UNESCO dünya mirası listesinde yer alan Halong Bay'in, hemen kuzey dogusundaki Bai Tu Long Bay, Vietnam tatilimizin en keyif aldığımız yerlerinden biriydi.
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| Halong City |
Hanoi'den başlayan 4 saatlik yolculuk sonrasında geminin kalkacağı Halong City'e vardık. Burada gerekli işlemlerimizi tamamladıktan sonra gemimiz Red Dragon Junk'a geçip yerleştik.
Halong City'den yola çıkan junk'ımız (Çin yelkenli gemisi) Halong körfezinin yanından geçerek iki gün boyunca keyfini süreceğimiz Bai Tu Long körfezine doğru ilerlemeye başladı.
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| Bai Tu Long Bay adacıkları |
Manzara harika; Junk'ın güvertesindeyiz, irili ufaklı adacıklar arasından süzülüyoruz, bir yandan öğle yemeklerimizi yiyoruz, bir yandan muhteşem doğanın keyfini çıkarıyoruz...
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| Red Dragon Junk |
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| Red Dragon Junk |
Yemekten sonra ThienCanh Son mağarasına gittik. Eskiden balıkçıların zor hava şartlarında sığındıkları mağaralardan biri. Tur şirketi adayı satın almış, misafirlerini gezdirmek ve ağırlamak için kullanıyor. (Hatta üç günlük tur alırsanız, bir gece burada akşam yemeği yiyebilirsiniz.)
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| Bai Tu Long Bay |
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| ThienCanh Son mağarası |
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| ThienCanh Son mağarası |
Mağaradan sonra Hon Co adasına gittik. Buradan kanolara bindik ve adacıklar arasında turladık. Sonra adaya dönüp kanoları bıraktık ve sahilin keyfini çıkardık; biraz yüzdük, biraz güneşlendik.
Hava kararmaya başlarken de geldiğimiz küçük tekneye atlayıp gemimize döndük.
Ve sonra akşam yemegi, deniz, ay ve yıldızlar...
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| Yüzmeye gittiğimiz ada |
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| Red Dragon Junk rehberimiz ve yolcular |
Sabahleyin kahvaltıdan sonra VungVieng balıkçı köyüne gittik. Balıkçılar devletin aldığı kararla köyden ayrılmaya başlamışlar, genelde evler terk edilmişti. Kalanlar da balıkçılık, inci yetiştiriciliği ve turizmle geçiniyorlarmış.
Sabahki turdan sonra gemimize giderek dönüş yolumuza geçtik. Öğlen yemeğinden sonra da karaya vardık.
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| VungVieng balıkçı köyü |
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| VungVieng balıkçı köyündeki istiridye çiftliği |
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| Bai Tu Long körfezi - bambu sandallarla balıkçı köyüne giderken |
Hanoi'ye geri dönüş yolunda bir köye uğradık ve water puppet show'u (su kuklaları gösterisi) seyrettik. Eskilere dayanan geleneklerden biriymiş. Pirinç tarlalarında su yükseldiğinde köylülüler kendilerini böyle eğlendirirmiş. Ben ilk defa böyle bir gösteri gördüm, ilginç ama biraz uzun sürüyor.
Gösteriden sonra Danimarkalı bir çiftle birlikte bizi Hanoi havaalanına bırakacak aracımıza geçtik. Ne var ki havaalanına kalkıştan 4 saat erken gitmiş olduk ve oturacak düzgün bir cafe olmadığını da gidince öğrendik (!) Küçük bir büfenin küçük bir masasına 4 kişi sıkıştık; Vietnam'dan, Danimarka'dan, Türkiye'den konuştuk, arada da bol bol hindistancevizi suyu içtik...
Ve nihayet akşam saat ona doğru uçağımıza binip Hoi An'a doğru uçmaya başladık.
Our Bai Tu Long Bay cruise was one of the highlights of our Vietnam trip.
After 4 hours of travelling on the road, we arrived to the port in Halong City around noon.
We checked-in and got on board to start our cruise in Bai Tu Long Bay, on the northeast side of the famous UNESCO world heritage site Halong Bay.
We enjoyed the beautiful view while having our lunch on the deck. After lunch, we went to see the ThienCanh Son cave in one of the limestone islands. Earlier, the fishermen were staying in these caves to protect themselves from bad weather. But now the cruise company bought the island for hosting their guests. (For the 3 day tours, a dinner in the cave is included.)
Later, we went to Hon Co island for some kayaking and swimming. First, we got on the kayaks and travelled around the little islands, which was really fun, and then went back to the island for some swimming time. When the sun started to get down, we headed back to our junk for dinner.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning and went to the VungVieng fishermen's village by the traditional bamboo boats. Nowadays, the fishermen started to leave this floating village, where some of the houses were already deserted, because of a new regulation.
Then, we went back to our junk and had our lunch while cruising back to the port.
After this wonderful trip with outstanding scenery, we got back to the land to take off to Hanoi. During our shuttle ride we gave a break in a village to watch the water puppet show. It was actually a traditional show, where they entertained themselves when the rice fields flooded. We enjoyed it but it was rather too long.
And we went back on the road to go to the Hanoi airport. When we arrived to the airport, we had 4 more hours to spend before our departure to Hoi An (!) There was not much to do at the airport. We sat there in a little cafe and drank more than enough coconuts till the departure. And at around 10 pm we started our journey to our next destination.
Our Bai Tu Long Bay cruise was one of the highlights of our Vietnam trip.
After 4 hours of travelling on the road, we arrived to the port in Halong City around noon.
We checked-in and got on board to start our cruise in Bai Tu Long Bay, on the northeast side of the famous UNESCO world heritage site Halong Bay.
We enjoyed the beautiful view while having our lunch on the deck. After lunch, we went to see the ThienCanh Son cave in one of the limestone islands. Earlier, the fishermen were staying in these caves to protect themselves from bad weather. But now the cruise company bought the island for hosting their guests. (For the 3 day tours, a dinner in the cave is included.)
Later, we went to Hon Co island for some kayaking and swimming. First, we got on the kayaks and travelled around the little islands, which was really fun, and then went back to the island for some swimming time. When the sun started to get down, we headed back to our junk for dinner.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning and went to the VungVieng fishermen's village by the traditional bamboo boats. Nowadays, the fishermen started to leave this floating village, where some of the houses were already deserted, because of a new regulation.
Then, we went back to our junk and had our lunch while cruising back to the port.
After this wonderful trip with outstanding scenery, we got back to the land to take off to Hanoi. During our shuttle ride we gave a break in a village to watch the water puppet show. It was actually a traditional show, where they entertained themselves when the rice fields flooded. We enjoyed it but it was rather too long.
And we went back on the road to go to the Hanoi airport. When we arrived to the airport, we had 4 more hours to spend before our departure to Hoi An (!) There was not much to do at the airport. We sat there in a little cafe and drank more than enough coconuts till the departure. And at around 10 pm we started our journey to our next destination.