We visited Ha Long Bay in 2002, mid way through a year teaching English in Southern China. We arrived there after a rotten trip to Hanoi and it was a breath of fresh air. We booked our trip through the Kangaroo Cafe in Hanoi and I highly recommend doing it this way. We had a lovely clean and comfortable minibus from Hanoi, a great lunch on the way and a very smooth transfer onto our “junk” for the bay tour.

Our “junk” was a modern replica of the older boats doing the bay trade. It was all polished timber, beautiful dining room, fabulous top deck and a great crew who really looked after us. The sleeping quarters were tiny and airless, but it didn’t matter because most of us dragged mattresses onto the top deck and slept in the “1000 star hotel”.

Our tour of Ha Long Bay took us to some great photo spots, temples and swimming spots. The food on the boat was nothing short of incredible. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.