My trip to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: Visiting Surprise Cave and How to Get Back

in #travel7 years ago (edited)

Have you ever been to a cave? Where did you go? On the last day of our cruise, we were woken at 7 am by the staff. After breakfast, we headed to the "Cave of Surprise" (Sung Sot) one of the most famous caves in Ha Long Bay. The explorers who discovered this cave were so surprised when they found it that they named it the "Cave of Surprise".

DSC_0989.jpg

We arrived at Bo Hon Island, where the cave is located, at 8 am. Can you see the cave entrance? How surprising could it be? I wondered.

DSC_1013.jpg

We climbed up about one hundred stone steps to get there. Luckily I had comfy shoes on. The view on the way up was my reward for the effort. 😄

DSC_0952.jpg

Entering a small entrance, we had no idea it was so big inside. “Surprise!” You can see the entrance has natural light, but inside the cave were artificial lights.

DSC_0964.jpg

The cave is natural limestone, filled with spectacular formations of stalactites and stalagmites.

DSC_0965.jpg

We were walking on what was once the seabed. How would that make you feel?

DSC_0967.jpg

The ceiling was built over time by ocean waves pushing the seabed upward. The highest ceiling in the cave reaches up to 30 meters/ 98 feet high. Would you like to visit this cave?

DSC_0969.jpg

There were some handrails and lighting had been added. Some of the areas were illuminated with different colored lights to highlight their features.

DSC_0972.jpg

We were guided along the paved path to witness Mother Nature's work over millions of years.

DSC_0975.jpg

Yes, the cave has been altered for tourists. We can take our family of three generations here to have an interesting experience together and everyone can make it. Kids love the colorful lights and seniors can enjoy the beautiful cave without too much of a physical challenge.

DSC_0978.jpg

The sheer size of the cave and the natural sculptures left everyone in awe. There was one spot where an opening in the roof let natural light into the cave.

DSC_0981.jpg

It took about 30 minutes to explore.

DSC_0988.jpg

We exited the cave feeling good!

DSC_0995.jpg

There was a viewing platform that gave a beautiful view of the Ha long Bay islets.

DSC_1000.jpg

We walked down the stairs back to the boat, keeping an eye on the magnificence of nature along the way.

DSC_1010.jpg

8:45 am. Time to go back to our cruise ship and begin checking out. After that, we'll enjoy brunch as we cruise back to the port and end our journey.

DSC_1011.jpg

But we didn’t leave Ha Long Bay just yet. We took a taxi to a hotel close to Bai Chay bridge and stayed for another day, to relax on solid ground and enjoy the Bai Chay bridge “light show” from the hotel,

DSC_1026.jpg

DSC_1029.jpg

and enjoy this beautiful view.

DSC_1049.jpg

The next morning after breakfast, we took a taxi to Cat Bi airport in Hai Phong city for the afternoon flight back to Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh city). We chose to fly to and from Hai Phong city because it’s closer to Ha Long Bay than Ha Noi. We got there on time and got our seats. So far so good!

The plane supposed to come get us didn’t arrive. We waited but the flight was delayed. We kept waiting but it was delayed again and again. It turned out there was a storm coming and wasn't safe for landing and taking off at the small airport. The more flights got delayed, the more crowded the waiting area became. We were trying to get seats on the next possible flight. Everybody was unhappy, some lost their patience and shouted at the staff, some of the staff members lost their temper and responded the same way. It got dark and we hoped to fly back that night. No plane arrived and no one told us when the next flight could be. At midnight, they told us there was no flight that night and we should come back the next day.

My husband and I walked out of the airport with heavy hearts. We didn’t know the area. We found a taxi and told him to take us to any hotel nearby. He took us to a small local 3-star hotel. We paid for the room and gave the man at the front desk our passports. Riding the elevator up to our room, I was smiling because I was about to take a SHOWER. Haha.

The key didn’t work, the door didn’t open. “What is going on? What will happen to us? What if…” My heart was pounding as I was thinking about the unusual look of the man behind the front desk. He seemed drunk or on drugs or something. We went back downstairs returned the key and got our money back.

There we were holding our luggage, looking for a taxi at about 1 am in an unfamiliar city. Luckily we found one, told the driver to take us to a nice big corporate hotel where we could feel safe and sleep soundly. He kindly took us to the "Pearl River Hotel" and everything went smoothly there. We went to bed finally around 2 am. Yay!

Having breakfast at 9 am, we were the only couple there. Isn't that strange?

DSC_1054.jpg

DSC_1055.jpg

My best smile at the time. Can you tell what was on my mind? “Can we fly back today?” Of course.

