Halong Bay Photos

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Halong Bay Vietnam: Exterior view of the Grand Halong Hotel where Winda and I stayed the last two nights of her visit.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Two of the friendly receptionists at the Grand Halong Hotel who made our stay enjoyable: Huone on the left and Ha on the right. From them I learned my first Vietnamese phrase: 'thank you' is Com' on.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Floral display in the lobby of the Grand Halong Hotel where my friend Winda and I stayed for her last two days in Vietnam. I stayed on for two more nights until the poor selections and presentations of breakfast choices prompted me to resume my ideal hotel search... eventually leading to the Halong Plaza Hotel a few blocks north.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Rice fields along the road from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay.

Halong Bay Vietnam: View looking north from my fifth floor room in the Grand Halong Hotel where Winda and I stayed for her last two days in Vietnam. I stayed on for another two nights despite the poor quality of breakfast offerings.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Another view toward the bay from my fifth floor room in the Grand Halong Hotel where Winda and I stayed for her last two days in Vietnam.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Another view toward the bay from my fifth floor room in the Grand Halong Hotel where Winda and I stayed for her last two days in Vietnam. Notice all the tour busses which account for most of the hotel's guests, at the moment Korean.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Exterior view of the Grand Halong Hotel where I stayed.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Looking down on the pool area from my fifth floor room in the Grand Halong Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Entrance to the Grand Halong Hotel where Winda and I stayed for her last two nights in Vietnam.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Next door to the south of the Halong Plaza Hotel where I stayed during the last part of my visit another luxury hotel is under construction.

Halong Bay Vietnam: After walking 13K steps, tired and thirsty, I located a city bus stop at the north-western end of the main shopping area of Bai Chay commercial district and waited for the air conditioned minibus to whisk me back to the cool shower awaiting in my hotel room. Across the street I noticed all the 3-4 story narrow buildings which are so common in this part of Vietnam. People must get plenty of exercise because I'm sure none of those dwellings have elevators!

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is bunch of "sticks" lay on a white cloth drying in the hot sun in front of a house in one of the Bai Chay neighborhoods I walked. Noticing my curiosity, one of several women sitting in the shade of the front porch indicated "eating." She spoke a smattering of English and to my question: "name?" replied with some unintelligible sound and then wrote on a scrap of paper: "da." Later, several informants confirmed these are bean sprouts. Why drying in the sun I didn't learn.

Halong Bay Vietnam: On that same walk with meeting the four ladies I took notice of this family bamboo business and aroused the curiosity of all three family members. The son seemed to be wary of the foreign stranger. Another identical bamboo fabrication operation sat directly across the street and one of the workers confirmed my suspicion these bundles of long tapered poles indeed could/would be used for fishing!

Halong Bay Vietnam: After climbing the hills behind the bay shore drive where all the better hotels are located, I found bunches of budget, backpacker style B&B's like this one. An overly friendly young woman enticed me to come in for a look. What I found surprised me. For $15 you get a simple, but clean double room with A/C and breakfast, plus a great elevated view of the bay.

Halong Bay Vietnam: A block south of the Plaza hotel sits this covered tourist shopping bazaar. Bus after tourist bus of people on packaged tours paused here just long enough for everyone to get a good look at the cheap stuff on display and rush back to the air-conditioned comfort of their bus. This is one of the reasons I avoid tourist packages.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Women wear dust masks more frequently than men... even while racing around town on a motor bike.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The cock. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Women more than men wear these "dust masks" everywhere, even on this air-conditioned bus. I tried to take a candid photo here, but obviously did not succeed.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Two ladies waiting for the bus, masks ready for any dust that happens by.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The horse. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The pig. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The bear-dog? After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The rabbit-sheep? After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

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15 September 2014

Greetings from Ha Long Bay in Vietnam:

During my brief one day visit to Halong Bay back in 2002 I vowed to someday return when I had more time to enjoy the unique scenery and extensive level walking opportunities. This is that hoped for return... text continues on the main postcard page.

I took so many photographs while enjoying Halong Bay a separate page to handle the overflow is needed. Be sure to see the rest of the photos on the main postcard page. FB

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is the hotel that looked most promising from my Internet research done before leaving for Vietnam. Rates at the Agoda agency looked good and we would have taken rooms, but miscommunication at the reception desk resulted in an unpleasant experience and we left to look further.

Halong Bay Vietnam: War memorial located in the shadows of an impressive Karst geological outcropping near the edge of the water.

Halong Bay Vietnam: At the top of the hill beyond Weed Whacker Way I found a series of abandoned structures like this one. They appear to have been quite elegant when first built as part of a deluxe hotel complex with excellent views of Halong Bay... now sitting empty and in decay with the smell of recently cut weeds permeating the air.

Halong Bay Vietnam: At the top of the hill beyond Weed Whacker Way I found a series of abandoned structures. This is what they look like from the sea side.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Sauces, pickles and other tid bits included in the weekday $17 dinner buffet which I enjoyed my first evening in the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Sauces, pickles and other tempting bits included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Another cruise boat approaches a pair of Karst formations known as the "Fighting Cocks" within the endless archipelago of unique geological formations seen throughout the bay.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Another shot of the endless archipelago of Karst geological formations seen around the bay.

Halong Bay Vietnam: When you live and work on a boat moored to a riverbank, how do you get back and forth to the dry land? This is the makeshift, two person "taxi" made of Styrofoam blocks and narrow wooden planks. With ropes tied to both destinations, the passengers propel themselves by pulling on the appropriate rope, much like ferries in olden times.

Halong Bay Vietnam: As I passed this furniture store on one of my long walks these ladies became excited and urged the girl on the right to try out her recently acquired "command" of English. Ha is a twenty year old Hanoi University student majoring in environmental science. Her mother to her right kept egging her on for more interaction with the foreigner. So, we had an impromptu English lesson during which we learned a bit about one another. Her sister on the mother's right is 16 years old and in high school. The lady on the far left is just a totally amused neighbor. A great time was had by all.

Halong Bay Vietnam: On that same walk with meeting the four ladies I took notice of this family bamboo business and aroused the curiosity of all three family members. The mother didn't want her picture taken, but the father encouraged me to snap away. The son has disappeared by the time I'd crossed the street for this photo. but he seemed to be extra cautious around the foreign stranger.

Halong Bay Vietnam: More masked female motor scooter riders. The one on the left looks like a dog riding the bike with a child passenger behind her.

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is 27 year old Dinh Tung from the Halong Plaza Hotel who spent three hours on his day off to walk with me around areas he knows well having grown up in them. Eager to improve his limited command of the English language, he bombarded me with information about his country in struggling English while I attempted to first understand his meaning and then correct his pronunciation of the English. We hiked across the bridge to an area on the other side where the French created a prison for captured Viet Cong during the "First War" and then walked through the huge central market before catching a #3 bus back over to the hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Foliage of the Manioc plant pointed out by Dinh Tung on our three hour walk around his old neighborhoods. I found the bright colors and unique design of the branches intriguing.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The dragon. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The Tasmanian Devil. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is the deluxe bus I took from Halong Bay to Hanoi on Sunday, 29 September 2014. It left at 10:00 and arrived at 13:50.

Halong Bay Vietnam: These are some of the other minibuses making the run to Hanoi every half hour or so out of the Bai Chay Bus Terminal.

Click here to see the photos in the main postcard.

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is the entrance to the Halong Pearl Hotel where we stayed the first night. With a walk-in rate of $50 it looked like a good value without close inspection. We soon noticed several deficiencies in the furnishings of the rooms and the breakfast failed on several accounts. So, we left to look further the next morning.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Poster describing the weekday $17 dinner buffet which I enjoyed my first evening in the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Part of the sushi offerings included in the weekday $17 dinner buffet which I enjoyed my first evening in the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Part of the sashimi offerings included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet which I enjoyed my first evening in the Halong Plaza Hotel. There were so many unique delicacies on display for our gourmet dining pleasure I'm sure I've missed many.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Part of the "Hors d'oeuvre" offerings included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet which I enjoyed my first evening in the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Breads all freshly baked in the hotel's kitchen are included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: More meats and cheeses are included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: This cook stands ready to broil other meats and fish to your order, all included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is what the cook is ready to broil, all included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet price at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: These high tech automated warming servers open when a diner approaches closely to make a selection at the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet at the Halong Plaza Hotel. Watching people react with surprise at the unexpected action provided me with some amusing dinner entertainment.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Fresh exotic fruits along with "sinful" temptations beckon at the close of this feast, all included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet price at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Another view of the fresh exotic fruits along with "sinful" temptations which beckon at the close of your feast, all included in the weekday $17 ($22 weekend) dinner buffet price at the Halong Plaza Hotel.

Halong Bay Vietnam: Many of my long walks took me into areas a short distance from the riverside location of the deluxe hotels where I inevitably saw clusters of ramshackle hotels like these. Often up a steep climb I wondered who would ever choose to stay in such a poor choice, even at the undoubtedly low room rates available. No sooner had the thought occurred than the answer appeared: a taxi sat waiting off to the side! Touts hang around most transportation arrival points offering rides and "advice" to cheap lodging... for which they receive fees from the hotels.

Halong Bay Vietnam: This is some sort of edible plant prepared for drying in the sun. It looks like nothing I have ever eaten! I saw no one in the courtyard where it lay, so couldn't ask anyone. Later, the banquets manager at the Plaza Hotel said he recognized the display as a form of sliced plantain or banana used medicinally for upset stomachs.

Halong Bay Vietnam: On that same walk with meeting the four ladies I took notice of this family bamboo business and aroused the curiosity of all three family members. The father encouraged me to make a photographic record of his bamboo fabrication activities. Here he seems to be making uniformly short pieces for use as rungs of a ladder.

Halong Bay 2014: I paused to watch this young man feeding US hundred dollar bills into his little sidewalk bonfire. Eventually he looked up and sheepishly mumbled some understandable English: "Not real American money." Knowing he spoke some English I asked him to explain. "For dead person." he smiled. I understood. It is a ritual of respect for recently deceased relatives in some parts of Asia.

Halong Bay Vietnam: During my photo session to record the smart traditional design uniforms worn by several hotel staff in the Plaza, a commotion broke out urging me to have my picture taken with this charming young hostess. Before I could protest someone grabbed my camera and snapped this picture.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The mouse. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The cow. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: These two ladies waiting for the bus

are good examples of the wide spread use of dust masks used mostly by women, though they are seen of some men as well.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The cat. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The snake. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

Halong Bay Vietnam: The monkeys. After enjoying many meals in the Plaza Hotel's dining room I finally noticed this series of medallion-like decorations hanging on the walls around the room.

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