There are many places on earth that I have seen on TV or in movies and thought, “Wow, that looks amazing, I’ll have to see it.” Some many famous places around the world are known to everyone. Who doesn’t want to visit the Grand Canyon, Ayres Rock, Nepal or San Francisco. These famous travel destinations are known to everyone. Now if you are thinking of coming to Southeast Asia for a holiday, I expect Angkor Wat will be high on your list. So when someone said to me, try Vietnam. I was a bit taken aback. I would never have put Vietnam high on any list for scenic magnificence. Oh how wrong could I have been?
We travelled about this incredible country seeing scenic beauty everywhere we went. We lost count of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites that we visited, needless to say we have now been to twice as many as we had before taking this fabulous Vietnam vacation. Then right at the end of a terrific three weeks in Vietnam, we finished up at Halong Bay. This is quite simply the most picturesque place on earth. I was moved to tear by its staggering beauty.
I had never even heard of Halong Bay before we left England on this trip. I feel ashamed to admit that, but so many people I have asked since are in the same position. It is beyond belief that this isn’t as famous as The Maldives or Saint Tropez. It is alarmingly pretty. It is a massive bay, hundreds of square miles in size and so picturesque that it takes your breath. There are hundreds of little and not so little limestone rocks that just shoot out of the water everywhere and tower over the cruise boats. And the cruise boats, dear me; they are fantastic. Ours looked like an old fashioned paddle steamer, but was brand new. Our cabin was sumptuous with a big window, I spent every morning staring out of that. We had our own private balcony. The food was fabulous and the staff were charming.
We sailed around this wonderland for 4 days, stopping off here and there for one adventure or another. We went to a fantastic cave with incredible stalagmites and stalactites. Then we went kayaking, swimming and even had a barbecue on an island. It was four days in complete paradise. We booked through a company called Halong Luxury Travel and quite honestly it was the best possible end to what was, a trip of a lifetime.
I couldn’t recommend Vietnam enough and Halong Bay in particular. The whole country was amazing and the last few days will live in my memory forever. I really don’t want to put any other part of the trip down, it was the best holiday I have ever had, but those last four days were beyond belief. I am going back to Vietnam as soon as I can.