Fauna & Flora International (FFI) was established in 1903, it was the world’s first international conservation organization and the pioneering work of its founders in Africa led to the creation of numerous protected areas, including Kruger and Serengeti National Parks

SNV is a Netherlands-based international development organization that provides advice to local organizations in developing countries. SNV have 30 field offices and 1200 staff working mostly in poor and marginalized communities in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America

With 3 days meeting in Vu Linh, leaders of tour operators and NGO’s representative have found the co-operated way to create responsible travel package, fund for reponsible and sustainable tourism projects and support the rural and ethnic community in travel industry such as house building, clean the rubbish on trails or in Halong bay.

Tour operators and NGOs have agreed to establish the club where is gathered by Tour Operators who supports responsible and sustainable travel and NGOs who support poor communities and preserve flora and fauna in National forest by funding responsible tourism projects in Vietnam.

ATA expresses a desire to promote Vietnam as Responsible and sustainable travel destination as well as become the leader of Tour Operators in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to develop responsible travel products.

For reference, please review some tours as below:
- Trekking in Pu Luong Reserve: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=30
- Biking in Pu Luong: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=36
-Sapa trekking & Homestay http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=25

Halong Bay
Halong Bay is one of the most spectacular, and therefore heavily ‘touristed’ attractions in Vietnam. Stretching along the Northeast Vietnamese border with China it comprises thousands of limestone karst outcroppings and more than 750 islands of all sizes that dot the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Legend has it that the bay, ‘Descending Dragon’ in Vietnamese, was named after a family of dragons sent by the gods to help the Viet people repel Chinese invaders. Spitting emeralds and jade (the islands) into the waters of the bay they created a natural defensive area that helped protect what became Vietnam. After their success the dragons liked the area so much that they decided to stay. They weren’t alone in their high opinions of the landscape - the area was formally inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, which of course led to an even greater influx of local and foreign visitors.

Getting to Halong Bay from Hanoi couldn’t be simpler - the hard part is making a choice between the hundreds of hotel tours and local operators. We were very happy with the tour we arranged through our hotel, and after chatting to other travelers who had been to Halong it seems that we had one of the better trips. The vast majority of options center around either two days and one night or three days and two nights in Halong. We chose the longer option and were glad we did.

Our trip began with a mini-bus ride (of about 3 hours) from our Hanoi hotel (where we had left the bulk of our clothes and large backpacks) to Halong Bay town. Our local guide, Son, took great delight in explaining with a huge grin that we shouldn’t worry about the 3000+ Vietnamese who die each year in the crazy traffic here because “Viet women and men make many many babies!”. At the port we boarded our luxury junk (traditional Viet sailing vessel) with about ten other tourists. It was to be both our transport around the Bay and our lodging for the first night. One note here for future travelers - be advised that although the tour to Halong Bay tends to be very reasonably priced (including all meals), they try to make up for this by charging exorbitant prices for drinks on-board ($25+ for wine, $3+ for beers etc) - and for all drinks that you bring aboard or buy on outings and bring back you will be charged ‘corkage’ - ranging from $5 per bottle of wine or 5000 Dong per bottle of beer (this applies to all drinks except water - so bring plenty of that with you to avoid the outrageous prices).

Our first day, which was the least enjoyable, was spent exploring “The Amazing Cave” - which although admittedly rather large was perhaps a little too developed (and therefore less amazing than it probably was ten years ago) - the best part of which was at the exit from which vantage we captured some of our best photos in Vietnam so far. Aboard the junk again we headed for a local swimming beach (on yet another island) - which was also a little less than we had expected in that the waters and beach were quite dirty - mainly oil from all the junks that moor there (Denise’s white bikini came out a dark shade of grey and we could write in the oil on our arms and legs). After the swim (and much-needed shower) the junk sailed to another picturesque spot and dropped anchor for the night (surrounded by about 7 other similar junks - we suspect that they are required to overnight in set spots). Dinner was very nice (mainly seafood) and it was super getting to know all our fellow travelers. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards with Phil and Kirsty (an Aussie couple from Cairns) and their brother Andy - welcome to the Blog guys!.

The second day was so much better - and the hazy weather had cleared into bright sunshine. After packing and a quick breakfast we all transferred from the junk to a smaller taxi boat (picking up some new travelers along the way - notably Lachy and Lisa, also from Aussie - welcome to the Blog guys!). Our next stop was the far side of Cat Ba island (the largest in the bay) where we each chose a bike and cycled about 7km inland passing some amazing scenery of local villages, rice paddies, mountains and forests. A short 3km walk into the jungle brought us to an abandoned ‘ancient village’ - which we had a few minutes to explore, before trekking back and riding back to the boat. We then took a short ride to the best beach we had seen in Halong - pristine white powdery sand, clean water, and sheer mountain cliffs rising out of the bay. It was here that we had some swimming/sunbathing time and that our guides set up our beach BBQ lunch! Great prawns, squid, fish, rice, veggies…ahh what a rough life!