DSC_1060.jpg

10 am, it was still raining heavily. We called the taxi service to take us back to the airport, but no taxi came. I was standing in front of the hotel to look for one because we were running out of time. “What if we miss the flight today?” asked myself. You know that’s not fun, right?

DSC_1064.jpg

We arrived at the Cat Bi airport a little late. Oops! Then learned that we had to take a 4-hour bus ride to Noi Bai airport in Ha Noi which we were trying to avoid. It’s a bigger airport and we boarded a big plane, like the ones for international flights, which flew us back to Sai Gon. Phew!

So flying to Hai Phong was not a good idea! Who am I to think I knew better than the locals? Haha

Our trip didn't end on a positive note but worth it. Less comfort, more life! 😉

Thanks so much for reading, my friends.
Have a great weekend!

Love,
@dewdrop

Sort:  

I also visited cave near Leeds, UK. I t also contain a lot of chemical substances, lampen flora and some precious stones which are very sharp to touch.

Your all posts are amazing .all photos are a great collection. I want you to post regularly. Nice to see u.

Wow!! You really take s long holiday!

Spring is here, my dear!
Let have a walk and take some photos just for fun!

Hope you are very well and healthy!

Missing you!

Hi there!
Thanks for missing me! We've moved to a new home so I've been very busy. Hope I can get back to posting again soon. Love you! Take care, my friend!

Wow! Moving to a new home in a new city or area?!
That’s a lot of work!! All those packing and sifting through things! Would take days and nights to finally get everything into boxes!
Then the unpacking at the other place! Phew! You’ll be losing weight alright!

Do you have a nice garden in your new home?
Hope you got some photos of the process as your diary.

Thanks so much for keeping in touch!
Waiting for your new posts whenever you are ready!

Take care and be happy!!
Missing you.

We moved to a bigger home in the same neighborhood. The good thing about moving is that we went through every single thing and figured out what we don't need to get rid of them. 😊 Everything is in place now, just need some final decorations.
We don't have a garden but always have indoor plants. The rooftop garden is very nice 😉.
Thanks for stopping by!
Love you.

So glad to hear that you did most of the work in moving to a new place!!
This should have made you much stringer and fitter!?
Now, we ca look forwards to more photos of your new roof top garden!!
This reminds me of getting on with my old junks as well. Last year, I had already donated about ten boxes to charity!! Most of which were quite unused!!
I should stop collecting things!!

Hope you are going to have more time to idle around and take some photographs.

Always missing your post and smiling face!

Yes, we should stop collecting things because space is nice too. I'm happy with the new place and eat a lot...😄. Good night my friend!

Good

Good

Thank you so so much @dewdrop. Wishing you success, happiness and peace in your life <3

Wake up! Spring is here!
Get up and get packed with your cameras!
New posts of spring flowers awaiting your good work!

Cheers.

Hahaha! You know I'm lazy, huh. It's still cold here. I'll do it in a few days. 😉
Thanks for stopping by, my friend!

@dewdrop another beautiful post from the travel blog queen! Very nice photos and beautiful cave. I've been to Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico. It was spectacular also. I hate it when something goes bad on vacations like the flight or wrong room or something. And it always seems to happen. But it's the memories of the good times you take home!

hey folow me please read my story and give me votes am new one on steemit ////https://steemit.com/new/@fjzameer/furrakh-was-thief

Hey there! Thanks, my friend! Wow, Carlsbad Cavern looks amazing! What we don't like always happen so maybe we need to dislike everything we want. Haha. You're right, even negative experiences become funny ones when we look back.

The biggest cave I have been so far was Tham Phu Kham cave in Vang Vieng, Laos. However, this one looks even bigger. ;o Amazing @dewdrop

Wow! Cool! Look like you had a great time there. 😃

I thank you @dewdrop, Those who have supported me, I am happy to be acquainted with @dewdrop. Hopefully @dewdrop will always be healthy and always succeed in this steemit.

Wow impressive trip!

Thanks! 😊

Hmm, she made a post...! Nice review of the caves, scenery looks pretty amazing, like in an adventure movie. The last day sounds pretty stressful to me...

It took me just a month to make a post. Lol! Thanks, Glenn! Yeah, that was an unexpected stressful part of travel. There's always something. That gave me a story to tell you now. 😃
Have a nice weekend!

Looks like your famous now! =)

No, I'm not. 😄

helo
hey folow me please read my story and give me votes am new one on steemit ////https://steemit.com/new/@fjzameer/furrakh-was-thief