke. They all obviously loved karaoke and thought we should too….we were up for a laugh but the German couple were not impressed. The girls got up to do a song and the microphone kept getting awful feedback and between the girls belting out the song and the squealing feedback I was in hysterics, there were tears rolling down my face and I swear the German girl did not crack a smile she had a face like a smacked arse, which just made me worse. At one stage she put her fingers in her ears. Not a smile out of her all evening. I don’t think she approved of us. They went to bed eventually TG and everyone relaxed and had a bit of fun finally!

Had to get up at 7am for breakfast because of the Sea Kayaking. I thought this was optional as in I was going to opt out. Not so. we told Nga about fifty times that we didn’t know how to Kayak and Cait eventually managed to get out of it. I went in the canoe with Nga, shaking like a leaf of course. It was ok in the end we paddled around the sheltered part of the bay, I was happy out thinking this is not too bad…….and then the Germans with their big serious heads in their big serious raingear start going when are we going to the caves? Poor Nga is in a bit of a bind at this stage because I obviously don’t have a notion what I’m doing and neither to Caroline and Solenn and you have to go out in the open sea to get to the cave. So I said to her why don’t you tell the girls to go back (thinking she could drop me off at the boat too). Yes, the girls got sent back but oh no I had to go out in the South China Sea in a canoe to look in a cave. It was actually great but seriously hard work and poor Nga got tired halfway there and I kept soaking her with my amateur paddling but we got back alive and that’s the main thing!

Every muscle in my body hurts - hopefully I will sleep on this night train..

Sourse: Dee2000x - TravelPod

Recommended vessels for Halong cruises

The Indochina Sails Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com/

More cruises on Halong Bay - Active Travel Shop, #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Phone 84-4-35738569

Adventure tours on Vietnam - Active Travel Vietnam

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Romance

Ever since I saw the movie "Indochine," I've wanted to visit Ha Long Bay. I loved the haunting scenes where Camille and Jean Baptiste, her beloved French soldier (originally her adoptive mother's lover - it's a French film after all) float through the islands in a small junk. Camille's just killed a French soldier, they're fleeing the French army, and they're without food or water and are barely conscious, but it's all terribly romantic, like they are the last two people on earth, together at last.

My Ha Long Bay journey was not exactly cut from the same cloth. I was about 60 years too late for the sexy French soldiers. I took a package tour on a junk like everyone else, since it's the easiest and cheapest way to see Ha Long Bay from Hanoi. After researching a few companies
and reading lots of stories on-line about nightmare trips, I booked a 3 day/2 night trip with Active Travel Vietnam.

Cruise on Halong Bay

The first leg of the journey was a 3 hour bus ride through the North Vietnamese countryside where highly industrial meets pre-industrial. After we left the urban sprawl of Hanoi, the road was lined with giant factory complexes. Our guide proudly pointed them out as examples of recent foreign investment. In between the factories, in between the houses, and seemingly in every available scrap of land are the green, green rice fields. Huge power lines tower over them, factories abut them, towns surround them, but the rice fields do not yield. Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of rice (next to Thailand), and that’s after the immense amounts of rice consumed by a domestic market of 85 million people. It’s a lot of rice.

And on this freezing cold, drizzling day the fields were filled with farmers bent over, tending to the plants, thigh-high in cold water and mud, both men and women, wearing conical hats and flimsy plastic ponchos as protection against the rain. All throughout my travels in Vietnam, rice fields were everywhere, filled with farmers doing the back-breaking work of tending to the crops manually. On the way back, we saw a bus that had catapulted off the road into a rice field (at this point, our guide explained that buses in Vietnam are called “flying coffins”).

We reached Ha Long City, a pretty unattractive place filled with many hotels. Our guide explained the difference between European and Asian tourists: the European tourists like to sleep on the boats in the bay, while the Asian tourists like to take day trips and come back to town to do karaoke, gamble, shop and party. The port is jam-packed with tourist junks – there are literally hundreds of them jostling for space at the landing, stacked 5 or 6 deep, and even more anchored off shore. Tour guides herded groups of tourists bundled up in scarves and raincoats from mini-buses to boats.

