Vietnam/Cambodia Day 15: Ha Long Bay

Thursday, February 19, 2026

We got an earlier start today to join Barbara and Jeff whom we met on the cruise for a trip to Ha Long Bay, a scenic area northeast of Hanoi. Our tour guide, Sammie, was waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel and directed us to a waiting van. After picking up Barbara and Jeff we began the 2-hour (plus) drive to Ha Long Bay. It was interesting to see a bit of northern Vietnam outside downtown Hanoi. Much of the route was an expressway, reminiscent of such roads in Europe.

We passed through the port city of Haiphong, which we remember from news reports during the Vietnam War. It looked like a typical port, with cranes for unloading containers from freight ships.

On arrival at Ha Long Bay, we passed through a small passenger terminal on the way to our tour boat. The five of us were on a very comfortable boat, probably suitable for about 40 people. We all were asking, “Is this just for us?” As we sailed out of the port area, we saw surrounding condos and hotels, likely vacation or rental homes.

Our first stop was Thien Cung (Heavenly Palace) Cave. While we have been to quite a few caverns in California; in comparison, this was enormous! It’s a dry cavern, nicely lit, with lots of opportunities to imagine different animals in the stalactite formations.

After leaving Thien Cung and the island it is on, we were treated to an elaborate lunch on the boat, probably more than twice what we could eat. It was an opportunity to sample several local specialties, including oysters, stuffed crab, and a whole fish. We felt guilty that we had so much food but were assured that the leftovers would not be wasted.

En route to our next stop, we passed by a famous rock formation known as the “kissing chickens” that appears to be one large rock split in half. We then went to a small port where we transferred to a sampan rowed by a local guide that took us under a natural bridge into a small bay. We were told that local fishermen use the bay to shelter from typhoons that occasionally hit the area.

Returning to the origin port and our van, we began the trip back to Hanoi. Along the way, we stopped at a local pearl farming facility. We were shown the process by which small bits of sand are implanted in oysters that eventually develop into pearls. We also saw the harvesting and grading process for the pearls. Naturally there was a large showroom to allow us to purchase pearl jewelry. We did find a nice necklace for Kenna there.

We had a full day by the time we returned to Hanoi. While in our hotel room, deciding what to do for dinner, we heard a bit of a disturbance (drums, etc.) outside. We decided to go down to check this out and found a couple of costumed lions visiting local businesses to give Tet blessings. We had a good time watching and videoing the festivities for a while. We weren’t sure which of the many crowded streetside restaurants to eat at for dinner and decided we would prefer something quieter. So we returned to the rooftop restaurant at our hotel for dinner and retired for the evening.

This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.