Boating at Hang Luồn @ Halong Bay in Vietnam

Second official stopover at Halong Bay after Titop Island; to this place known as Hang Luồn. Hang actually means cave although the main activity here wasn't cave exploration! 

We docked at this floating jetty and were immediately ushered to the building above. 

First thing; secure a lifejacket from the huge stash. Those particular with hygiene and cleanliness would have to note that some had a smell of laundry that didn't dry properly. 

You can opt for two activities; and both involved the use of water. One, you can opt to take a boat where a person would do the hard work of rowing. p.s. this appealed to the Greatest Kon, Alex and I.

Our dear Lock opted for the laborious task of taking a kayak! I must admit that among the four of us, Lock is the most adventurous and to him, it's the intimate experience that counts. 

I think all the kayakers had to take a safety briefing. For me, I am usually quite keen to undertake such activity but I am more afraid of getting myself wet! And I was feeling lazy that day.

Boat option that we would be taking. It actually cost 100,000 dong a boat but this was covered in our fee for the day tour to Halong Bay. As you can see, each boat can take around 12 persons and I was lucky to be seated in front! 

Let's start! 

Everyone was going into this hole underneath the limestone hill. 

Guess this is where the cave comes about.

Seemed like low tide then.

Hm... would the hole be covered in high tide?

The kayakers trying to navigate in! It's a minimum of two persons per kayak so Lock had to be paired with a stranger. Should he be unlucky, I bet he would spend most of his time going in circles! p.s. his partner was fine.

Stalactites on the cave ceiling. 

Opening up to a lagoon surrounded by the hills! Pretty it sure was but after our day trip to Ninh Binh, where we had a similar activity; this was really nothing to scream about.

Furthermore, it was quite warm and wearing a life jacket didn't help. 

Whole lagoon was also filled with boats and kayaks. 

And plus the noise; it absolutely didn't feel relaxing at all. 

I bet they had been told not to disembark from their kayak in the lagoon.

But what to do, the tourists were either clueless or just didn't care.

Random photos.

After a while, we all had the same expression as the people on the boat above. Boredom had kicked in although it might not be a bad thing as I was almost about to doze off! 

Can't wait to the other light from the end of the cave.

Honestly, this was only a 20-minute boat ride! 

We were like them initially.

Wide-eyed, curious and anticipative! 

On second thought, kayak seemed like a better option.

I should have partnered with Lock! 

Goodbye and hope we wouldn't see each other again!

p.s. not that hopeful if our family plans for a Hanoi trip next year! 

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Pricing for Boat and Kayak.

As above. Do note that we didn't have pay a single cent as the charges already covered in our day tour. p.s. I guess most people will take the tours for ease of logistics.

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam

Titop Island (AKA Titov Island / Cat Nang) - Part of Route 2 @ Halong Bay in Vietnam

Our first official stop at Halong Bay was to this island said to in the heart of the bay; Titop Island which was also known as Titov Island and locally as Cat Nang. Key attraction would be the climb up the 91.6 meter hill. 

Disembarked via the island's dock.

A look back at Light Cruise; the vessel designated for our day tour. 

You may visit the post here for more information of the boat. 

View of the many karst mountains in the bay! Want to guess how many islands at Halong Bay? It was said to have 1,969 islands over an area of 1,553 km²; yes, bigger than Singapore which stands at just half (710 km²).

Entering the island via the bridge. 

Those who didn't intend to climb up the hill can consider chilling at this eatery that had fruits, snacks, ice cream and drinks. Both Kon and Alex decided to give it a miss whereas I am the kind who prefers to make the most out of a tour that I paid money for! 

Or you can station yourself here if you don't intend to buy anything. 

This statue, built in 2015 and of a non-Asian man, is Mr Gherman Titov. A cosmonaut from Russia, and the second man in the world to orbit the world; he visited the island together with Mr Ho Chi Minh in 1962 and this island was renamed in his honor. 

A beach for those who prefer to sun themselves! While it wasn't very cold, I would say the water temperature is not at the summer level. I actually brought along a pair of swimming pants and a towel but truth be told, I am just afraid I would come out freezing! 