Wow!Halong Bay,Vietnam

We boarded our boat, and as we were pulling out of the harbor, I received my first surprise of the trip. I went to ask the guide about the train ticket the travel agency was supposed to book for me, and instead he told me, “Um, you signed up for the 3 day trip, but actually, you can only do a 2 day trip…”

Supposedly some people had cancelled, and since I was only one person, it was impossible to do the 3 day trip, but they would refund my money and here was the itinerary for the 2 day trip. I expressed disappointment, regret, outrage, but ultimately, considering that they had waited to tell me until I was on the boat that was chugging out of the harbor, there was nothing I could do but accept the refund and resign myself to the change in schedule. In the end, considering the weather was so miserable, it wasn’t such a tragedy.

We were seven in the group. There was a French Swiss couple who spoke little English and kept explaining how they’d spent 10 days in the far North where it had been very cold and there was no heat anywhere. They were clearly tired of being cold. Then there were the Aussies: a mother and daughter pair from Alice Springs, and two thirty-something women from Sydney, who were a lot of fun.

After crossing the bay, we glided into the limestone karst forest that is Ha Long Bay – a green sea crowned by thousands of oddly shaped limestone islands, like the tops of mountains sticking out of the sea. They’re uninhabitable, all sloping sides and stone, so people live on boats and in floating houses. They were cloaked in mist on this cold, grey day and there were islands as far as the eye could see. In some of the narrower passages it was as though we were in a canyon of green and stone. It was quite beautiful. I went up on the “sundeck” (I wasn't to see sun for another 2 weeks) to take photos, but the rain soon chased me inside.

It was gorgeous, but the weather was lousy. We tried to make the best of it, and six of us bravely set off in the cold drizzle to go kayaking. Our bottoms were soon soaked and frozen, and the legs and arms were next. Still, it was quite something to be so close to the water, the karst islands towering above us. Our guide led us through a small archway into a lagoon that lies in the center of an island. For a moment, it was as though we were the only people in Ha Long Bay, drifting through the mist.

Kayaking with Active Travel Vietnam

But this feeling was not to last. We headed toward TiTop Island (named in honor of a Soviet astronaut who visited with Ho Chi Minh), where you can climb up to the top and get a panoramic view of the bay. According to the postcards on sale, it’s quite a view on a clear day. We pulled our kayaks up on the beach. Looking around, we realized that we were the only people who looked like drowned rats. All the other visitors had arrived on very solid looking wooden launches, looked quite neat, tidy and dry. Some of the tour groups even wore matching hats and jackets.

Between the six of us, we sported bare feet, plastic ponchos, the white plastic shower sandals that are standard issue in every Vietnamese hotel, dripping wet shorts, and men’s thermal underwear bottoms (that was me). We were also very wet. And lest I forget, we wore lovely bright orange life jackets (for extra warmth). Not bothering to take off the lifejackets, we made our way up the stairs as the impeccably groomed groups moved to the side and pointed and stared at us. We were clearly the comic relief for the afternoon, and as we ascended, one of us overheard someone say “Aussies for sure.” As the only non-Aussie in the group, I took it as a compliment.

After we returned to the boat and had very short, semi-hot showers, we discovered the main event of the evening: Vietnamese soap operas. Our guide had told us that dinner would be at 6.30. We all arrived early and sat expectantly at our tables. 6.30 came and went, and nothing happened. Instead, the entire crew – all male, mostly quite young – sat transfixed in front of the TV that sat over the bar. No one was going anywhere, and nothing was happening in the kitchen. I sat there, hungry and cold, trying to write in my journal, with my back to the TV, until I finally gave up, turned around and started asking questions.

It turned out that it was the equivalent of the season finale, a sacred event not to be interrupted by banal activities like feeding the tourists. The heroine was running away from her arranged wedding to the grave of her dead lover, while flashbacks to happier days played. Just as the man she was supposed to marry showed up to reclaim her, the ghost of her lover flew up from the grave and swooped her into the underworld, leaving only flowers and smoke. It was far more dramatic than I describe here, but the best part was watching these young Vietnamese men completely absorbed in this romantic doomed love drama, which oddly mirrored (in a same, same but different kind of way) the romance story that brought me to Ha Long Bay in the first place. I just hadn’t expected to find it on TV.

