| When it comes to weekend getaways, you just | | | | the Vietnamese army stopped the Chinese from |
| can't beat flopping around on the deck of a junk in | | | | landing. Also in 1288 General Tran Hung Dao stopped |
| Halong bay, says Duc Hanh | | | | Mongol ships from sailing up the nearby Bach Dang |
| At 11.30 am, the sun is high in the sky and burning | | | | River by placing steel-tipped wooden stakes at high |
| bright. At the pier countless wooden junks, sailboats, | | | | tide, sinking the Mongol Kublai Khan's fleet. Of course, |
| speedboats and tiny bamboo boats bob around. | | | | the legend is that a slew of dragons spat out jewels |
| While tour guides try to organise how to get their | | | | and jade into the sea. These jewels turned into the |
| groups on board, we sit with our bags in hand, ready | | | | islands and islets that are dotted around the bay, |
| to test out our sea legs. | | | | which could be linked together to form barriers |
| "Which one is ours?" says a fellow traveler on my | | | | against would-be invaders. |
| tour a tad impatiently. | | | | It's easy to see why residents of Halong would have |
| After a four-hour-stint in the van from Hanoi, | | | | conjured up such legends to explain the supreme |
| everybody is understandably itching to kick back and | | | | scenery. |
| feel the sea breeze on board. | | | | Understandably, after our mini-hike a thirst is upon |
| Just then a speedboat arrives with a flourish and we | | | | the travelling party! We clamber back on board for a |
| pile on board before zooming off to the Indochina | | | | few sundowners with beers and cocktails all round. |
| Sail, a large, handsome junk that the captain proudly | | | | The sun drops behind the surrounding islands as we |
| announces is 40 metres long and 8.5 meters wide - | | | | sit in the dwindling twilight. |
| and indeed it seems a fine, seaworthy vessel to me. | | | | Heading back to my cabin to shower and change for |
| In my time I've been on board a few of the bay's | | | | dinner, I'm fairly surprised to discover a royal |
| shabbier junks. It is one point worth making: when it | | | | costume laid out for me. A card reads: "For tonight's |
| comes to visiting Halong Bay it's worth treating | | | | Royal banquet." |
| yourself. Thankfully there's more than a few classy | | | | Slightly tipsy, I happily oblige. It's only when I arrive |
| junks to choose from these days. | | | | up on deck for the BBQ dinner I realise that the |
| Walking around on board the Indochina Sail, I discover | | | | costume is a rather baggy and my hat fairly |
| a restaurant, the Indochina Sail Bar, a gift shop and | | | | cumbersome, still I manage to move around and fill |
| even a library. Guests can also avail of binoculars, | | | | my plate. A Japanese tourist, Megumi Katsu is more |
| snorkeling equipment or top-of-the-line Canadian | | | | taken by her new look - "This is the most fun I have |
| made kayaks. | | | | had on my holidays yet!" |
| With a grand view ahead, I tentatively start with the | | | | At night in the bay is magical. A canopy of glittering |
| binoculars. Most of my fellow travellers are content | | | | stars above us, a refreshing coolness in the air - it is |
| to flop around the deck, sipping drinks, surveying the | | | | pure bliss just to sit around with the other travelers, |
| scene or catching a bit of sun. A trip to Halong is first | | | | your friends or partner. Conversation is optional. |
| and foremost about relaxing! | | | | Chris Wedlake and his wife, both looking positively |
| Sun-shy, I stretch out on a lie-low on the more | | | | regal, are on their honeymoon. "It's an earthly |
| shaded lower deck and listen to the buffeting breeze | | | | paradise for a couple of newly weds!" So smitten |
| and the sound of the boat chopping through the | | | | with Halong, he and his wife says they'd come back |
| waves. Time passes and I happily doze a little in the | | | | for their anniversary every year if they could. |
| salty air. | | | | Traditional Vietnamese melodies hang in the air. The |
| However, a call for lunch stirs me right out of my | | | | boat gently rocks. A few of the staff invite guests |
| light slumber. A five-course lunch is devoured by the | | | | to fish for cuttlefish. But my eyes are heavy and I |
| hungry guests. We hadn't even worked up an | | | | slip away to my cabin promising myself I'll rise with |
| appetite. | | | | the dawn - someone mentions morning tai chi |
| Afterwards, I fight the urge to have a siesta and | | | | exercises on the top deck and I nod in enthusiastic |
| head out onto the deck as the boat floats into Bai | | | | agreement. |
| Tu Long Bay. We drop anchor at Soi Sim island, | | | | But when I wake the sun is already up. I hear the |
| famed for its rose myrtle brush. | | | | voices of vendors who have rowed up to our junk |
| The island sits in clear, blue waters and is also home | | | | to sell snacks, seafood, souvenirs and cigarettes. I |
| to white sandy beaches. A member of the crew | | | | stumble upstairs and discover guests still there from |
| asks if anyone wants to swim but we're already in | | | | the night before - each one chose to sleep on deck |
| our trunks and bathing suits ready to dive in. | | | | in the open air rather than spending the night in their |
| Afterwards, we head ashore and climb to the summit | | | | cabin. |
| of the island which offers yet another idyllic setting. | | | | A smell of fresh coffee is in the air as the boat pulls |
| Although Halong is a large area with over 1,900 | | | | away; the crew informs us of our itinerary for the |
| limestone islets and a 120-km coastline, when you get | | | | morning, but all of the passengers just reply with |
| in amongst the islets it seems more intimate than | | | | sleepy smiles. We are already under Halong Bay's |
| grand. | | | | spell. No one really minds where we go next, |
| The random scattering of islets meant the bay had | | | | anyway, you can't take a wrong turn while cruising in |
| its defensive advantages in the past. On three | | | | Halong Bay. |
| occasions in the labyrinth of channels near the islands | | | | |