11th May 2015

The knock on the door at 7 am came much too soon, especially after a night spent on the hardest mattress I’ve ever encountered. Sue was already in the shower when I groggily opened the cabin window. Outside, the sea was perfectly calm, and the breath taking islets were still in their place. Some of the other boats that had shared our anchorage during the night were slowly making their way to their next destinations, disturbing the tranquil waters. The reflections of the towering, tree-covered limestone rocks shivered as if stretching off the remnants of sleep. I snapped a couple of quick photos before heading into the shower myself, eager to start the day.

Breakfast was served in the main room, where everyone dug into a substantial spread. If you looked past the fruit and pancakes, it could almost pass for an English breakfast. After finishing, we donned life-jackets and made our way to the cutter for a short trip across the water to a nearby island. The guide had promised a very surprising cave, and I was sceptical, wondering what could possibly surprise seasoned travellers like ourselves.

Our journey turned into a bit of a race as several other cutters appeared, all trying to stake a claim on the best route to the small quay. Once we reached the shore, we lined up with the lucky ones who’d beaten us to it and smirked at the others still arriving. The heat was oppressive, and I couldn’t wait to step into the cool of the grotto.

After handing over our tickets to the man at the bottom of the steps, we made our way up the rock face to the entrance, which was halfway up the cliff.

I was mildly surprised by the first of the three chambers. The path leading in had been well paved, though naturally slippery, and well-lit, allowing me to take a few photos. The second chamber was much more intriguing, accessed through a narrow slit that suddenly opened into a vast, colourful expanse. As we made our way down to the floor of the cave, I realised that the entrance we’d come through was just a bulge in the wall, and the cave seemed to stretch far behind and beneath it.

The third and final chamber was absolutely massive. Words couldn’t capture the immensity of it, so I switched to video and panned across the scene that unfolded before me, stretching out in every direction. I was definitely surprised, more so when we continued walking, and after about ten minutes, we turned a corner only to find that the cave stretched even further into the distance. And yet again, the same pattern emerged.

As for the name of this system? The Surprise Cave. It truly lived up to its name!

After returning to the cutter, we made our way back to the boat, where we were instructed to pack our bags and head to the main room to check out. This involved settling our bar bill, and I’m happy to report that Sue’s portion was slightly greater than mine, always a fun detail to share!

With check-out done, we spent some time lounging on the decks as the boat slowly made its way back to Halong Bay Quay. During the latter part of the journey, the chef treated us to a vegetable flower-making lesson. He made it look so effortless, but I can only imagine that if we had tried, Sunday lunch might have needed to start on a Saturday! Still, it was a fun and unique experience to watch.

It was with genuine misgivings that we disembarked, as we had thoroughly enjoyed our time onboard, so much of which hasn’t even made it into this blog. If we ever return, we’ll definitely opt for the 7-day cruise around the whole island system. It would be an amazing experience to see even more of this stunning area.

A sobering footnote, however, came as we were making our way between the islands on our return. We came across a pile of garbage that had clearly been jettisoned by one of the cruise boats. Plastic and food waste were sloshing around on the waves, and it was inevitable that much of it would wash up onto those beautiful craggy islands, making it almost impossible to remove without significant effort and expense. What a shame. I can only hope that the Vietnamese authorities take steps to protect this incredible treasure and prevent such waste from ruining the natural beauty of Halong Bay.

Boarding the bus to return to Hanoi, we were treated to another very substantial meal at a restaurant across from the quay. I’ve discovered that I’ve developed a taste for squid, especially when I douse it in the fiery red condiment that’s always available on the table. Sue has started to worry that I might be turning into a fish lover, but I’ve yet to try the fish that accompanies every meal, so far. I haven’t pointed out to her yet that Vietnamese fish tend to be quite bony (though delicious), whereas squid is a lot easier to eat!

The return journey was quite bumpy; the road surface on the way to Halong Bay was new, but the return route wasn’t and was filled with ‘surprise’ potholes. We had a brief stop in the same rest station as the previous, though this time, the only things we bought were an ice lolly and a postcard. And, we were first back on the bus.

When we got back to our hotel, Sue showered, and then we set off down Hang Doa Road to do some shopping. We started with drinks at our favourite corner by the Kamikaze roundabout, where we once again watched the near carnage unfold before heading into the shops. After several hours of searching, we returned to the hotel empty-handed. Sue had been looking for a ‘thin’ top, but neither of us could have predicted how difficult that would be. Now, Sue is not a big lady, but compared to the average Vietnamese woman, she’s a veritable giant! I lost count of how many shops we entered, searching through racks of clothes to find something that might fit. One challenge was that whenever Sue asked to try something on, the answer was always ‘no.’ However, the Vietnamese shopkeepers were very honest; several times, they stopped us from considering certain items, indicating they were too small. No sale was made.

Returning empty-handed to the hotel, we checked on the time for the next day’s transfer to the airport, and we were relieved to hear it was a reasonable 1 pm. We then changed for dinner and ventured out once more.

We chose another restaurant on the roundabout, but this time, it was opposite our usual spot. Once again, we were high enough to look down on the free motorised entertainment. We were treated to three guest acts: balloon sellers who, rather suicidally, stood in the middle of the traffic peddling their wares. It certainly added a bit of excitement to our meal! I would recommend this experience to anyone visiting Hanoi as a must-do tourist attraction.

Afterwards, we braved the traffic back to the hotel and headed to bed. By now, we’ve honed our dodging skills on the streets of Hanoi, but we have yet to face the real test: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), where we’re reliably told by fellow travellers that the traffic is twice as bad. Ooooooooooooooooooooooerrrrrrr!