To more information about luxury cruise on Halong Bay, click here: http://www.indochinasails.com

Many kinds of tours on Halong Bay: Active Travel Vietnam ; #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Phone:(84-4) 3573 8569

Halong Bay, Vietnam in my mind

These days, gas prices are soaring. Roads are dusty, and the weather is unbearably hot and humid. So I decided to plan my summer escape to Halong Bay by computer. What a wise and efficient decision!

One of our greatest discoveries began while conducting research on the Internet. We came across four words that perfectly described what we were seeking: Cruise Halong Bay. Active Travel Vietnam offers various upscale cruises & tours to Halong Bay. What we looked for was a combination of luxury, adventure, and unique experiences.

Friendly World Heritage

From Active Travel company’s website, I was able to book a luxury cruise trip to Halong Bay, the UNESCO World Heritage site that lies 175km east of Hanoi. With a simple mouse click, it was done. I couldn’t wait to get out of the city for the weekend even though I had visited Halong Bay before.

Stepping out of the private car in Ha Long City, I was greeted at the private jetty Indochina Sails Junk staff. We then rode a small speed boat to board the junk. I remember that during my last trip to Halong Bay I had to wait at the dock behind a herd of tourists and a traffic jam of boats. Our junk was outfitted with 15 rooms made of aromatic wooden. The cruise itinerary was different from other tours. But I was most impressed by the personal service. We were welcomed with a cocktail, informed of the tour’s program and enjoyed great food and service that combined romantic tradition and modern luxury.

Indochina Sails

My deluxe room on the upper floor provided everything you’d expect in a five-star hotel. I enjoyed the marble bathroom, and took a blissful shower before going up on deck for a drink at sunset. I lay down and let my mind escape, enjoying the sky in the beautiful and clear afternoon, the sound of the waves lapping on the boat’s hull as we cruised leisurely through a maze of small, rocky islands jutting from the calm and emerald waters.

The junk tour offered kayaking, boating, fishing activities. My travel colleagues and I enjoyed ourselves over a glass of wine while other guests enjoyed swimming on Soysim Beach.

For dinner, we enjoyed a BBQ meal while we exchanged stories with other fellow travelers. Sitting next to me was a British couple who were also the guests of Active Travel Vietnam Company. After a few glasses of wine, they shared their 10-day experience in Vietnam and how they enjoyed the last night of their honeymoon holiday in Vietnam before returning home. “The service we received from Active Travel Vietnam was world class,” said Bernadette Tompar, who can’t wait to share her tales with family and friends in London.

If you also want to experience tours on Halong Bay in style or treat someone else, the place to check is: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com.

Please contact Indochinasails: Email: info@indochinasails.com or visit website: http://www.indochinasails.com

Halong Bay--The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

Halong kayaking

Just got back from Halong Bay this afternoon and it was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful--even more than I expected. We left at around 8am from the hostel and were picked up by Active travel Vietnam _ the tour company that we'd booked with. We picked up 6 others, a Scottish couple living in Malaysia and a pair of couples from Spain. We then departed for Halong Bay, about a 3 and 1/2 hour drive. We also then met our tour guide Ngoan, a slim young woman who spoke pretty good English. She was no Wasa though! She briefed us on Hanoi and Halong Bay history and then told us about where to go in Hanoi to find good dog and cat meat. (We weren't too interested). And she told us about how Vietnamese people like to string up live cobras from trees, skin them, and then drink their blood while it's still hot from the dangling end, like some kind of bizarre tribal beer bong. Yummy.

About halfway through the trip and after a much needed nap, we stopped for a break at a place that sold local handicrafts made by handicapped children. I bought a very cool picture done in embroidery of a Vietnamese woman carrying some mangos on those balancy things that Blake carried in the infamous pineapple fiasco. I talked the price down from $68 to $58 which was fair especially because as the 4 foot tall salesman kept reminding me 'made by handicap' children'. no word if the kids get any of the profit though.