Picturesque backdrop! 

A lot of visitors would spend a night or two at Halong Bay and I just heard from a friend who returned that those ships with accommodation are usually too big for the docks so visitors would have to transfer using smaller boats. Not exactly convenient in my opinion.

Regulations for use of the beach. 

Just noticed that my visit fell within winter season! 

Pet dogs were allowed. Is anyone able to identify the dog breed? 

It has a flat face like a pug but I don't think it's a pug.

Let's climb up the stairs!

Onwards to the mountain top! 

Loving the contrast this tree had with the beach and cliffs behind. I don't think it's dead as I can see some new sprouts, which would give rise to new leaves when the temperature increases in the next few weeks.

Mountain climbers beware.

Total steps to conquer - 424.

It wasn't too hard a climb although I did find the width narrow which could be dangerous when you have a large group coming down, and another large group going up! And having ropes on the side was better than having none at all.

Shall come back to this hut later.

Getting crowded although still manageable. 

Nevertheless, still a breeze compared to Mua Cave! 

First viewing platform!

Final push to the mountaintop! You can still get some great views of Halong Bay but the narrow passage meant it's best to quickly go up so that you don't jam up the human traffic. 

Mountaintop with its octagonal pavilion! I think most people didn't expect the climb to be so quick. A check on the timing of the photographs taken reflected that I took less than eight minutes and I did spend a bit of time taking photographs instead of focusing just on the climb. 

Panoramic view of Halong Bay! Halong Bay is famous and even my dad is aware. When probed by him, my answer is that I prefer Ninh Binh oer Halong Bay. The bay is obviously beautiful but there were similarity with other places like Phang Nga Bay.

After a short rest, time to go down! 

Enjoying the view at the mid level viewing platform. As seen from the photographs, the gloom at Hanoi had spread to as far as Halong Bay, which was more than 100 kilometers away! 

Ambassador Cruise - one of the about 100 such overnight cruise ships at Halong Bay. It did look high class from the photo and doesn't come cheap; costing from USD 180 per person for a 2 days, 1 night cruise. 

Literally no one coming up! 

Arriving at the hut that I climbed past earlier. Aside from serving as a shelter and rest area, there's also a commercial entity selling souvenirs that included pearls.

Thought this was a tombstone and it turned out to be a stone altar for offerings. p.s. I am unsure what it honored and I am guessing it would be similar to the earth deity that Singaporean Chinese would pay homage to. 

Back to the beach again.

 

This platform would actually be quite nice to just sit and check out the view ahead, without the risk of getting sand into your clothes and shoes. However, I didn't have time as we were given only 45 minutes! 

First thing after the descent; I needed to pee! 

Check out the regulations for using the toilet! Singapore needs to copy the content for our local coffee shops! The conditions are appalling even for the male washrooms; so I can't imagine how bad it is for the ladies. 

It's like picture perfect every time this view appeared in front of me. Maybe that's the reason for the popularity of Titop Island, where you can get a breathtaking panorama of numerous nearby limestone hills jutting out from the water.

Toilet was free entry. Shower room required 10,000 dong per person. Thankfully I didn't swim although on second thought, I remember there was a shower room within Light Cruise.

Now I am confused; 30,000 dong each for a lifejacket, a locker, a float? Or was it a package whereby you pay 30,000 dong for all three?

Random photographs as we made our way back to the boat.

As a dog lover, the above sight delighted me! However, I hate to step on dog poo and seeing them made me apprehensive even to remove my shoes and walk on the beach.

Where would be Alex and the Greatest Kon!? 

More random photographs. Compared to Light Cruise, I noticed that many boats were quite rundown, and reminded me of junk boats in the past. Not exactly a bad thing as it can bring back nostalgia, and conditions might not be as bad too.  

Spotted the two dogs again! 

Guess they were island dogs upkept by the store owners.

Back to the cruise! 

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Part of Halong Bay Day Tour

Island Map

As above.

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam