Ha Long Bay Cruises

Thursday, May 23, 2013 | 14:26:42

(VOVworld)- The beauty of Ha Long Bay, which has been twice recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site, always changes over the time. Visiting Ha Long Bay at any time of the year, visitors are always amazed with its attraction. Today’s Discovery Vietnam takes you on a tour of the Bay on the Golden Lotus cruise.

On board the Golden Lotus cruise are tourists from the US, Australia, Spain, Sweden and Vietnam. Leaving from Bai Chay port, the cruise takes them around the bay. The beauty of the natural setting in the Bay blends with the blue sky and the cool breeze from the sea comforting its visitors. Nguyen The Huu, a guide of the Khanh Sinh International Tourism Company, says: “During the one-day tour, tourists visit the Thien Cung (Heaven) and Dau Go (Wood Hidden) grottoes and then go to Ba Hang (Three Caves) fishing village for kayaking. Then the tourists visit the Cho Da, Dinh Huong and Ga Choi islets and dock at Ha Long. On the two-day tour, tourists have more time for sightseeing and to relax on the cruise. The tour programs are diverse to give our tourists choices. Our company focuses on service quality and the safety of customers. We always try to refresh our tours and develop new services for our customers”.

Golden Lotus staff

Visiting Ha Long Bay by cruise, tourists can enjoy the complete view of the unique natural setting. Sitting on the boat, enjoying a cool juice and gazing around at the scenery, with the thousands of islets of different sizes and shapes is the perfect choice. John, a tourist from Australia, was visiting Ha Long for the first time. He said that the natural setting was unbelievable and that it was much more enjoyable to relax it on a cruise. John said: "It's all inspiring, tranquil, eagles above, fish below, beautiful scenery, and incredible. The caves are beautiful. I thought they were little caves but they were real caves. They are amazing".

The most interesting and exciting moment is when the cruise docks at the fishing village and the tourists are free to go kayaking. With assistance from the guide, all of us, even those who can’t swim, can find kayaking easy and interesting.

Dining room on Golden Lotus

Each kayak accommodates 2 tourists. Once they are in control of oars, they all are excited by kayaking. John and his friend Tania are very happy with the whole experience. John says: "We can stay here forever, go around and around. I really love the fishing village and the water as well as the nature and the human habitats. You know it's amazing when a man fishes in the nature, finds the way, sorts of things coming to your mind, it's really good. While we're in the water, I want to stay here longer because it's actually great, a great experience. I've never done that before. It's so easy to get around, I was scared at first, but once I was in there, got the feeling, I could get around, up to the mountains. Look right up, you see the cliffs right above you. It was beautiful. I'd love to do that again."

In the afternoon, tourists had another unique experience. They were taught how to make spring rolls, a traditional Vietnamese dish. Mixing together all the ingredients: pork, vermicelli, wood ears, carrot, seasoning, eggs and wrapping in the rice papers is an exciting experience for many tourists. Efarault, a French tourist, says: "If I can come to Vietnam to make some cooking. It's a good idea. It is fun for everybody to meet around the table, try to prepare the dinner well. It's fun. We meet people, share with people and have a nice dinner together. It's a good idea to do that".