Solo trip to Halong Bay

I am going to say something controversial. I really didn’t like Halong Bay.

Full disclosure: 1) The weather was not great and 2) I was travelling on my own (will explain later). But despite this, I was very disappointed in Halong Bay. Let me explain why.

After a pretty grim first day in Hanoi, Derek’s tummy was not much better by the following morning. This was a big problem for us as we were supposed to leave for Halong Bay at 8am. Halong Bay is one of the iconic Vietnamese sights and was going to be a highlight of our stay here.

While he was not ill as such and his bouts of diarrhoea were sporadic, he was not going to risk the 4-hour bus ride that would form the start of our trip. 

So I had a really tough choice to make; do I stay, or do I go. I really did not want to go without Derek, as it didn’t feel right to leave him alone in the hotel room and, from a selfish point of view, it wouldn’t be fun experiencing this without him. On the other hand, if I stayed in Hanoi, I would probably still go sightseeing without him.

He encouraged me to go, so I decided to make the most of it and bring back lots of photos.

The weather was grey and overcast so the mood on the bus was a little gloomy. Two hours into our drive, we stopped at a massive tourist hall for our halfway pit stop, where we could buy souvenirs, refreshments and use the bathroom. The number of tourist buses at the stop were unbelievable. Everyone was on their way to Halong Bay!

When we researched this specific trip, many people advised against doing a one day trip on the bay, as you never really get far enough from the town to experience the peace and tranquillity of this magnificent site. We therefore ended up booking a 1 night, 2 day trip which meant we would sail much further away from town and leave the madness behind. Or so I thought… 

We finally arrived in Halong Bay and the construction was something else. New hotels were being built on every corner and there were almost as many cranes as boats! Our boat was one of the smaller ones, taking 24 guests. We had quite a cosmopolitan crowd with people from South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, Germany and Australia.

From the moment we stepped on the boat, it felt like we were part of well-constructed and choreographed meat factory. Every boat had a plan and every guide ushered their people into the right spot at the right time, making sure they “experience” something before quickly ushering them onto the next thing. 

This carefully choreographed and almost forced “fun” was completely impersonal and one felt slightly removed from the beauty of the surroundings, as if we were stomping through a zoo staring at things from behind thick glass. There was almost never a moment to just stop, relax and take it all in. Plus, with over 500 boats sailing on the bay and more than half of them doing the 1 night, 2 day tour, we were always surrounded by dozens of boats trying to squeeze into position.

It was horrid.

Then we got into our kayaks and closer to the water… it was FILTHY! There was a layer of oil and grime on the water and rubbish strewn across the place. According to our guide, several families still live on boats in the bay and dump everything they used or don’t need anymore in the water. The government has tried various things to get them off the water, but sadly this is the only life many of them know so the problem persists.

There is no doubt the lime stone karsts are absolutely stunning and the vastness of it all is totally unexpected. However, this attraction was, by far, the busiest and most crowded of everything we’ve been to, including the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat.

We also stopped (as did everyone else) at a man-made beach and a lookout tower that had stunning views from the top. Although it was so crowded at the top that you were 7th or 8th in line just to take a photo of the view. I headed back down and found a quiet spot on the beach to sit until it was time to go.

After dinner that evening we could try our hand at squid fishing. A few of us were wondering what they were going to do with all the squid afterwards. Moot point. We didn’t catch anything, obviously! Newfound respect for the local fishermen. 

The following morning after breakfast we visited the Dau Go Caves, which seemed a stop for every single boat on Halong Bay. The caves are huge but unfortunately it has been ruined by over-commercialisation and too many people going through. There were also strange and hugely colourful artificial lights which someone somewhere must have thought would look cool, but it completely ruined the caves. It also just felt that we were being herded through like cattle. I could not get out quick enough and rather spent the last 20 minutes outside enjoying the view.

I was pleased it was almost time to go. Sure, I was keen to get back to Derek, but I really did not enjoy my time on Halong Bay. I could not help but feel Vietnam is ruining it’s biggest source of tourist income and no-one is noticing. It was very sad to see.