Vietnam Travel > Travel Special Features > Discover Ha Long Bay > Huong Hai Junk - Discover Ha Long Bay

Huong Hai Junk - Discover Ha Long Bay

1 2 3

After half an hour we're old pros, able to spot the crabs at a distance. We are also more skillful with the nets, so less crabs escape. Deep in the cave, it's strangely silent; the only sounds are the gentle tapping of the waves against our boats and the whirring of bats' wings. The cave smells of salt water and bats.

Unwilling to break this deep silence, we all sit quietly, lost in thought. Cocooned in quiet, the problems of the Outside world seem far away. One passenger is so pensive that his net droops into the water, causing the surface to crackle with phosphorescent sparks. Inspired by this discovery, one young man peels off his jeans and leaps overboard, his body sparkling like a flaming torch. "During moonless nights," says one of the guides, "phosphorescence is much stronger". It is midnight when we pull up to the junk. The crew cooks up our caught fish, squid, crabs and shrimp. We grab some bottle of beer and white wine and climb onto the deck to eat. This food, which we caught ourselves, tastes even better than usual. After ending the meal with some fish soup, I retire to my cabin. Some other passengers choose to sleep on the deck, under the stars.

In the soft light of early morning, the sea glows blue, inviting us to take one last swim. Then it's time to turn back towards Ha Long Bay. As we're cruising back, it starts to rain. The bay in suddenly transformed, the islands blurred like watercolor. By the time we reach the wharf at noon the shower has passed.

It's hard to believe that we spent just 24 hours aboard the Huong Hai. In a single day on ha Long Bay, we saw and experienced so much. While we must now return to Hanoi, we all take some of the bay's magic with us.

< Back

1 2 3