Halong Bay is one of those “must do’s” if you ever visit Vietnam – everyone we met who had been to this country put this at the top their list. Halong Bay is made up of over 3000 small barren limestone islands, that dot the horizon and appear to go on forever. The best way to see this Unesco World Heritage protected area is sailing aboard a “junk boat”. Not the classiest of names for the boats used to sail the region, but they certainly are not “junky”.

Three days and two nights aboard the Annam Junk Boat was the absolute perfect way to see the area. Since some of the smaller inlets and grottos can only be accessed aboard a kayak, we opted for the “sea-kayaking package” where any chance possible we were able to jump on the kayak and explore the vicinity.

From the moment we arrived to Annam Junk, we weren’t disappointed. First off, we were informed that there would only be 4 of us on the sail, which considering the boat typically carries 12 passengers was pretty sweet. For the mere four of us passengers, there was a crew of 7– not too shabby! Next, we got introduced to our suite room that had windows on two sides and yielded amazing views, as well a normal sized bathroom (which on a boat is pretty unusual). There was a lot more room to maneuver around then when we sailed the Whitsundays aboard the Pacific Sunrise.

Our first lunch was an 8 course meal of varying seafood’s including whole crabs, steamed fish, grilled calamari, and clams. Unfortunately, this first lunch was the best meal served, and the food slowly degenerated into some pretty unappetizing dishes (good thing food was not the primary focus on this sailing trip).

We jumped in right away this first afternoon to sailing to Hang Luon Cave and kayaking around this serene grotto. One of the most spectacular parts was being in these gorgeous areas with very few people around. It was just us, and the Italians (Roberto and Jackimo --the other two on our boat) kayaking this area. You could hear every bird chirp and every cricket humm in the complete solitude of this area. This was a very special place to be, and for a while Jason and I just sat there floating on the kayak lost in our thoughts absorbing all the beauty around us.

A hike straight up to a scenic look-out yielded some of the most amazing views of Halong Bay that late afternoon, and was a perfect place to watch the sun begin to set. We sat on the beach for a bit, and then it was time again to set sail into the sunset and have dinner.

Dinner and the entire evening festivities this first night could be a whole post of its own, so I’ll give the abridged version of the fun we had (and let the video clip speak for itself). I will say it involved a couple bottles of wine, two bottles of booze, some karaoke spearheaded by our fearless leader Mike, a major dance party with the whole crew (all men – I was the only female on the boat), and one of the crew members getting so drop down drunk he had to be carried down to his room. It was amazing being able to bond with some of locals – even though we didn’t speak the same language, we were able to have so much fun together.

The next morning we were all hurting a little, but that didn’t keep us from waking up nice and early and exploring the Surprise Sung Sot cave. This cave was incredible – it was absolutely humongous, with incredibly interesting formations, most of which Mike had pretty interesting descriptions of.

We said good-bye to our Italian friend’s who would be heading back home that day, and we boarded our own private boat to explore the bay and do a lot more sea kayaking. This time we really were the only people in some of the grottoes we paddled into, which was too beautiful to even put words to. The water was so clear you could look straight through and see the coral sparkling below the surface, as well little fish swimming around. Jason even jumped in and took a dip in the secluded grotto.

From sailing through the floating fishing community, to checking out the little local floating museum, and even laying out and swimming on a secluded beach, we certainly had a full day. We crashed by 9 pm that evening, barely able to sit through dinner we were so exhausted.

Now, we’re about to dock at the port and say farewell to Halong Bay. The exquisite visions of the towering karst limestone islands, the beautiful secluded grottoes and inlets, and the complete serenity of being in the Bay will never leave us though (and this is yet another place we’re already making plans to return to again!)