Halong Bay, a must-see nature’s wonder that resembles the fantasy-like landscape of the movie Avatar, is indeed itself a piece of oriental heaven on Earth.
We joined the 3-day-2-night itinerary on the Dragon’s Pearl Junk operated by Indochina Junk. The word “junk” means ancient Chinese sailing vessels, like our Dragon’s Pearl. There are a lot of junk operators in Halong Bay, picking the right one would definitely enhance your overall experience with this magical place so my advice is: don’t skimp on it!
Dragon’s Pearl: The Junk
Indochina Junk is one of the “luxury” cruise operators at Halong Bay. The price of our 3-day-2-night Dragon’s Pearl cruise was USD$225 per person – although it’s not the most expensive junk, it definitely was a lot of money considering the average spending in a third world country like Vietnam.
I did a lot of research before I decided on Dragon’s Pearl, and the main things that I liked about this junk were:
- the oriental sails and the made of the junk;
- the comfortableness and cleanliness of the cabin;
- the itinerary: especially the kayaking, fishing village tour and the dinner in an exclusive cave; and
- the 3-day-2-night duration – highly recommended.
Here are a few photos of what the inside of the Dragon’s Pearl looked like:
Clean sheets, reasonably comfy bed, and oriental styled interior. The windows that you see along the corridor were our bedroom windows (2 of them), and they let in plenty of light in the room. It would’ve been even better if there were full length windows, which some of the even more luxurious cruises offered, but those ones were well above my budget and did not have the other good features of the Dragon’s Pearl.
If you get a chance, make a special request for a cabin room on the upper deck of the Junk. It’s on the corridor and not as claustrophobic compared to the cabins downstairs.
The bathroom that had all the essential things and was really clean.
The sundeck. We went during winter time so we didn’t get to enjoy the deck as much as I would like.
It would be such a nice deck during summer time. Some meals would also be served on the deck in good weather.
The captain and the helm of our Junk.
{Indochina Junk} Website:http://www.indochina-junk.com/
Dragon’s Pearl: The Itinerary
- Day 1: Pick-up from Hanoi (3 hours drive). Check-in (approx 1pm). Cruise. Lunch. Kayaking. Dinner. Squid fishing (night).
- Day 2: Breakfast. Cruise. Fishing Village. Lunch. Cruise. Dinner in Thien Canh Son cave.
- Day 3: Breakfast. Cruise. Back to Hanoi.
Day 1
The route that Indochina Junk operated on was less crowded so we were lucky to have witnessed and to be a part of the powerful serenity of Halong Bay.
Pure magnificence.
Kayaking in Halong Bay – a must do in a lifetime.
Both Mike and I were not good kayakers so we didn’t follow the group to the lagoons. Sitting in a kayak was a totally different feeling than seeing the Halong Bay from the Junk. After our group left for the lagoons, there was literally no one around us and we had the Halong Bay all to ourselves.
That’s when I felt an overwhelming sense of solitude and a strong connection with the almighty mother nature. It was a sudden realisation of how small we are as human beings and how vast the world really is.
It was amazing.
The sound of silence.
Our mother ship!
Squid fishing at night. It wasn’t as eventful as I had imagined it would be because there were only 2 rods available for the whole Junk. It was more for show than a real fishing experience. Anyway, we got fed pretty well on the cruise (see photos below) so we let the squid go afterwards.
It was pitch dark so I didn’t get any good photos, haha.
Day 2
It was such an wonderful feeling waking up to the magnificent view of Halong Bay!
We arrived at this island for some wandering around and more kayaking. This was where the Thien Canh Son Cave (where we would be having dinner tonight) was located.
The dogs goofing around and having a good time.
The Thien Canh Son Cave was located on the higher ground of the island. We were specifically requested not to set foot inside the cave until dinner time to preserve the “surprise factor”. Woo, I loved the secrecy.
The bird’s-eye view right in front of the entrance of the Thien Canh Son Cave.
Every time I saw our Junk, I thought of Captain Jack Sparrow and felt like an ancient Chinese pirate myself in his fantasy world!
In the afternoon, we were picked up by these villagers in their boats for them to take us to their fishing village. Each room was assigned with a boat.
It’s amazing how human beings adapt to different environments.
It wasn’t a big village, and the population here was very, very, little.
The yellow house was the school.
Fishing is their main stream of income, and of course tourism helps.
The people here leads a very different life than you and me. Definitely much simpler but it wouldn’t have been an easier.
