A harbour-full of junks at Halong Port

It was a beautiful almost monochrome world of ocean, sky and rock that we had entered and our spirits soared. Even in this weather, or perhaps because of it, the magic of the Halong landscapes triumphed.

After cruising slowly amongst the ethereal columns of limestone, we passed a floating village to rejoin the mad scrabble of junks and land at Hang Sung Sot Island. Here we visited a massive and strangely dry cavern deep in the island's interior, a long line of tourists snaking through like the file at Uncle Ho's mausoleum, but with considerably less respect. The main chamber of the cave was big enough to swallow all the passengers from all the junks on the bay and, in the case of some embarassingly loud and foul-mouthed compatriots, I wished it had done so.

Is a cave formation really more beautiful when illuminated in blue, green red or yellow lights - I think not!

Lighting apart, the cave had been fascinating, but it was good to escape massed humanity and return to the "Huy Hoang" for a short trip over to Ti Top Island and a climb over some 300 steps to its conical peak. Here, in the late evening light, we had a birds-eye view of this cluster of rugged islands - with the lights of the armada of junks assembled beneath beginning to twinkle and (almost) blend in with the breathtaking beauty of the setting.

The classic view of Halong Bay from the lookout at Ti Top Island - taken as evening falls

That evening, we joined the floating city of lights, as junks from all over assembled in these calm waters for dinner and a night on board. Sitting on deck and looking at the brooding reflections of islets in the dark waters, sparkling with the lights of this strange armada of junks, the disappointment of the morning seemed very far away. Halong Bay is that kind of place!

Ti Top Island to Cat Ba

Here we drifted in circles in the curious current for twenty minutes, waiting for the arrival of a smaller junk. It was changeover time - those only doing a 2-day cruise would stay aboard and return to Halong, those of us who opted for a 3-day cruise boarded the "Trinh Vu" and headed further south down a long channel towards Lan Ha Bay and our eventual destination, Cat Ba Island.

We slowly puttered down the channel, lined with eroded and dark-stained limestone cliffs, topped with rich green vegetation, and undercut by waves to create the odd sea-caves and arches. A trio of Cat Ba hawks soared on thermals above the rocky islets and, every so often, we passed a grey heron standing rigidly on the rocky ledges watching for fish.

A navigation marker appeared ahead, and the "Trinh Vu" turned in to pick its way past a cluster of islets and reach the dock of Viet Hai, a small village on Cat Ba Island - it was time for a little land-based activity. The drizzle had returned, so wet weather gear was brought out again, and we selected a mountain bike each from amongst a number of short-seated, broken-geared specimens and headed off inland along a narrow 6km concrete road that connected the harbour to the village of Viet Hai. It was all good fun, pedalling along in the warmish drizzle with knees around our ears, along the edge of a long inlet, then a few short hill climbs and descents beneath jungle-clad karst domes to reach Viet Hai at the edge of a cultivated flat.

 

Evening was now rapidly approaching, so we boarded our junk once more and headed off around this crazily indented coastline to Cat Ba township, a booming little resort town with a very large offshore village of floating houses and fish farms.

Tonight we would call Cat Ba home.

Reaching the northern end of Dan Hang Trai, we did the same boat swap as yesterday in reverse and set off northward on the "Hua Hoang" on a slightly more westerly return to Halong than our outward passage; one last chance to appreciate the beauty of this remarkable part of the world.

Almost as remarkable as the scenery was the gradual convergence of junks from every part of the bay onto the port at Halong as they reassembled for the midday changeover of tourists. Once off the boat, we stopped briefly for lunch, enabling us to have the views of the bay from the mainland that were denied on our trip out. Then it was back in the bus and home to Hanoi.

There is no doubt that Halong Bay is a popular destination and tourists come here from all over the world - on our trip we had pleasant travelling companions from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany and Turkey which added to the interest of the journey itself. Despite the uncertain start, it will be one of the highlights of our time in Vietnam.