After the break we piled back into the van and about an hour later we arrived in Halong Bay City. We jumped out and headed straight to our boat, the Halong Bay Dream and man was it ever. It was soooo nice. A new boat with space for 14 and just beautiful on the inside. Lauren and I shared a room with two big windows (for a boat) and Blake got his own room since there were just 9 of us total. After we set down our belongings, we headed up to the main deck to the open dining area for our seafood lunch. And it was incredible. They just kept bringing out dish after dish! We had the freshed squid salad, huge shrimp, lovely vegetables, rice, noodles, a whole grilled fish, fruit... the food just didn't stop coming!

Fully stuffed to the gills, we slathered on some sunscreen, threw on our bathing suits and went up to the top deck. By then we were really getting out into the bay amidst the nearly 2000 islands there and it was incredibly beautiful. The islands are all made out of limestone from decayed oysters, clams, etc from the past 350 million years that grew to form a mountain range because of the pacific rim tetonic plates shifting. Eventually the mountain range was eroded by the water and the islands formed. Now they are all protected by Unesco which is fortunate because the only one that can be inhabited is the national park on Cat Ba island. Just beautiful!

Sunset on Indochina Sails

After sunning ourselves we then docked briefly to visit the Amazing Cave which is the biggest of the 8 or so caves that have been discovered so far in Halong Bay. And it really was amazing. Especially interesting though were the trashcans inside in the shape of dolphins and penguins which gave the weird sensation that we were at an amusement park of sorts.

From the cave, we moved onward to an island with a lookout pagoda at the very top. One 10 minute very vertical climb later we were super sweaty but enjoying the wonderful view. Blake showed me how to do a stitch assist too on my camera so I think I should be able to join several of the photos together to make a nice panoramic. Next, we returned to the boat and then jumped off from the top of the boat into the water. I was quite scared at first seeing as I'd really never done a high dive before, but it was worth it and then it was great! And the water was wonderful, just warm enough to be enjoyable but not so warm that you feel like the person next to you just 'relieved' themselves in the water.

After the swim we towelled off and then were fed another enormous and delicious seafood dinner. Dinner was followed by a great conversation with the Scottish couple that had been living in Malaysia the past 2 years, a little bit of World Cup viewing, and then Blake and I laying out on the top deck to look at the stars. It was the perfect day and we didn't go to sleep until after midnight when we pried ourselves away from the night sky.

The next morning, Blake woke me up early to have a look at the sunrise, but at 5:15 am it was already up. So we went back to bed and then got back up in time for a 7am breakfast (also way too much food). Breakfast was followed by kayaking which was incredibly fun. We paddled around for about an hour and a half, with 2 people in each kayak. Lauren and I paddled together, and with her excellent instruction I eventually got the hang of it. It was difficult though because even though the water was pretty calm, the current was really strong. We all paddled together into these beautiful lagoons by Cat Ba island which was just such a peaceful experience (aside from the aching arms) that made me feel like we were in the movie "the beach" (which I am appropriately reading at the moment).

After kayaking, Lauren and I had another swim, then it was time to pack our bags... but not without yet another inordinately huge seafood meal that we could hardly finish! It really was the perfect get away. And amazingly enough, it only costs $2000 to rent out the boat per week, including food. So I'm thinking, grab a group of 14 and come back sometime in the future for some R&R.

Well I'm back in Hanoi though, wearing my new Halong Bay pearl necklace (they do a lot of pearls there) and getting very excited about tomorrow's trips to Hanoi's museums and then the following day at China beach between Da Nang and Hoi An! It's going to be great!

Source: SMU

Here is your chance to experience on Halong Bay:

The Indochina Sails Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com/

More cruises on Halong Bay - Active Travel Shop, #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam

Adventure tours on Vietnam - Active Travel Vietnam

Vietnam cuisine, impressive and unforgettable!

Dining on traditional Vietnamese cuisine is part of total immersion into the culture. Vietnamese food is quite unlike any other food in Southeast Asia. It’s even quite different from China. Overall it’s a blend of Malay; Indian; French and influences and incorporates baguettes and pate from France; and curries and chilies from India.

