We sailed north from the port near Hue into Ha Long Bay, perhaps the most well known landmark in Vietnam, and another Unesco World Heritage site.
The ship sailed for hours among the 1,600 limestone islands and islets before docking in the city of Ha Long Bay – an endless parade of rocks jutting out of the water.
The city of Ha Long itself looks like it’s a boom-town – crazy development going on, with a massive Ferris-wheel at the top of a mountain, the worlds largest aeriel tramway (both completed in 2016), a massive suspension bridge, and endless hotels, resorts, and condominiums everywhere (perhaps this is what Sihanoukville aspired to be). It’s a tribute to the ingenuity and drive of the Vietnamese people, but not necessarily what you expect to see in Vietnam. (an article expressing construction concerns here, and an article about the huge amount of plastic waste floating in the water (which we saw first hand) here)
Once docked in Ha Long Bay, we travelled for an hour to the nearby historic city of Hai Phong (a trip to Hanoi was an alternative, but required an overnight stop at a hotel there so we declined). Hai Phong was noticeably cooler than Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, and that was welcomed!
Hai Phong
Hai Phong, like Ho Chi Minh city, is a busy city but not quite as crazy. We first visited the Chua Du Hang temple, dedicated to the worship of the Buddha and the goddess of mercy, Kwan Yin.
Our next stop was a local restaurant for some good Vietnamese food. We sat with another couple from our cruise, and it turned out they lived only 5 miles from us back in California!
After lunch, we looked around the city some more, and explored a local market. Lots of colorful produce and fun things to see!
Ha Long Bay
The next day, we took a cruise on Ha Long Bay on a small boat. The boat itself was nothing to speak of, but our tour guide was fantastic – giving us great insight into the history of Vietnam.
During our boat ride, two small boats ran up alongside ours, to sell us fruit. We were encouraged to ignore them, but afterwards, I felt guilty for not offering them some money – they spend their whole day trying to sell a few items to make a living. This elderly, half-blind woman will forever stay in my mind as she tried to sell us some fruit
After our boat ride on the bay, we had some free time so we took a shuttle to a local market and shopping center. The market was mostly deserted, and the shopping center was only moderately full. I imagine there’s a glut of shopping centers in this thriving city!
That evening, we returned to the ship and sailed to Hong Kong.
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