After lunch we headed to yet another spot where we moored alongside some floating huts to pick up our sea kayaks. Denise and I discovered that despite our pretty much perfect match in almost everything we are not good paddling partners! Still it was great fun to explore the bay and the myriad islands by kayak - and we all ended up in a truly magical place - where a ring of islands form a solid circle with only one opening (a low cave) that leads into a totally enclosed body of water - something right out of a movie. Throwing caution to the winds we jumped out of the kayak and swam for a while - it was perfect. We wished we could have spent more time kayaking but all too soon it was back to the boat and off to ‘Monkey Island’ - which was less enchanting - four or five monkeys scampering around a beach where we killed time by collecting shells and skipping stones. Our final port of call for the day was Cat Ba (’Women Island’) town where we caught a short bus ride to our hotel for the night - the Holiday View hotel.

The hotel was quite upmarket by Halong Bay standards - very modern if lacking some warmth - and it was comfortable. We spent the night at a local pool bar with the others from our group and had a fun evening - made even more so by the fact that the Springboks won the World Cup!! Yay South Africa!! The next day was a traveling one - bus to the boat, slow boat ride back to Halong Bay town, bus over land-bridge to the nearest island for a final lunch and then a 3 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.

Halong Bay definitely has its plus points and is definitely worth the visit - but you do need to be prepared to deal with its less exciting and more banal side - bearing in mind that you are one of several million visitors every year.
Author: Wandering Spaulls
Here is a chance to experience Halong Bay:

Luxury cruises in Halong Bay: http://www.indochinasails.com/en/Itinerary.html
Deluxe wooden junks in Halong Bay: http://www.halongdiscovery.com
For more information about tours in Vietnam, click here: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=listByCategoryId&catId=3

 Tags: vietnam travel, vietnam tours, Sapa trekking tours, Vietnam biking tours, Vietnam trekking tours,Halong bay kayaking tours,Vietnam motorcycle tours,cambodia travel, cambodia tours, Cambodia trekking tours, Cambodia biking tours,Cambodia motorcycle tours, Cambodia family tours & vacations, Indochina tours & holidays, Laos travel, Laos tours, Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Trek Fansipan & Sapa Travel, Tours, hotels, holidays in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Cruises in Halong Bay, Junks in Halong Bay, Hoi An Hotels & Resorts , Saigon Hotels , Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises , SaPa Hotels , Hue Hotels , Nha Trang Hotels & resorts, Phan Thiet Hotels & Resorts , Phu Quoc Hotels & Resorts, Hanoi Tours & daily excursions , Halong Bay Tours & daily excursions , Sapa Tours & daily excursions , Hue Tours & daily excursions , Hoi An Tours & daily excursions , Saigon Tours & Mekong daily tour , Nha Trang Tours & daily excursions , Halong Bay travel, Halong Bay adventures, Valentine Junk, Vietnam Cruises, Vietnam Junks, Halong Bay Deluxe Cruises, Vietnam Luxury Boats,Travel to Vietnam, Hotels in Vietnam, Asian Junks, Vietnam Kayaking, Trek Mai Chau , Kayak Cat Ba, Visit Angkor Wats Temples , Kayak Luang Prabang, Bike Luang Prabang , Kayak Vang Vieng, Kayak Si Phan Don , Trek Luang Nam Tha, Trek Phong Sali, Vietnam cruises, Vietnam holiday, Halong Bay junks & Cruises, Halong Bay boats

Sapa biking tours

PU DAO, LAI CHAU PROVINCE, Vietnam — I told a man in nearby Sin Ho Township that not long ago a British travel company (Gecko Travel) rated this place as one of the top five trekking destinations in Southeast Asia. He looked doubtful.

To many Vietnamese, Pu Dao, a collection of villages in the northwestern province of Lai Chau, offers no touristic lure. A community of only 900 H’mong people, it’s isolated by woods, mountains, ignorance and poverty.

But the rating piqued my interest, and I wanted to experience the trails for myself.

After a three-hour bumpy ride from Dien Bien Phu City — the only city in northwest Vietnam — I got off the bus at Lai Ha Bridge, which spans a tributary of Vietnam’s longest river: Song Da. From there I watched oblong boats, the common means of transportation in the Northwest, drift by.

On the other bank, there was Chan Nua, a typical village of Thai people with stilt houses hiding under coconut fronds. Through the roofs, smoke rose, threading through the foliage, dispersing into the misty air.

From Lai Ha Bridge, I began the 15-mile trek to Pu Dao. The trail spiraled up into the woods, where millions of bamboo sprouts shot upward and thick groves were interwoven as it had never been touched by humans. In H’mong language, Pu Dao means high mountains.

Hong Ngai, the first village I encountered, was a light patch adorning the interminable flora of the region. Four or five wooden houses of Vietnamese teachers clustered around the local government building. Several bamboo houses of H’mong people squatted on the hillside.

I visited Ngo Thi Thanh Nuong, a 35-year-old woman, and learned about part of a teacher’s life working in a school in the mountains.

For 15 years in Pu Dao, Mrs. Ngo had been struggling to teach the H’mong children the national Vietnamese language, known as tieng Kinh. She visited every family, begging the parents to let their children go to school. To keep the kids coming back, she would buy them candy.

At the village’s communal water tank, I saw a group of H’mong women and kids bathing. Their naked bodies sparkled under the sun.

I ran into Pa Thi Lau on her way to get water. With a brown complexion, high nose and large eyes, Lau had the face of an Indian beauty queen. The little girl had nearly finished her elementary education when her older brother had another baby and made her quit school to run domestic errands.

