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Halong Bay

Halong Bay, Vietnam – I had my itinerary printed out.   Fourteen days and five destinations with no wiggle room as I had a guest arriving the day after I returned to Bangkok.  Yet somehow along the way an extra day in Sapa and another in Hanoi, I found myself in Halong Bay, which I had specifically planned to skip.

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site famed for the thousands of limestone karsts that rise from its gentle green water.   Most visitors go straight from Hanoi to the dock to board on a pre-arranged tour boat.   However, the small group I was traveling with decided we would sleep in and spend the night in Halong City before jumping on a boat the next day.

Halong City is a characterless collection of high-rise hotels, empty tourist restaurants and narrow muddy beaches.  We skipped the hotels and tourist restaurants for dinner and settled on the only place in town that seemed to have a little life – a waterfront seafood restaurant on the main strip.   Large groups men drinking at tables completely covered with food, couples sharing a few plates and even one lone diner making his way through parade of dishes.

Ordering was a rapid-fire flip through the menu – sautéed squid with vegetables, steamed crabs, fried rice with seafood, sautéed river greens, extra large tamarind prawns, “groupa with sour” (whatever that would be), beer.  Although a few of the dishes sank, particularly the “groupa with sour” which turned out to be a smoked fishy fish with lots of dill, we made a good choice.  The squid was superb; ridiculously tender and surrounded by sweet slices of onions and cabbage in a light soy-based sauce.  My favorite was the tamarind prawns.  Sweet prawns the size of my hand were covered in sweet, tangy and smoky sauce.  I could have eaten those alone all night.

Although no one would recommend stopping off in Halong City, if for some reason you get stuck there, the restaurant we ate at has a few great dishes, a really friendly staff and enough other customers that you don’t feel completely depressed about being in city where no one stays.   I didn’t take down the name, but it’s south of the strip of tourist restaurants on the bay side of the street across from a hotel that has an outdoor patio.

Cruising Halong Bay