Ha Long is one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

More than 2000 little island spread out in the Tonchino gulf create this incredible bay that has been submitted in the list of the 7 wonders of the world.

THE LEGEND

An old legend tells that Ha Long was formed during a battle between vietnamese and chines invaders. The gods sent dragons to aid the attacked, spitting these enormous jewels that formed a kind of wall, which are today the islands that form the Bay. In vietnamese Ha Long means “The descending dragon”.

During our stay in Vietnam, we decided that one of our destinations should be Ha Long bay. There we took an interesting and suggestive cruise for a couple of days. Neither of us  have never been on a cruise so we weren’t convinced at first but pleasantly surprised, one of our top stops in Asia.

THE CRUISE

The departure day, at 7.45, a minibus picked us up directly from our guesthouse in the hearth of Hanoi, our travel companions are a group of blonde danish girls and a family of noisy indians. Four and a half hours drive for a 160 km with an average speed of 30km\h, definitely the worst trip for us after the Chian mai – Lampang hell train.

The road from Hanoi to Halong it’s not a well kept highway, but a simple two lane road, used by any type of transportations, trucks, pushbikes, buses, motorcycles, random people crossing at any time, traffic was terrible.

Almost on the verge of nerve crisis, we arrive in the beautiful bay ready to sail on our cruise ship “Rosa Cruise”. Unfortunately the weather was not the best and half the bay was covered in a white fog.

The cruise ship was very nice and cozy, with wooden furnishings and a nice open deck where you could admire the beautiful scenery. During the day a lot of activities were organized. Kayak exploring and the visit to the last perl farm in the bay are definitely our favorites.

After a good dinner, we went to bed early to be ready for the next day.

ALLE THE ACTIVITIES

In the morning they had a Tai Chi lesson at 6.00 a.m., but it was raining so we couldn’t enjoy it. Lucky for us at lunch time, the cooking lesson saved the day, we learned how to prepare some vietnamese spring rolls, delicious!

So even if it rains or it’s foggy Ha Long bay it’s a must if you’re in northern Vietnam, it will leave you breathless.