Lau had nine siblings. Her older sister got married the year before and became pregnant at the age of 15, but the baby died at birth. Lau carried the 2-gallon cans toward the thatched hut at the corner of the soil path; her torn skirt tangled her feet.

I dropped in at the nearest house, where a villager was grinding corn. Around and around, the stone grinder lagged at every push and pull of the little woman, sifting layers of powder, fine and pure like flakes of snow.

Then I met Vu A Ca, the secretary of the local Communist party, on his way home from the field. A hoe hung loosely on his shoulder, sweat dripping from his wrinkled face. Nearby, a girl and a boy, about 9 or 10 years old, were crawling up a slope. The baskets of bamboo shoots on their backs weighed them down.

Night came in Hong Ngai quietly as if someone lowered a curtain. There were no electric lights, no TVs, no motorbikes. The village slept under a chorus of insect shrieks.

I spent the night in a small room with Vu Thi Quynh Hoa. The 24-year-old woman came to Pu Dao from Nam Dinh, 370 miles away, to work as the only accountant for the local government.

“A thousand years from now, Pu Dao will still be behind the present development level of the lowland,” my hostess said as she blew out the oil lamp before going to sleep.

The next day, I set off for the second village, Nam Doong, though Ms. Vu warned, “You’ll die halfway.”

I followed the only rugged trail linking the two villages; dry leaves cracked under my steps. In one stretch of glades, I could peek between the many tree trunks and admire white clouds and see mountain after mountain. Another time, I passed lawns full of rose myrtles with quivering young flowers.

I crawled along a narrow track between what seemed like a bottomless abyss and a topless cliff. Bubbling explosions resonated. From behind a hill, smoke spewed out — people were burning down the rain forest to prepare the field for a new crop.

Despite the country’s reported growth rate of more than 6 percent even in the global economic recession of 2008, despite the The World Trade Organization membership it received in 2007, this region — 350 miles to the northwest of Hanoi –still relies on slash-and-burn agriculture.

I approached Nam Doong to a chorus of goat bleats and cock crows.

A H’mong man named Hang A Pao came out to the dung-covered yard and said, “Hello.” He asked, “Where is it?” when I told him I was from Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and the nation’s largest city. Mr. Pao invited me into his home, offering me water from a soot-stained kettle. Then he went to the oil lamp at a corner, stuffing tobacco into the pipe-stopper. One moment later, smoke filled the hut, and the man indulged in delight. The sun receded behind the mountains. Dusk brought the village to its fullest animation. Following a buffalo, a boy carried a younger brother on his back and a parrot on his shoulder. A woman bent down under a bunch of firewood with a plastic can in one hand, a hoe in the other.

As I left Nam Doong, I had to climb over a communal bamboo gate. The last villager coming home from the field had knotted it too tightly.

The moon floated over the top of the trees.

I thought of the “wood ghost,” which for thousands of years was the utmost power in H’mong people’s spiritual life. A story about a gold miner dying of marsh fever, or about the many H’mong victims of cholera came to my mind. I visualized the corpses wrapped in mattresses, buried in the shallow holes right by the trail I was walking.

The fires on the field across the valleys flared up, flickering like will-o’-the-wisps.

The woods opened then closed. The moon poured mysterious moving patterns on the path. Hoots resonated from the abysses. Rattles rolled down from the hills.

I looked up at the Great Bear to keep my bearings. The starry sky was peaceful as ever.

There were no electric lights, no TVs, no motorbikes. The village slept under a chorus of insect shrieks.

Huyen Vu/Post-Gazette

Tags: vietnam travel, vietnam tours, Sapa trekking tours, Vietnam biking tours, Vietnam trekking tours,Halong bay kayaking tours,Vietnam motorcycle tours,cambodia travel, cambodia tours, Cambodia trekking tours, Cambodia biking tours,Cambodia motorcycle tours, Cambodia family tours & vacations, Indochina tours & holidays, Laos travel, Laos tours, Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Trek Fansipan & Sapa Travel, Tours, hotels, holidays in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Cruises in Halong Bay, Junks in Halong Bay, Hoi An Hotels & Resorts , Saigon Hotels , Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises , SaPa Hotels , Hue Hotels , Nha Trang Hotels & resorts, Phan Thiet Hotels & Resorts , Phu Quoc Hotels & Resorts, Hanoi Tours & daily excursions , Halong Bay Tours & daily excursions , Sapa Tours & daily excursions , Hue Tours & daily excursions , Hoi An Tours & daily excursions , Saigon Tours & Mekong daily tour , Nha Trang Tours & daily excursions , Halong Bay travel, Halong Bay adventures, Valentine Junk, Vietnam Cruises, Vietnam Junks, Halong Bay Deluxe Cruises, Vietnam Luxury Boats,Travel to Vietnam, Hotels in Vietnam, Asian Junks, Vietnam Kayaking, Trek Mai Chau , Kayak Cat Ba, Visit Angkor Wats Temples , Kayak Luang Prabang, Bike Luang Prabang , Kayak Vang Vieng, Kayak Si Phan Don , Trek Luang Nam Tha, Trek Phong Sali, Vietnam cruises, Vietnam holiday, Halong Bay junks & Cruises, Halong Bay boats

But by the time we arrived at this UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin, we badly needed a break from the mad motor-scooter traffic of the nation’s second-largest city, the swarming pineapple vendors and the ceaseless capitalist hustle. Three days of swimming, kayaking and just chilling on the deck of the Dragon’s Pearl, with drink in hand, were the ideal respite and one of the high points of our two-week trip to Vietnam in October.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

We chose the cruise of Ha Long Bay because of its proximity to Hanoi and its World Heritage designation. Still, the 105-mile van trip takes almost half a day — Vietnam’s highway system is still a work in progress and buses and trucks share the road with darting motor scooters, bicycles and plodding water buffalo.