A tip: bring some lollies or stationeries for the kids, they would be really grateful.
This is the interior of the Chief’s house.
The Chief.
The Chief brought out a jar of traditional herbal medication drink for us to try (it’s not for sale). It’s made by a type of plant that could be found in the rock formations of Halong Bay, and was used to treat all sorts of sickness amongst the village people. It was, ick, very strong, but it did warm my body up!
I was given a chance to row the boat on our way back. Do prepare some Vietnamese dong to give out as tips, it’s not compulsory but just common courtesy.
Bye bye fishing village.
At night, we were taken to the island of the Thien Canh Son Cave again. The pathway to the cave was lit-up and it looked so dreamy.
The Cave was owned by Indochina Junk so they have exclusive use of the place! This was another factor why I chose Indochina Junk.
Aww <3
Ok, the heart was probably a bit tacky, but it was such a warm effort by the crew to make our journey a memorable one!
It’s not a big cave but it was enough to have dinner in.
But I have to say, it felt a little man-made.
<3
Dinner was served on this long table with the whole group, it was a good chance to chat with the group and to enjoy our last night together. The food that was served on Dragon’s Pearl had been of good quality throughout our whole journey, but the dinner at the Cave was definitely the highlight.
Each course was served with amazing food sculptures!
Cranes.
An eagle.
Dragon’s Pearl Junk!! So awesome.
We were very impressed by the dinner in the cave. It was worth the wait!
Day 3
The third morning was a little foggy, and it was a different side of Halong Bay that we were lucky to have be a part of.
Mysterious and enchanting.
Straw hat not included – I got it from Hanoi, haha.
The Food on the Junk
We were pretty well fed while on the Junk. All food was included, only alcohol needed to be separately purchased.
Below are the photos I took of our each meal. Yep, each photo-grid represents we we had in ONE meal (to share between 4 people on our table):
Lunch 1.
Lunch 2.
Lunch 3.
Dinner 1. (Dinner 2 was in the cave)
Breakfast 1.
Breakfast 2.
So How to pick a junk?
Apart from the things that I listed above, do look up the reviews on blogs and Tripadvisor before your journey. A good friend of mine, A, went to Halong Bay and just signed up for a boat trip right at the pier. However, she was low on budget so she paid very little for the trip and the boat she got was run-down and, in hindsight, was probably unsafe; worst of all, the boatman was a Peeping Tom and peeped A whilst she was at the toilet! Scary.
Safety really is a big issue, especially in light of the recent tragedy in 2011 where 12 tourists were killed when their ship sunk in Halong Bay. Again, don’t skimp!
Who I used to book my cruise: Darian Culbert
Darian Culbert‘s website gave me a lot of insights on the different operators and I highly recommend his service. I think I must have come across his website when he had just established his business back in 2011/2012, because at that time, his website contained an in-depth introduction of the many junks in Halong Bay and the operators, but it did not mention that he was an authorised booking agency [Now it does. Nb, this post was written in 2014 but dated 2012 for record keeping purposes]. He also didn’t have any tripadvisor reviews [now he does, and I was one of the first few that posted a review for him!].
Anyway, I got a bit confused because I didn’t know why he offered and was able to book the junk cheaper than the advertised price on Indochina Junk’s official website (I was a newbie at trip planning) – I even asked the question on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree Forum, and got trolled big time. Here’s the link if you’re interested in seeing how I got bullied by a couple of smart a**es: “Has anyone every bought tickets through Darian Culbert?“.
Ok, I get that some businesses go against the travel forum guidelines and sneak in advertisements and it’s frowned upon, but I was just asking an honest question! As you could see, some people were just really rude and kept on accusing me of being a “tout” or even Darian himself (ridiculous). Honestly, if the forum admin had a problem with my post, they could’ve removed it. Well, the post is still there, so obviously the admin didn’t see it being an issue, but some trolls just couldn’t help themselves. Anyway, now that it’s clear (to right minded people anyway…) that I’m obviously not Darian himself nor do I work for Darian, I just felt the need to clear his name for him. Hopefully the trolls’ comments on that particular Lonely Planet thread didn’t have a negative impact on his business – I just don’t understand how some people don’t realise what they are typing irresponsibly behind their computer could detrimentally affect a hard-working person’s business in a poor country that is a lot less privileged than us.
{Darian Culbert} Website: http://darianculbert.com/
HER{curio}MAJESTY. I was here. January 2012.