Not too far from Hanoi is one of Vietnam’s top tourist attractions: Ha Long bay. It’s famous for the thousands of little rock formation islands that pepper the water. Our group did what most tourists do which is get a tour on a junk boat (which is luckily not a description of the type of boat). The weather was not the nicest, there is a certain appeal to mist shrouded hills but there are few ways to make rain seem appealing!
The boat tours include some typical touristy activities like exploring caves and kayaking. The caves are nice and all but being herded through them and the flashy lighting kind off takes away any feeling of authenticity! Kayaking was lovely and was a great way to experience some of the more serene aspects of the bay…. Such as floating dead rodents! At least we didn’t see a zip locked bag of human feces bobbing in the water like some other tourists, apparently waste disposal is a major issue for the area and the water has become quite toxic.
One of the coolest things about the area are the floating villages everywhere. Houses are constructed on floating barrels anchored down and people make their money fishing or selling food and goods to passing tourist boats. It’s crazy to pass these houses where you can see TVs on inside and dogs running around on the wooden planks surrounding the houses. I’m not sure how they get electricity or how the dogs thrive in such a small area but somehow it seems to work.
Halong bay is no doubt gorgeous but sometimes when things become really popular it can feel overcrowded or slightly inauthentic. It’s still worth visiting- you just need to realize you’re not the only one jostling to enjoy it.