Ha Long City’s harbor, a gateway shipping port supplying this fast-developing region, is on the dreary side. In fact, I was having second thoughts about this trip as we dragged our suitcases along a rutted path past rusting, crumbling buildings to the ship, a deluxe junk. But once we were headed into the bay, the breeze and the view from the motorized Dragon Pearl’s top deck, along with our “welcome” glasses of iced tea, lifted my spirits. So did our cabin. Our room — like the 17 others on the junk — was small but contained plenty of amenities, including a king-sized bed, a minute bathroom complete with terry bathrobes and rubber flip-flops, and air conditioning, necessary to cut through the withering heat and humidity.

The first afternoon, our ship and several others dropped anchor at a deserted beach on the tiny island of Soi Sim, where we swam and lounged away the rest of the day. The water was calm and warm, but apart from the setting, this was the least memorable outing of our cruise. Escalating tourism in the region, perhaps because of its World Heritage designation, has generated litter and pollution. So, here, miles from anywhere, plastic drink bottles and candy wrappers floated in the water and washed up on the sand.A couple of hours later, we were back on board. With a school of silvery jumping fish as our escort, our ship headed northeast toward the Hang Luon grotto, where the Dragon Pearl dropped anchor for the night in the company of several other junks.

Before dinner, we hung out on the chaise lounges arrayed on the ship’s deck, watching as the peaks surrounding us turned a dusky blue and lights on the neighboring junks twinkled on. The scene reminded me of a cross between Hawaii’s Na Pali Cliffs and Washington’s Puget Sound.Our two evenings out on the top deck, trading stories and watching night fall, were among the few times I relished being outdoors in Vietnam’s blistering heat.

But the highlight of the trip was a kayaking tour on the second day. I had been dubious about this — I had never squeezed into a kayak before, and we were far out in the bay, close to the open waters of the gulf. I feared capsizing, not being able to keep up with the group and getting drenched if the threatening skies opened up.It was nothing like that. The five kayaks were led in and around cliffs and through grottoes, pointing out birds, plants and the cliffs where monkeys nest (although we didn’t see any). The skies held, and when we beached the boats at noon on an uninhabited island, the sun came out in time for a swim.

As for lunch, think “Fantasy Island,” that kitschy late-’70s TV series. Our table already was set on the sand when we pulled up — with white tablecloths and napkins — and although the white-suited Mr. Roarke was nowhere in sight, the ship’s kitchen crew was busy barbecuing fish and peeling dragon fruit, a dramatic red cactus fruit with mildly sweet white flesh, for another magnificent meal.

In fact, all our meals were extraordinary. Lunch and dinner aboard the ship were multiple-course, white-tablecloth affairs that usually included soup, locally caught prawns and fish, chicken, stir-fried vegetables and terrific tofu dishes. Breakfast was a buffet of fresh fruit and baked goods served outdoors on the ship’s middle deck. That afternoon, we paddled some more, at one point passing a lone fisherman casting his net. His wooden rowboat rocked gently. A teapot perched on the stern.

The next morning, our ship steamed to Sung Sot Cave, one of the area’s largest and most impressive limestone caverns, spanning 12,000 square yards inside. The entrance required a short hike up several flights of stone steps to a spot high above the bay. More steps led into receding chambers, past humongous stalactites and stalagmites that resembled giant sandcastles. Here, you can see water at work, dripping from the ceiling and pooling on the floor in ponds so still and mirror-like that it left me disoriented.

That afternoon, we headed to Ha Long Harbor for the return trip to Hanoi. Back in our French Quarter hotel, as the horns of a thousand motor scooters honked outside our window, I realized the cruise had given me a different impression of Vietnam. If Hanoi is like 4 million people on Red Bull, Ha Long Bay is where time stops, where the old ways of doing things endure and where it’s quiet enough to breathe deeply and hear fish leap from the water.

Recommended promotion tours in Halong Bay:

Active Travel Vietnam:
Promotion Link: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=listByCategoryId&catId=3

Vietnam has done very well tourism-wise since reopening its doors to foreign tourists in the mid 1990’s. Combined with a good train system, affordable and frequent flights and a tourist-orientated minibus system, a bunch of very worthwhile destinations have developed into what has become a pretty well worn path running up and down the length of the country.

Most first time visitors try to get a taste of the north and the south of the country, but be warned, Vietnam is deceptively large and if you try to do too much in too short a time, you’ll wind up needing another holiday to get over your Vietnamese one.

