Visit the impressive Ha Long Bay when you’re in Vietnam. This is a not-to-be-missed bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. I experienced one of my happiest moments when I looked out the window of my room, bobbing in the bay, and looking at the full moon!
Impressive Visit to Ha Long Bay
During my first solo trip, I traveled to Vietnam and flew into Hanoi. I spent a few days there and admired the Tai Chi at Hoan Kiem Lake.
After that, I booked a 3-day trip to Ha Long Bay! I was super excited about it – I had already been alone for a few days and would now join a group of other travelers. With booking this trip, I also really felt that my first solo trip was taking off!
I was on my way to travel the world… alone!
Hanoi to Ha Long Bay
The bus ride was good, a few hours in a tourist bus from Hanoi to Halong. Halfway through we stopped at a shop and I could buy a nice reading book. Earlier that week I had also bought a copy of the Lonely Planet on the street for a few dollars! Plenty of reading material during my Ha Long Bay trip.
Arrival at Ha Long Bay
In the port of Ha Long Bay we were divided into two groups. I was placed in a group with more youthful participants 🙂 I soon spoke with two Chinese girls – they took a photo of me in the port of Ha Long Bay. After a while I also spoke with a Canadian couple and also two nice Israeli girls on a tour through Vietnam. We went on board and I met 2 brothers from America and 3 more girls from England. With another couple from Spain, the company was complete!
And then I got the key to my room – I had booked a room for myself alone. I didn’t want to share a room at this point in my trip. During this trip I wanted to enjoy it fully and the room was really great! It was clean and I had a small bathroom and the view over Ha Long Bay was really amazing!
Dinner on the Bay
When it started to get dark, it was time to go eat. We had a communal dinner on the deck of the boat. We had two large tables with delicious food that was prepared on the ship. There were various options for fish, rice and vegetables. I loved it!
We sat at the table for a while and enjoyed the food but also each other’s travel experiences! I learned so much about traveling in a short time.
Here I learned the so-called backpacking.
I learned how bus trips were booked and which places I definitely had to visit on my trip through Vietnam 🙂
The Magic Full Moon Moment
After a while we slowly started going to our rooms. I also lay down on bed and was super happy with this first day! When I lay there on the bed and opened the curtains to look outside… that was a magical moment. I saw that it was almost full moon and that I could still see the limestone rocks! In the background I saw the limestone rock formations that make Ha Long Bay so amazing in the moonlight! It was just magical!
I saw the other boats lying next to us – these were also lit of course. What an amazing moment that was! At that moment I felt so happy.
At that moment I realized that I had made the best decision ever to go traveling alone. I felt like the happiest person in the world at that moment!
From that moment I enjoyed being on the bed for a long time – I could hardly believe that I was there bobbing in that amazing bay…
I felt like the happiest person in the world at that moment!
The next day I was awake early. I went outside and enjoyed the view. The view over the bay was amazing! The sun was already up and I enjoyed the limestone rocks that color the panorama. I felt genuinely happy!
After a while more people came upstairs and our breakfast also came – this was served on the middle deck. After breakfast we transferred to another boat, luggage and all, and we set off for Cat Ba Island.
The boat we boarded was a bit more luxurious – it was a wonderful boat to relax, sunbathe and enjoy the surroundings! The sun came through and the day started wonderfully!
Exploring the Bay
After sailing for a while, the group was again halved. Part had only booked 2 days and one night and so they went back and we continued to Cat Ba Island. First we would visit a cave where we might encounter monkeys. But we would also go kayaking.
The Sung Sot cave was beautiful – we had a nice walk in the cave and halfway through we got this amazing view over the bay! Also an advantage of a trip with fellow travelers… they can take a photo of you 🙂
Kayaking in Ha Long Bay
And kayaking was also great! I sat in the kayak with a nice British girl. She would continue traveling alone but was now still traveling with friends she knew from England. After this trip they would say goodbye again, she told me, and she would continue traveling to Australia where she wanted to work.
Everyone had such a beautiful and interesting story!
The American couple had been on the road for 2 years already. They had worked in China – they had taught English there to save up again for another year of traveling. They certainly hadn’t planned when they would go back yet… they were leaving it to what came their way this coming year.
Visit to Cat Ba Island
Halfway through the day we arrived at Cat Ba Island. A hotel was booked for us and after we checked in, we went for a walk in the national park. Here we could take some beautiful photos at a viewpoint!
I thought the walk was great! It was warm but I loved being in nature for a while!
In the meantime, I had heard that I had to book a bus ticket for the night bus to Hue. Because that was where I wanted to go. I could buy it at the hotel where we were now, I was told. So when I asked, a ticket at Sinh Cafe was arranged for me in no time. It was explained where I had to go when I came back to Hanoi and how long I had to wait. I could be dropped off there by the trip I had now when they brought me back to Hanoi, how well organized!
On my first solo trip to Ha Long Bay, I learned how to be a backpacker, how to travel in Asia!
Final Day on the Bay
The next day we went back into that amazing bay and boarded a boat again. We visited an island where we could swim in Ha Long Bay or undertake a hike. Again it was a combined group, 2 boats became 1 boat again.
I met a French woman, she told me she had been traveling around for 2 years already. She had done amazing things and visited amazing countries. She had been laid off and received a considerable bonus. With that money she was now traveling around. She had nothing at the moment in her home country and really didn’t know yet when she would stop traveling.
The weather was wonderful and when we arrived at the island, I wanted to go swimming.
The French woman asked me if I wanted to come along to a beautiful viewpoint. That would mean we had to hike a nice trek upwards. Of course I wanted to!
At one point, when we were already quite high, many people went back down. The path became a bit less passable. We were the perseverers who kept going!
The view we got was certainly worth it!
Swimming in the Gulf of Tonkin
After this trek, I was ready to swim – the beach and the bay were wonderful! I lay on my small travel towel and enjoyed the moment. A little later I went into the water together with Janine. We swam in the fresh seawater of the Gulf of Tonkin. Janine’s friend took some nice photos of us and I have a wonderful memory of it!
Israeli Janine and me!
After swimming and the hike, we went back on board to sail for a few more hours. When we were back on land, we took this amazing photo!
I had had amazing days!
Back in Hanoi around 6 PM and so I could catch my 6:45 PM bus. I ate some street food and lay down in that amazing sleeper bus that Vietnam has!
On the way to the rest of my first solo trip!
Want to Go to Ha Long Bay Too? I Completely Understand.
Book your 3-day trip to Ha Long Bay right away with an excursion to Ninh Binh instead of Cat Ba Island.
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Want to Read More About My Trip Through Vietnam?
- Discover Hanoi in a Day – Vietnam
- Cookingclass at the Red Bridge in Hoi An
- Canyoning in Dalat – Vietnam
- Early Morning Activities at Hoan Kiem Lake – Hanoi