The only other thing I had to do before I departed Hanoi was a tour of Halong Bay. Seven years ago I visited on an overnight trip and had an amazing time. This was not repeated. Halong Bay is too far away from Hanoi to do it properly as a day trip, except in the most perfunctory, tick-box manner. Also, the crowds of different tours all visiting the same sites made me feel like I was on a conveyor belt.
A long bus ride takes us to a building dedicated to explaining the cultivation and setting of pearls to indifferent and impatient tourists. Fifteen minutes later we were herded back onto the bus for a short ride to the port, before being thrown onto a boat.
After a fairly decent lunch most of us made our way to the upper decks for fashion shoots and selfies.
Eventually, we made our way to Titop Island, where we had forty-five minutes to sunbake, swim and otherwise frolic with hundreds of other tourists. I managed to get some swimming done, the first time in salt water this trip.
The next stop was a cave system I never quite managed to get the name of, but needless to say, it felt like every tourist in Vietnam was trying to visit at once, which didn’t do anything positive for my claustrophobia.
However the formations and sunlight shining through holes in the rock made it worth it.
It didn’t help when a pair of either Australian or New Zealander women started screaming abuse at other tourists taking selfies.
The last activity was kayaking or bamboo boating under a low cave entrance, which was nice but I trusted the boats about as much as I trust Hanoi pimps, so I left my phone behind.
The rest of the day involved a slow boat trip back, then the bus. It was a good, but not great day.
Adrian's Got The Moose 