Running north to south, visitors commence with the capital Hanoi, with many doing side-trips to both Sapa and Ha Long Bay before heading south, generally stopping at Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang then either Da Lat or Mui Ne before running into Saigon. From there many do a trip into the Mekong Delta. For those with more time, the northwest mountains, the Central Highlands and deep into the Mekong Delta are all well worthwhile extras. How long a holiday?
While you could see the basics on a top to tail trip in as little as a week to ten days, we’d strongly suggest — at least — two to three weeks as being a more realistic timeline. If you can’t give that much time to Vietnam, then consider just seeing one part of the country and saving the rest for another trip.

Ways to see more in less
Fly, fly, fly Both Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airways have affordable domestic fares — a couple of one hour flights can save you 36 hours on a train or bus.

Suggested itineraries for Vietnam

	HIKING TOURS
•	Trekking Mai Chau (4D/3N)
•	Mai Chau easy trek & home stay (3D/2N)
•	Sapa Trekking & Home-stay (4D/4N)
•	Sapa trek & Topas Eco Lodge (5D/5N)
•	Sapa Long Trails (6D/6N)
•	Different Sapa - Different Trek (6D/6N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Cat Cat Route (6D/6N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Heaven Gate Route (4D/4N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Sinchai Route (5D/5N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Mt. Fansipan & Hoang Lien National Park & Ban Ho Valley (11D/11N)
•	Trekking in Pu Luong Nature Reserve (6D/5N)
•	Trekking Cuc Phuong National Park (2D/1N)
•	Bach Ma National Park Trek & Camping (2D/1N)
•	Trekking Nam Cat Tien National Park (2D/1N)
•	Jungle Fever - Trekking Dalat (2D/1N)
	MOTORCYCLING TOURS
•	Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Half Challenge (11D/10N)
•	Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Complete Challenge (18D/17N)
•	Motorcycling Northwestern Trails (7D/6N)
•	Taste of Ho Chi Minh Trail (3D/2N)
	KAYAKING TOURS
•	Kayaking Halong Bay 4days(4D/3N)
•	Kayaking Halong Bay 3days(3D/2N)
•	Kayaking Halong Bay & Trekking Cat Ba National Park (5D/4N)
•	Trekking Cat Ba National Park & Kayaking Lan Ha Bay - Halong Bay (4D/3N)
	BIKING TOURS
•	Mekong Explorer (4D/3N)
•	West to East Biking Exploration (11D/10N)
•	Biking Pu Luong Nature Reserve (4D/3N)
•	Biking Hidden Paths of Mai Chau & Ninh Binh (4D/3N)
•	A Taste of Mekong (2D/1N)
•	Biking Mai Chau (2D/1N)
•	Biking Dalat - Northwest Circuit (2D/1N)
•	Biking Adventures Mekong & Centre Highland (11D/10N)
	FAMILY TRAVEL
•	Family Adventures in Vietnam (12D/11N)
•	Northern Highlights (10D/9N)
•	The Mighty Mekong (3D/2N)
•	Discover Vietnam & her National parks (20D/19N)
	INDOCHINA ADVENTURE
•	Vietnam-Laos Adventures (17D/16N)
•	Mekong Delta & Angkor Wat (10D/9N)

Indochina Sails at night
The first cave we stopped at is a really big one, it was really crowded with tourists, but it was great, look at the picture of the fertility symbol (hahahaha). Then back to the boat to a smaller cave. Much smaller. We had to crawl in. Our guide Nga, told us it was a maze cave so she had the girls climbing up into holes to find the way out. She was in hysterics laughing, so was I, I wasn’t climbing into any holes (so I thought!) Sure enough we had to crawl out through a tiny tunnel. I was a bit freaked. It got worse. Nga, told us there was a lovely garden further up, so we climbed up this rock face on a little trail, guided by a rope, with a sheer cliff drop down to the sea. Seriously. At the top everyone is looking at the view “wow’ ‘amazing’. Then it was time to go down but of course I was expected to move at this stage and I was rooted to the spot my legs wouldn’t stop shaking! I managed to hold it together and climbed back down, the bravery was very impressive - no crying and not much freaking out! Cait wasn’t much better than me so I didn’t feel so bad.

Dining in traditional atmosphere

Back on the boat after dinner the crew wanted us to do Karaoke. They all obviously loved karaoke and thought we should too….we were up for a laugh but the German couple were not impressed. The girls got up to do a song and the microphone kept getting awful feedback and between the girls belting out the song and the squealing feedback I was in hysterics, there were tears rolling down my face and I swear the German girl did not crack a smile she had a face like a smacked arse, which just made me worse. At one stage she put her fingers in her ears. Not a smile out of her all evening. I don’t think she approved of us. They went to bed eventually TG and everyone relaxed and had a bit of fun finally!

Had to get up at 7am for breakfast because of the Sea Kayaking. I thought this was optional as in I was going to opt out. Not so. we told Nga about fifty times that we didn’t know how to Kayak and Cait eventually managed to get out of it. I went in the canoe with Nga, shaking like a leaf of course. It was ok in the end we paddled around the sheltered part of the bay, I was happy out thinking this is not too bad…….and then the Germans with their big serious heads in their big serious raingear start going when are we going to the caves? Poor Nga is in a bit of a bind at this stage because I obviously don’t have a notion what I’m doing and neither to Caroline and Solenn and you have to go out in the open sea to get to the cave. So I said to her why don’t you tell the girls to go back (thinking she could drop me off at the boat too). Yes, the girls got sent back but oh no I had to go out in the South China Sea in a canoe to look in a cave. It was actually great but seriously hard work and poor Nga got tired halfway there and I kept soaking her with my amateur paddling but we got back alive and that’s the main thing!

Every muscle in my body hurts - hopefully I will sleep on this night train..

Source: Dee2000x - TravelPod

Recommended vessels for Halong cruises

The Indochina Sails Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com/

More cruises on Halong Bay - Active Travel Shop, #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Phone 84-4-35738569

Adventure tours on Vietnam - Active Travel Vietnam

So I arrived to Vietnam a few days ago, the 20th to be exact. I took a flight from Vientiane, Laos to Hanoi. The airport in Vientiane has to be the smallest airport in a capital city anywhere! There were only 5 flights in and out all day long!!!! Anyway the flight was uneventful…thank goodness. And I arrived safetly at the airport. I had booked my tickets with two other Britts who I had been traveling with for a few days in Laos…so we took a taxi into the city. But then we went our seperate ways. I went to a guest house and checked in. Hanoi at first glance was nice….I thought I could live there…but after spending the next day walking around all day long, I was exhausted of navigating through the crowded streets, exhausted of hearing the never ending horns blaring in my ears, and scared to death that I would be knocked over by one of the motor bikes as it sailed past me! But other than the mere commotion that happens all the time there, it is a nice city. But I definately had to mentally prepair myself while on the plane to get ready to be ripped off or haggled at everystep of the way now that I am in Vietnam, as oppossed to clam and quite Laos.

The first night I was in Hanoi I went to a water puppet show. It was amazing! It was funny since the puppets immitate daily life, and they say that thousands of years ago this ancient form of entertainment was invented in the rice fields. I thought of this as the puppets were moving in the water, and it was hillarious! The way that they move and are coordinated with the other puppets it was amazing. A nice site to see in Hanoi.

Yesterday I took a (unfortunatley a small tour group) bus out to Halong Bay. Everyone said to take a small tour since it will cost about the same and the hassle can be massive it you try to organize and hire a boat by yourself once you get out here. But the “tour” hasn’t been that great so far, especially for what I paid for it! We got a bus out here yesterday. Then we got on a boat. We sailed through Halong Bay. It was a beautiful day yesterday, sunny and blue skies, so it was nice to sit up on top of the boat on the deck and just watch all the small mountains pass by as we sailed along. The Bay was beautiful. We entered a cave, it was huge…nothing like the small cave I entered in Thailand…this one was completely lit, lit even with colored lights! Nothing to be sweating over here. We got back on the boat and sailed around some more. One hour of kayaking was suppossed to be included in the package deal, but there were only two inflatable kayaks on board our boat. So the guide stopped the big boat and four people at a time could “kayak” around a rock and back. There was only one paddle for each kayak so controlling the kayak was incredibly difficult! But it was nice to do, since there was almost a full moon starting to rise and it lit the bay. Then we slept on the boat last night.

This morning we arrived to Cat Ba Island. Some people from our group stayed on the boat to return back to Hanoi, they only booked a one day tour. But some of us continued on to check into our hotel for tonight. Then we headed out for a short hike. The hike itself was good, but the company was better, hillarious in fact! Three Australian girls returned back to the road after hiking for about 10 minutes, granted one was pretty sick. (Uh oh…guess the rest of this got cut off…I’ll try to remember my train of thought!) Anyways, the guide left one girl to hike on her own…she ended up freaking out and screaming until we went to her rescue…don’t blame her, I think I would have freaked out too, if I thught the guide sent me on my way to find my way back to the bus! Spent the rest of the day just wondering around…not much to do on the island, and the weather wasn’t the greatest.

The next morning, Christmas moring we boarded our boat again, this time it was only me and two other people who had been with me the whole time on the boat. We pulled away from the dock and started sailing out…but 10 minutes later the captain got a call on his cell phone and we headed back to the dock to wait 30 more minutes for about 10 more people to come aboard. Same thing happened again once we got off the boat and back onto the bus….had been driving for 20 min and had to turn around to go back to pick up more passengers!

Lesson from this…I thought I paid a fair amount of money for this tour, but afterwards, having spoken with many other people, it turns out they paid much more for a different and better tour…so I guess the quality just all depends on how much money you fork out…guess I didn’t pay enough!

Posted by annawojo on December 24, 2007 02:00 PM

Read more to have more information about tours on Halong bay

If you are interested in cruise on Halong bay, click here to experience

Halong kayaking

Just got back from Halong Bay this afternoon and it was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful–even more than I expected. We left at around 8am from the hostel and were picked up by Active travel Vietnam _ the tour company that we’d booked with. We picked up 6 others, a Scottish couple living in Malaysia and a pair of couples from Spain. We then departed for Halong Bay, about a 3 and 1/2 hour drive. We also then met our tour guide Ngoan, a slim young woman who spoke pretty good English. She was no Wasa though! She briefed us on Hanoi and Halong Bay history and then told us about where to go in Hanoi to find good dog and cat meat. (We weren’t too interested). And she told us about how Vietnamese people like to string up live cobras from trees, skin them, and then drink their blood while it’s still hot from the dangling end, like some kind of bizarre tribal beer bong. Yummy.