Vietnam cuisine

Foreign visitors consider Vietnamese food quite healthy. It is neither spicy nor oily. Vietnamese eat mainly rice and noodles. Bread is not daily family food. Delicious bowls of noodle soup with vegetables and meat can be purchased everywhere inexpensively for breakfast or even lunch. Each average meal consists of three to five dishes. Tourists can enjoy Vietnamese food everywhere at deluxe restaurants or even at street cafes.

As you travel up or down the country; you will notice sharp differences in both main dishes and snacks eaten by locals. Its one of the joys of traveling in the country; and it’s a good idea to ask your guide to point out interesting things to eat.
Once you are in Vietnam; you immediately fall in love with Vietnamese Food. Vietnam is also a coffee-lover’s dream. It seems like every street cafe sells the thick coffee preferred by locals. We try to introduce here some typical Vietnamese food that no tourist can ignore when they come to Vietnam.

PHO
For Vietnamese; Pho is life; love and all things that matter.
In Vietnam; Pho is mostly a restaurant food. Though some people prepare it at home; most prefer going to noisy soup shops. Here are a few tips:

Pho Vietnam

- Pho comes with a variety of toppings including rare beef; well-done beef and slices of brisket; tendon; tripe and even meatballs. If you’re a novice; try pho Tai Chin; which includes the rare and well-done beef combination.

- Sprinkle some black pepper; then add bean sprouts; fresh chili and a little squeeze of lime to your bowl. Using your fingers; pluck the Asian basil leaves from their sprigs and; if they’re available; shred the saw-leaf herbs and add to the soup. Add little by little; eating as you go. If you put the greens in all at once; the broth will cool too fast and the herbs will overcook and lose their bright flavors.

NEM
One of the best Vietnamese foods! The Vietnamese Version of the egg roll; Cha Gio is a seasoned mixture of eggs; ground pork; and sometimes crab or shrimp rolled tightly in rice paper and deep-fried. It is served accompanied by lettuce; cucumber and Nuoc Mam.

Spring Roll

The proper way to eat these delicacies is to roll them in a piece of lettuce with a slice of cucumber and dip it into the Nuoc Mam.

BANH CHUNG
Banh Chung or square rice cake is a Vietnamese traditional dish most commonly found during the “TET” New Year celebration. Every Vietnamese family must have “Banh Chung” among their offerings to be placed on the ancestors` altars.

One or two days before Tet; the family gathers to prepare and cook the rice cakes around the warm fire. “Banh Chung” is made of glutinous rice; pork meat and green bean paste; and is wrapped in a square of “Dong” leaves (rush leaves) giving the rice a green color after boiling for ten hours.

During “Tet” New Year; the rice cakes are served with “gio lua” or lean pork pie; and “hanh muoi” or salted sour onions.

BANH XEO
This Vietnamese dish resembles an egg omelette; but it is actually rice powder mixed with water; then fried in a skillet with pork; shrimp and bean sprouts.

Served with rice paper; Vegetable greens and Nuoc Mam; you break off a portion; roll it up in rice paper with a few greens; then dip it in Nuoc Mam.

It is easy to find Banh Xeo in the South provinces.

COFFEE
Vietnam is also a leading coffee exporter in the world. You can easy find many coffee houses in the streets of all cites. Please remember that Vietnamese coffee is quite “strong”. If you take as many as four cups of coffee in a day; you may be sleepless at night.

Trung Nguyen Coffee

Vietnamese coffee is a very good gift from Vietnam for your family member after a visit to Vietnam. One the most favorite trademark is Trung Nguyen.

MAM (SALTED FISH)
Mam originally comes from the South because it is newly cultivated land and there are plenty of fish. Mam made from trout can be consumed with rice or with boiled pork and fresh vegetables and it’s considered an undeniable food of the Daily life in Mekong Delta. Fish caught from rivers or ponds are carefully salted. It can be reserved in month or even years

COM (GREEN-RICE)
In a clear autumn morning, when the Northeast wind lightly blows; green-rice from Vong village (a famous village in Hanoi) travels with young country girls to the corners of the city.

