Fun Facts &Tips

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Located in northern Vietnam and voted two times as a UNESCO World Heritage Site these islands or karts (limestone peaks) are as magnificent as they are historical.

There are over 1600 islands and many stories that have been told for generations explaining such a phenomenon that all seem to include dragons. Halong translates to “the dragons descending into the sea”.

The downside to this experience is that there are alot of tourist. A lot of boats like ours and parties on the beaches. It’s important to remember that the rare beauty found there cannot exist forever when foreigners are taking parts of the caves home with them or buying souvenirs that take from the environment. Something to think about if you go.

Our boat was arranged through our hotel and it all went very smoothly. The food served is mostly seafood so if you have picky eaters, you may want to bring along some snacks. I embraced the idea that would force Sean and Sophie to try different foods. I think they even surprised themselves. Although once Sophie found out she was enjoying squid she decided it wasn’t that tasty after all.

The Vung Vieng fishing village currently inhabits over 200 people.

The boat never went that fast so no need to worry about sea sickness. On cruises, I usually feel very queasy the first couple days. I felt fine on this trip.

Welcome to Halong Bay, Vietnam


Our Junk Boat.


Thien Canh Son Cave


Vung Vieng fishing village.

The Christmas party was hysterical and I was very sorry I didn’t bring my camera for that one! The staff was really excited about the party as they went out of their way to keep it a secret from us. When we got to the beach Santa Clause sailed in on his boat bringing presents for everyone. They had a decorated a huge Christmas tree with a gigantic star at the top that was half the size of the tree. They had about 4 “disco version” Christmas songs that they looped all night. The whole experience was kind of surreal as they tried very hard to embrace the Christmas spirit but it was just a little off. We had lots of seafood for dinner and by the end of the night the bartenders had drank all the booze and were toasted. It was hilarious and a great experience.

See Photo Album.