About halfway through the trip and after a much needed nap, we stopped for a break at a place that sold local handicrafts made by handicapped children. I bought a very cool picture done in embroidery of a Vietnamese woman carrying some mangos on those balancy things that Blake carried in the infamous pineapple fiasco. I talked the price down from $68 to $58 which was fair especially because as the 4 foot tall salesman kept reminding me ‘made by handicap’ children’. no word if the kids get any of the profit though.

After the break we piled back into the van and about an hour later we arrived in Halong Bay City. We jumped out and headed straight to our boat, the Halong Bay Dream and man was it ever. It was soooo nice. A new boat with space for 14 and just beautiful on the inside. Lauren and I shared a room with two big windows (for a boat) and Blake got his own room since there were just 9 of us total. After we set down our belongings, we headed up to the main deck to the open dining area for our seafood lunch. And it was incredible. They just kept bringing out dish after dish! We had the freshed squid salad, huge shrimp, lovely vegetables, rice, noodles, a whole grilled fish, fruit… the food just didn’t stop coming!

Fully stuffed to the gills, we slathered on some sunscreen, threw on our bathing suits and went up to the top deck. By then we were really getting out into the bay amidst the nearly 2000 islands there and it was incredibly beautiful. The islands are all made out of limestone from decayed oysters, clams, etc from the past 350 million years that grew to form a mountain range because of the pacific rim tetonic plates shifting. Eventually the mountain range was eroded by the water and the islands formed. Now they are all protected by Unesco which is fortunate because the only one that can be inhabited is the national park on Cat Ba island. Just beautiful!

Sunset on Indochina Sails

After sunning ourselves we then docked briefly to visit the Amazing Cave which is the biggest of the 8 or so caves that have been discovered so far in Halong Bay. And it really was amazing. Especially interesting though were the trashcans inside in the shape of dolphins and penguins which gave the weird sensation that we were at an amusement park of sorts.

From the cave, we moved onward to an island with a lookout pagoda at the very top. One 10 minute very vertical climb later we were super sweaty but enjoying the wonderful view. Blake showed me how to do a stitch assist too on my camera so I think I should be able to join several of the photos together to make a nice panoramic. Next, we returned to the boat and then jumped off from the top of the boat into the water. I was quite scared at first seeing as I’d really never done a high dive before, but it was worth it and then it was great! And the water was wonderful, just warm enough to be enjoyable but not so warm that you feel like the person next to you just ‘relieved’ themselves in the water.

After the swim we towelled off and then were fed another enormous and delicious seafood dinner. Dinner was followed by a great conversation with the Scottish couple that had been living in Malaysia the past 2 years, a little bit of World Cup viewing, and then Blake and I laying out on the top deck to look at the stars. It was the perfect day and we didn’t go to sleep until after midnight when we pried ourselves away from the night sky.

The next morning, Blake woke me up early to have a look at the sunrise, but at 5:15 am it was already up. So we went back to bed and then got back up in time for a 7am breakfast (also way too much food). Breakfast was followed by kayaking which was incredibly fun. We paddled around for about an hour and a half, with 2 people in each kayak. Lauren and I paddled together, and with her excellent instruction I eventually got the hang of it. It was difficult though because even though the water was pretty calm, the current was really strong. We all paddled together into these beautiful lagoons by Cat Ba island which was just such a peaceful experience (aside from the aching arms) that made me feel like we were in the movie “the beach” (which I am appropriately reading at the moment).

After kayaking, Lauren and I had another swim, then it was time to pack our bags… but not without yet another inordinately huge seafood meal that we could hardly finish! It really was the perfect get away. And amazingly enough, it only costs $2000 to rent out the boat per week, including food. So I’m thinking, grab a group of 14 and come back sometime in the future for some R&R.

Well I’m back in Hanoi though, wearing my new Halong Bay pearl necklace (they do a lot of pearls there) and getting very excited about tomorrow’s trips to Hanoi’s museums and then the following day at China beach between Da Nang and Hoi An! It’s going to be great!

Source: SMU

Here is your chance to experience on Halong Bay:

The Indochina Sails Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com/

More cruises on Halong Bay - Active Travel Shop, #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam

Adventure tours on Vietnam - Active Travel Vietnam

Tags: vietnam travel, vietnam tours, Sapa trekking tours, Vietnam biking tours, Vietnam trekking tours,Vietnam kayaking tours,Vietnam motorcycle tours,cambodia travel, cambodia tours, Laos travel, Laos tours, Kayak Halong Bay, Halong Bay Kayking tours, Trek Fansipan & Sapa Travel, Tours, hotels, holidays in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks, Cruises in Halong Bay, Junks in Halong Bay, Hoi An Hotels & Resorts , Saigon Hotels , Hanoi Hotels , Halong Hotels & Cruises , SaPa Hotels , Hue Hotels , Nha Trang Hotels & resorts, Phan Thiet Hotels & Resorts , Phu Quoc Hotels & Resorts, Hanoi Tours & daily excursions , Halong Bay Tours & daily excursions , Sapa Tours & daily excursions , Hue Tours & daily excursions , Hoi An Tours & daily excursions , Saigon Tours & Mekong daily tour , Nha Trang Tours & daily excursions , Halong Bay travel, Halong Bay adventures, Valentine Junk, Vietnam Cruises, Vietnam Junks, Halong Bay Deluxe Cruises, Vietnam Luxury Boats,Travel to Vietnam, Hotels in Vietnam, Asian Junks, Vietnam Kayaking, Trek Mai Chau , Kayak Cat Ba, Visit Angkor Wats Temples , Kayak Luang Prabang, Bike Luang Prabang , Kayak Vang Vieng, Kayak Si Phan Don , Trek Luang Nam Tha, Trek Phong Sali, Vietnam cruises, Vietnam holiday, Halong Bay junks & Cruises, Halong Bay boats 

