Halong Bay

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Halong Bay is located 3 hours away from Hanoi by car. From there, you can jump on a "junk" boat to cruise along the bay looking at the majestic rounded rock formations that look like the spikes from a dragon's tail sitting in water, as legend has it.

On this particular trip, I befriended a group of young Thais who were working with Nok Airlines, a Thai company that was just setting up its headquarters in Hanoi. They were to oversee the launch of a Bangkok-Hanoi air route (90 minutes), which was scheduled to start on November 1st. The price of a one way ticket to Bangkok? 9 cents!!! (Plus taxes). Cheaper than a cup of coffee...how could that be? They assured me that everything was legit, and I am happy to report that the air route has now been launched and doing quite well.

Upon embarking on our "junk" (which really wasn't a junk at all - it was nicely outfitted with comfortable rattan furniture, a working kitchen and bar, and reclining chairs on the sun deck), we were served a delicious sea food lunch. Afterwards, the boat dropped us off at a few little islands, where we were led through stalagtite caves. For the rest of the afternoon, underneath clear blue skies, we cruised the emerald waters, before arriving at Cat Ba to stay the night.

Growing up next to the ocean in British Columbia, there is something to say about being on the open sea. It was invigorating to sit on top of the ship's deck, feeling sun kissed, breathing in fresh air and smelling the salt water. It was a great little escape from life in busy Hanoi...