Bay of the Descending Dragons

Okay this is it, I'm finally working on my Vietnam blog! Pushing my Taiwan blog to the latter posts since most people (I think) would be more interested in my 11-day trip across Vietnam.

I'm actually smiling while writing this because the entire trip's probably my most memorable one. If you're not aware, I did my first ever (hopefully not the last) solo backpacking trip just this February in Vietnam. That's 11 days from Hanoi in the north to Saigon in the south.

I'm starting this series of entries with the reason that made me book a flight to Hanoi in the first place: Ha Long Bay. I was scrolling through my Instagram feed one day and saw a photo of its sunrise, it was so beautiful which is new coming from me who hates the ocean. Of course the photo alone wasn't enough but I read about it and learned that it had something to do with ancient Vietnamese dragons, that was the push I needed to book a flight to Hanoi.



According to ancient Vietnamese folklore, this is where the gods used to send dragons to protect Vietnam from foreign invaders. They descended from the skies and spewed rocks of jade that became the limestone islands in the bay, hence the name Ha Long, Vietnamese for Descending Dragons.

Since the whole point of this solo backpacking trip was to really explore things on my own, I couldn't find a single guide online about a DIY trip to Ha Long Bay so I eventually gave up and began searching for tours instead.

I had a tight schedule and budget so I could only afford a day trip, but overnight cruises are better since you'll get to see both the sunrise and sunset -- you don't get to witness both on a day trip /sad.

There are literally dozens of agencies that offer different packages but the most convenient for me was Vietnam Open Tour. Their day trip offer is $36 which includes transfers to and from Ha Long Bay, set lunch, entrance fees, boat ride, and an English-speaking guide. Pretty solid offer and they have an excellent English-speaking customer service staff as well (I had so many questions lol.)

On the day of my tour I was picked up at my hostel in the Old Quarters of Hanoi to Quang Ninh Province and began the cruise along the bay.



I visited around late February and I expected it to be cold but for some reason I didn't bother preparing for it because I got used to the humid temperature in Saigon (which was stupid), hahaha don't be like me. While the locals of the fishing village were all covered up, here's me wearing skimpy shorts:

Nailaban ang sexy shorts sa lamig #HanoiBaYan #VietVietPao pic.twitter.com/4AxXtgegJ2

— Paolo Umpa (@paoloumpa) February 24, 2017

Good thing I brought one long sleeved shirt which I wore more than once during my stay in the North (okay tmi). Though our guide said our visit had the perfect weather, cold but not too cold (I survived with a pair of skimpy shorts and 2 layers of shirt) and not sunny either because it gets really hot in the bay too.



We were then brought to the Heavenly Palace cave, an impressive site of stalactites and stalagmites that took thousands of years to form. Some actually call it Mother Nature's art museum.



Gotta admit I was a little disappointed because we were rushed through the day and I really wish I had more time to explore the limestone islands. I was really looking forward to seeing the sun both rise and set in the magnificent bay, so if you're coming here I suggest taking at least an overnight cruise. Check out Ti Top Island too which I heard has a breathtaking panoramic view of Ha Long Bay. #VietVietPao #HanoiBaYan

As per usual, I will write the budget travel guide once I finish doing the entire trip so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can check out my South Korea and Indochina survival guides!