We arrived at this UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin, we badly needed a break from the mad motor-scooter traffic of the nation’s second-largest city, the swarming pineapple vendors and the ceaseless capitalist hustle.

Three days of swimming, kayaking and just chilling on the deck of the Dragon’s Pearl, with drink in hand, were the ideal respite and one of the high points of our two-week trip to Vietnam in October.

A fascinating drive

My husband, Dave, and I chose the cruise of Ha Long Bay because of its proximity to Hanoi and its World Heritage designation. Still, the 105-mile van trip takes almost half a day — Vietnam’s highway system is still a work in progress and buses and trucks share the road with darting motor scooters, bicycles and plodding water buffalo.

Ha Long City’s harbor, a gateway shipping port supplying this fast-developing region, is on the dreary side. In fact, I was having second thoughts about this trip as we dragged our suitcases along a rutted path past rusting, crumbling buildings to the ship, a deluxe junk.

But once we were headed into the bay, the breeze and the view from the motorized Dragon Pearl’s top deck, along with our “welcome” glasses of iced tea, lifted my spirits.

So did our cabin. Our room — like the others on the junk — was small but contained plenty of amenities, including a king-sized bed, a minute bathroom complete with terry bathrobes and rubber flip-flops, and air conditioning, necessary to cut through the withering heat and humidity.

The first afternoon, our ship and several others dropped anchor at a deserted beach on the tiny island of Soi Sim, where we swam and lounged away the rest of the day. The water was calm and warm, but apart from the setting, this was the least memorable outing of our cruise.

Escalating tourism in the region, perhaps because of its World Heritage designation, has generated litter and pollution. So, here, miles from anywhere, plastic drink bottles and candy wrappers floated in the water and washed up on the sand.

A couple of hours later, we were back on board. With a school of silvery jumping fish as our escort, our ship headed northeast toward the Hang Luon grotto, where the Dragon Pearl dropped anchor for the night in the company of several other junks.

Before dinner, we hung out on the chaise longues arrayed on the ship’s deck, watching as the peaks surrounding us turned a dusky blue and lights on the neighboring junks twinkled on.

Have kayak, will paddle

We were lucky to have gotten tour guide with disarming charm and deep knowledge of the area’s geology and culture, as our guide. He was never far away and always eager for the chance to improve his English.

We were also lucky in our fellow cruisers, an amiable bunch that included some friends. Our two evenings out on the top deck, trading stories and watching night fall, were among the few times I relished being outdoors in Vietnam’s blistering heat.

But the highlight of the trip was a kayaking tour on the second day. I had been dubious about this — I had never squeezed into a kayak before, and we were far out in the bay, close to the open waters of the gulf. I feared capsizing, not being able to keep up with the group and getting drenched if the threatening skies opened up.

It was nothing like that. Tour guide led the five kayaks in and around cliffs and through grottoes, pointing out birds, plants and the cliffs where monkeys nest The skies held, and when we beached the boats at noon on an uninhabited island, the sun came out in time for a swim.

In fact, all our meals were extraordinary. Lunch and dinner aboard the ship were multiple-course, white-tablecloth affairs that usually included soup, locally caught prawns and fish, chicken, stir-fried vegetables and terrific tofu dishes. Breakfast was a buffet of fresh fruit and baked goods served outdoors on the ship’s middle deck.

That afternoon, we paddled some more, at one point passing a lone fisherman casting his net. His wooden rowboat rocked gently. A teapot perched on the stern. One large fish, Bien told us, would net him about $10, a good day’s wages.

The next morning, our ship steamed to Sung Sot Cave, one of the area’s largest and most impressive limestone caverns, spanning 12,000 square yards inside. The entrance required a short hike up several flights of stone steps to a spot high above the bay. Here, you can see water at work, dripping from the ceiling and pooling on the floor in ponds so still and mirror-like that it left me disoriented.

That afternoon, we headed to Ha Long Harbor for the return trip to Hanoi. Back in our hotel, as the horns of a thousand motor scooters honked outside our window, I realized the cruise had given me a different impression of Vietnam.

If Hanoi is like 4 million people on Red Bull, Ha Long Bay is where time stops, where the old ways of doing things endure and where it’s quiet enough to breathe deeply and hear fish leap from the water.

Recommended vessels for Halong cruises
The Indochina Sails Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com/
More cruises on Halong Bay - Active Travel Shop, #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam, (844) 3573 8569.
Adventure tours on Vietnam - Active Travel Vietnam