When
it comes to taking package tours to Halong Bay Caitlin Worsham notices
a pattern: no matter how much the price changes everything stays the
same.
The
merits of Halong Bay are endless and have been enumerated elsewhere,
but amid the praise, regular visitors may notice a trend: every junk
tour, be it $35 to $250 a head, is nearly exactly the same. Here is a
recap of what you can expect: You are invited to gape at and photograph
residents of fishing villages.
Purchases are foisted upon you by small children in rowing boats. You
will marvel at such aggressive salesmanship and feel rather
uncomfortable. You will walk to the top of an island or swim on its
little beach. You may go kayaking (worth it). You may go squid fishing
(sometimes worth it). On the cheaper boats you get karaoke, on the
pricier ones, a movie.
You will inevitably trek up and down the stairs through Surprise Cave
where, no matter who the guide is, no matter how much you hoped you
might learn something, you will be instead regaled with how one rock
looks exceptionally phallic (and indeed it does), how another resembles
a man, and on and on, until you wish you could explore in cool, simple
silence.
Aboard nicer boats, there are added extras, cooking classes or spa
treatments (for a steep fee), but the actual tour is the same and there
are already enough activities to occupy you – especially when the
highlight of the bay is just lounging, taking in the view and diving
in. You could argue that you’re paying for the room. Certainly the
rooms aboard the more posh junks are excellent – better appointed, with
soft beds, shiny floors and large windows. There is a shower with a
door and enough room to bend over, should you drop the soap.
There are toothbrushes as well as shampoo and a safe for your
valuables. But considering the nine-in-the-morning-check out times and
packed itineraries, you spend so little time in the room, this argument
holds little water. Recently aboard The Jasmine, I aimed to sidestep
this by booking two nights.
But on the day we had planned to kick back and relax, we found
ourselves outsourced to a little boat from nine in the morning till
four in the afternoon with no aircon, a table that couldn’t comfortably
accommodate our party and only two places to stretch out for over 10
guests. It was fun but we were aboard a $30-boat, which we could have
easily rented ourselves for the day. I felt like a chump.
Then, the last day, when I tried to sleep in, I was awoken at eight (I
was on vacation) to blaring music, presumably making sure everyone
would check out on time. This was made somewhat less irritating as I
had been sweating all night under the comforter that was deliciously
downy but a poor match for the sputtering aircon. Another issue is the
beds. To get more bang for their buck, many boats devote basic cabins
(still referred to as doubles) to single beds.
Instead of making this transparent (the fault of travel agents, boat
websites/brochures and room distributing management alike), guests who
have requested “doubles” often get make-shift doubles, i.e. twins
pushed haphazardly together – or if lucky, made up so that a sheet will
partially prevent an irretrievable descent into the crack. So make sure
you and your agent read the fine print.
This has happened to me twice now despite explicitly booking a bed that
would sleep two. Aboard another boat, The Bhaya, I was promised
remediation several times aboard by the staff and management. It never
came, so I emailed the company. They refused even partial compensation
for the room because nowhere had they written that I was guaranteed a
double. But I booked a room for a couple, I said.
Ah, but you weren’t specific, they continued, and we never said you’d
get an actual double bed. It’s true, I sadly discovered. They hadn’t.
But at over $150 a head a night, this offered no consolation. The
Jasmine was infinitely more professional when the same thing happened
and they rapidly addressed the issue.
However, to ensure a bed for two, you must pay more (for a deluxe cabin
or suite). Yet if you’re a single traveller, you are also penalised,
smacked with a hefty surcharge. Oh and there is still the occasional
rodent in the rooms on board. I’ve seen ‘em. These may seem like
nitpicky concerns. But when you claim to be the best new thing on the
water, you better live up to it at triple the price (or more).
Guides should be well trained and have in depth information and better
English skills. The services should be top quality and the expectations
clear. Maybe in a few years, it’ll be better. Until then, what most
people want from the bay is nothing more than to unwind alongside the
descending dragon’s rolling form, and the best package still runs at
around $70 a night.
Source Timeout
HANOI - HALONG - HUE - DANANG - HOIAN - MY SON - HOCHIMINH
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