My trip to Hanoi earlier this month, sandwiched a trip to Ha Long Bay. Similar to other ‘big’ sites in Asia, Ha Long Bay is a rite of passage: you can’t live in Asia and not visit the incredible site that is Ha Long Bay.
Knowing myself, and the high maintenance person that I am (!), I knew I wouldn’t want to stay on one of the ‘party boats’. Whilst it sounds like a lot of fun, I mainly didn't want to stay on one because I’ve heard that the bathrooms are in a complete state after the first night due to some travellers having, perhaps, a little too good a time. I would rather stay on a luxury boat with private rooms and private bathrooms where this wouldn’t be a problem, and for this particular trip, I was prepared to pay up. We found this treat in the Indochina Junk, the boat we chose to stay on.
To be clear, on a luxury liner you’re paying up for 5-star amenities and experience, not for something that is significantly different from other, cheaper cruises. If you want to experience extravagance and indulgence (as I did, for 1 night) then you can’t really go wrong. Read on further for more information.
What is Ha Long Bay?
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. It is the center of a larger area which includes Bai Tu Long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba Island to the southwest. The bay consists of around 3000 islands and islets which are largely limestone, the rocks having gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The most popular way to experience the bay is on a cruise, and unsurprisingly every travel agency and hotel in Hanoi has tours to sell.
For more information check out the information available in the Lonely Planet guide.
Details
Where did I go: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
How long did I go for: Sandwiched between 2 nights in Hanoi, we stayed 1 night from Monday to Tuesday
Travel time: Around 3-4 hours by car from Hanoi
There is no airport or direct flight in to Ha Long. Whilst there are lots of options for getting there, I chose to fly in to Hanoi and spend 2 nights before heading to Ha Long Bay. Check out my post here for details on getting to Hanoi and what to do there. After our trip to Ha Long Bay, we returned to Hanoi for 1 night before heading back to Singapore
Visa Requirements: No (for British Passport holders)
Not sure if you need a visa? Click the link under ‘useful information’ to confirm
Where did I stay, or rather, WHAT did I stay on: Indochina Junk
We stayed on the 'Indochina Junk'. This was the first time I’d stayed on a boat overnight, so needless to say, I was a little apprehensive at first. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, and I had been told some horror stories of photographs on tour company websites looking completely different from what people ended up with. However, as soon as I saw the minibus outside the hotel (Hanoi La Selva) in Hanoi, I knew right away that there was nothing to worry about. The minivan came to collect us at 7am and there is really no other way to describe it, other than: PIMPED OUT. The minivan was equipped with:
Phone chargers
Wi-Fi (if the promise of charging your phone whilst taking unlimited photos hadn't already grabbed your attention, you must be sold by now?!)
Drinks
Surround sound speakers
IPod / iPhone music doc to play your own music
Leather reclining seats
The journey to Ha Long was around 3-4 hours and en route you stop at a shop selling souvenirs made by employees who are disabled (there were a lot of these items we saw in Hanoi so I wasn’t entirely convinced that everything was made there, however you do see people busy working on paintings and embroidery so I don’t doubt some items were). It’s an opportunity to buy tourist souvenirs such as jewellery, paintings, food, wood work, knick-knacks for the house and magnets, to mention just a few. Whilst it serves a great purpose, I do want to point that the prices were severely hiked up. A lot of the items can be found in Hanoi for a fraction of the price, so don’t feel that you have to buy your souvenirs here. You stop here for about 30-40 minutes before continuing on the journey to Ha Long.
Once at Ha Long, we were dropped off outside the Indochina Junk office where we waited to be told what boat we would be getting on. Once told, we huddled with our fellow passengers before making our way to the harbour where we waited for the little ferries (see in the pictures below) to take us across to the main Indochina Junk boat.
Once on the main junk boat, we were greeted with an (over-sweet, sorry to say!) welcome drink and ushered in to the main room for an introductory talk and briefing session. Our tour guide was called Kenny (we affectionately nicknamed him Kenny G by the end of the trip. Not that he bore any sort of resemblance to him whatsoever), who hails from another province in Vietnam and has been working as a tour guide on the Indochina Junk boats for 10+ years.
Kenny G can talk. A LOT. In fact, there was a point where he was telling us about the marine life that lives in the water, and I literally felt like he was rattling off the entire list of marine life that existed in THE WORLD. Whilst it was all very informative, I did feel a little like I was back on a school trip, being given a talk by the teacher. This was especially the case when a man said something to his wife (whilst Kenny was talking), and Kenny G promptly looked over and smiled (in that very teacher-esque way) and said “Excuse me. It’s Kenny’s time to talk.” Wow.
Aside from that however, the boat was truly amazing! A few special things to note about the boat:
There is a spa where you can treat yourself to treatments
A mineral sea water pool if you don’t fancy getting in to the sea
A sun deck
24 rooms over 4 floors
All double / twin cabins are 26.5m2 in size
The boat took 2 years to build, and was completed in 2014 so is fairly new and modern
Now, about the room. We stayed in a double room and it was honestly bigger than some of the hotel rooms we’ve stayed in around Asia. Ample room for a double bed, which was a proper double (as opposed to a 1.5) and extremely comfortable, and a seating area. And a HUGE bathroom with both a shower, AND a hot tub that fit 2. Yes, you read that correctly. I’m not really one for baths, but even I couldn’t resist a bath, on a boat, as we floated in the middle of the bay! The room was perfectly clean and had all the required amenities of a 3 or 4-star hotel room. It was definitely worth the money we spent.
Tip: As the boat is cruising along, you can see the limestone rock formations all around you, so definitely make sure to spend some time at the windows and on the Captain’s deck!
