Ha Long Bay Cruise, Vietnam

Karavansara Retreat and Residences

Siem Reap, Cambodia

15 July 2011

As many people come to both Cambodia and Vietnam I thought that they might enjoy learning a bit about our experience in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.  Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site located in Northern Vietnam.

After years of waiting I finally had a chance to take a Ha Long Bay cruise. I have to say that I was expecting something overrun and cheesy but much to my surprise it was great. First the cliffs are spectacular. The voyage of the ship thru the cliffs is like moving through a living classical Chinese painting…the misty it got and the more the receding cliffs disappeared into the distance the more scenic it became.  The cliffs seem to appear from nowhere and jut vertically and dramatically out of the water freezing in form the violence of some  catastrophic geological event. Next, we were lucky to have been invited onto one of the private ships of the Tuan Chau group who run the Paradise Cruise line. The ship, the food, the service, everything was amazing and very well done. Most importantly, the company was superb. On the ship was an English property developer with 20 years of experience in Asia and two female architects from Brazil who brought their own music!

The first meal we had on the ship was a never ending BBQ of shrimp, crabs, squids, chicken, fish with all the fixings….one of those food coma meals where you can’t quite get away from the table. Dinner was another spectacular effort. I brought two bottles of Ginjo Junmai sake from Kyoto so we were well feed and our thirsts were properly quenched. Breakfast the next morning was equally impressive.

What did we do?

Eating. Drinking.

Swimming. But you must be a bit careful. There are jellyfish in the water and one of the girls got mildly stung on the back.

Splunking. There is an interesting and very large cave located on one of the islands. It seems to be a popular spot that everyone visits.

Sleeping. The beds on the boat very so comfortable and the light movements of the boat put me out quickly and soundly.

Laughing. A lot.

To get to Ha Long Bay I flew into Hai Phong airport. From there is was about a 1 ½ hour drive to Tuan Chau Island. On the way back to HCMC I flew threw Hanoi which is a long 3 hours drive from Ha Long on a very crowded and nerve racking Vietnamese highway.

The Karavarsara Retreat and Residence is perfect for that romantic weekend away or a cultural trip with the family.  We offer both classic hotel rooms and a full service apartments to meet your vacation needs.