Vietnam rice

Green rice is said to be the quintessence of the earth and sky, the milk of rice paddies in buds. Vong villagers now pick and choose the right kinds of rice to make green-rice. Traditionally, green-rice is an offering indispensable on engagement day of the couple, from the bridegroom’s family to the bride’s family.

XOI (GLUTINOUS RICE)
Rice is categorized in two: normal rice and sticky rice. The second is indispensable in people’s daily life as well as on holidays. Sticky rice is plentiful in types: banana flavor, coconut-leaf, sesame and coconut, sausage, back-peas, green-peas, maize and mixed sticky rice...are just a few in 3 parts to name. “Nep than”, “Nep cai hoa vang” are best flavors to make rice and wine.
What a wonder it’s on a winter day! Dressed in warm clothes, we drop in a little shop at night and have a bowl of white sticky rice consumed with pork or eggs. On New Year’s days or holidays, sticky rice is what must be on the family altar.

CHA CA LA VONG (LA VONG FISH-PIE)
The inventor of this fish-pie came from Doan family on Hang Son Street, Hanoi. In 19th century, Hanoi people normally baked pork, but he baked fish-unstinking fish to make fish-pie. Hanoi people then soon got infatuate it and his eating-house turned prosperous. Henceforth, the name of the street was changed into Cha Ca (fish-pie) from its former name Hang Son (Paint Street) due to success of his eatery.

Fish-pie

To Hanoi people, the taste of Cha Ca remains as it was. To have tasty pie, shopkeepers have to select good fish with solid fresh, less bones and good scent. Processed fish is mixed in fish sauce, pepper, galingale, saffron and rice-ferment. Then put on a fire-tongs and grilled right on the eaters' table. Eaters, while eating, have to fan the fire, turn upside down to make both sides baked. Then they put the fish into a bowl of boiling fat and consumed with rice vermicelli, groundnuts, spices, dried rice-cake, sliced onion leaves, some drops of lemon juice and a little coleopteran.

Hanoi people try fish-pie only in Autumn, when the cold wind is blowing outside, spices are in season and a group of friends slowly drink and enjoy the food in a small restaurant on Cha Ca street, what a wonder it's!

BUN BO HUE (HUE BEEF VERMICELLI)
All over Vietnam, you can find and enjoy beef-vermicelli and it seems tastes from all parts in the country meet and make up special flavor of Hue vermicelli.

Hue Beef Vermicelli

Hue people enjoy beef-vermicelli in their own way and the food here is a combined art of something fashionable, something very popular. Hue connoisseurs rarely enjoy the food in well-decorated restaurants, and an eating place frequented by tourists is opposite to city post-office on Ly Thuong Kiet Street. Beef-vermicelli is consumed here day and night, the broth-pot is kept boiling but this is not the most visited one because Hue city folks only have beef-vermicelli in the morning and they have their own choice.

LAU (HOT POT)
In fact, no food bears local identities as hot-pot. Southerners, especially those in the Mekong Delta whose life is dearly related to water, are friendly and easy to make friends with their “comrades”. Once they think, they have to drink to their fill and hot-pot is the food they can’t go without.

What a marvel it’s when one stays on a floating boat, by side of smelling hot-pot cooked with fish caught by himself. Fish is caught from rivers or ponds. The fisherman maybe Anh Ba or Anh Nam or so promptly, he drops dead the fish and Ms Ba or Ms Nam or so gets it cleaned and boiled in a pot. Spices are inseparable with the fish. Hot-pot is the flavored only with certain spices.

CAKES IN THE CENTRAL PART
Central part, a sunny and rainy area is a bridge that links North and South and rich in wet-rice, maize, sweet potato, corn and manioc. These agriculture crops have enriched their life and the people in the central part have created kinds of cakes made of skillfully prepared would be a shoe in people hard-working life and aptitude in food invention.
There are hundreds kinds of cakes: dumpling, boiled dumpling, coconut-cake, rice-wafer, rice-pie, corn-cake, steamed cake, pan cake, white rice cake…are just few to name. Separate cakes are made of certain ingredients.

Each cake needs certain skills to prepare, for people in the central part, especially in Hue, cake are synonymous with decorative to their highly tastes daily meals.