A couple of additional things I wanted to note:
Whilst we were on the boat, we got caught in a storm. We got the works: thunder, lightning and heavy rain. I’ll admit, it was a little frightening and our sleep was impacted because of the noise, however nothing happened to us and we were all absolutely fine. Just slightly sleep deprived!
As I mentioned, we stayed on the boat for 1 night only. Given the very early start in the day to get to Ha Long Bay and the interrupted sleep because of the storm, we decided to forego the activities on the second day to sleep in. Unfortunately this was not in our destiny, as our mate Kenny G decided to announce over the tannoy at 7:45 in the morning that everyone wanting to take part in the activity on the second day needed to report to the main room by 8am. Not once, not twice, but 3 times. It was safe to say that any hope of getting back to sleep was gone after that. Tip: Bring ear plugs. Or perhaps if you’re more sensible, and know that you will not be attending the next morning’s activities, speak to your tour guide and ask them NOT to announce the meeting time over the tannoy. I wish we had done that!
As we only stayed 1 night, on the second day, shortly after lunch we headed back to the harbour (aboard the ferries, like the day before when we arrived) where we would be taken back by minivan to Hanoi. When we were on the boats, it started chucking it down with rain, and unfortunately the jetty driver (helpfully) decided to hand out free anoraks to everyone after we’d already started to get off the jetty. Given the jetty driver didn’t get off the boat with you, if you were one of the unfortunate people at the front, you didn’t get one. The office is a bit of a walk from the harbour, therefore with no anorak you were drenched. Tip: If you are going and there are chances of rain, I strongly recommend bringing an anorak with you.
Once we were back at the office, we had to wait nearly an hour to get into our minivan. I think this was largely because of the delay caused by the rain though. The minivan, sadly, on the way back was distinctly less impressive than the one we took on the way to Ha Long. Whilst there was still wifi and the leather reclining chairs, there was no water! The driver had forgotten the most simple and basic necessity! Tip: Needless to say, going 4 hours with no water was not really ideal so make sure you come prepared. Or at the very least ask the driver to ensure he's packed some water before you set off from the office.
There is an optional stop on the way back to Hanoi in a little village / town to see a Water Puppet show. I had been told in advance that it wasn’t worth it, and instead to just ask the driver to bypass if the other passengers on the minivan are happy to do this. Luckily they were, and we missed this particular 'delight'.
Below you’ll find the details on the activities we could do whilst on the boat. The price of the boat was US$209 per person plus US$25 which covered the deluxe double cabin, luxury van from your hotel in Hanoi and private transfer from the harbour back to Hanoi as well as lunch and dinner on the day we arrived and breakfast and lunch the day after before we left. More details on the food we had on the boat below as well.
Things to do on the boat
Kayaking and Cave Trips
As you may have heard previously, kayaking and the caves are the key activities you can do when visiting Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bay. The kayaks and life vests are provided for you by the Indochina Junk boat and for us one-nighters, there was an opportunity for kayaking on both the first day, after lunch, and on the second day after breakfast. All it involves is getting on the jetty that you came from the harbour on, which are hooked up on to the Junk Boat, then the staff pull up the kayak alongside the jetty and you hop right in. Kenny G took us on a tour around the limestones and you get to see them up close so you can properly see the formations. It’s really quite a sight to behold and I would definitely recommend taking part on at least one of the days.
Tip: If you’re a newbie kayaker, make sure to remember that the person steering should be at that back! Of course, this doesn’t have to be the strongest person, as in my case..!
Jetties
Of course if you’re not that keen on getting in to a kayak, you can just hop on to the jetty and they’ll take you for a ride around Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bay. Essentially this is instead of kayaking if you're not too keen on doing that. You get dropped off on a nearby beach where you can play in the water for a bit, before being brought back to the boat.
Foodie Highlights
All our meals were provided for by the boat, and we were definitely well fed. The meals mainly consisted of various set meals which were served at our table. The options were beef, fresh fish, prawns, pork, chicken, etc. The team happily catered for dietary requirements as well, we just made sure to not only tell them in advance of our trip, but also reminded them when on the boat.
Breakfast on the boat is an option of either a western meal (think: eggs and toast) or traditional Vietnamese Pho. Lunch on the final day before you leave is a vast array of buffet items, a mix of Vietnamese and Western.
The food was good. Unfortunately we had been slightly spoiled whilst in Hanoi and I honestly feel that the food on the boat wasn’t comparable to what we had in Hanoi. The presentation was always very nice and we had an opportunity to try a lot of ‘local Vietnamese’ delicacies which we may not have had an opportunity to try otherwise!
Tip: water is refillable during your stay, however all drinks are chargeable and not included in the price of the boat. If you fancy a few drinks, bring them with you instead of buying on the boat, as the prices are quite high.
Overall comments: I definitely am glad we paid up to stay on a luxury liner as it made our trip that much better. I personally, would not have wanted to stay on a boat that I felt uncomfortable using the bathroom on. Yes, I have an OCD trait about bathrooms, you’ll see this become a running theme in my articles! The room exceeded my expectation in every way and I would happily recommend the Indochina Junk. Whilst the food was a little below the standard I was expecting, I can certainly appreciate the difficulty of catering to lots of different tastes. Also, whilst I think Kenny had the best intentions, I do wish he had been a little more succinct in his speeches, and picked better moments to talk (i.e. not right in the middle of your dessert / coffee when you’re happily nattering away with the other boat patrons). But otherwise I would rate the boat and experience a solid 4 stars!
Best time to visit: The best time to visit is during July – November. This is also the peak season so beware that competition will be fierce. Cruises and tours do operate year-round however, so you aren’t limited to visiting only at this time of year.
Website links and useful information:
Accommodation
Indochina Junk: No 58 Au Trieu st - Hanoi – Vietnam
Visa
Not sure if you need a visa? Check here