Day 19: Sun 17 Nov - Halong Bay to Hanoi

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25-36 deg C

"6.30 Tai Chi session on the sundeck at the break of dawn. 
6.30-7.30 Coffee & tea with cookies and pastries available. 
8.00 Explore Surprise Cave (Hang Sung Sot), one of the largest and most famous grottoes in the entire Halong Bay 
9.30 Check out your cabin and settle bills. 
9.30- 10.30 International breakfast buffet served in the restaurant 
11.00 Arrive back at Ha Long city for disembarkation where your driver waits to take you back to your hotel in Hanoi. Hotel: Anatole Hotel Hanoi."

There was no Tai Chi session this morning. A light breakfast was had before boarding the tender to visit Hang Sung Sot, aka the 'Surprising' Cave. While we have seen a few caves in our travels around Australia, none have been quite a large nor extensive as this one, and we wouldn't say it is the most spectacular cave either. There was a lot of stairs, and boardwalks, pity we didn't have Strava on.

Surprise Cave in Halong Bay also has another common name as Sung Sot Cave. Coming to Halong Bay, tourists will get a chance to listen to the legend related to this striking cave. According to the stories of the locals, thousands of years ago, under the reign of King Hung, the Yin enemy from China invaded Van Lang (the name of Vietnam during King Hung rule). In the critical situation, Thanh Giong, a three-year-old child, helped the king to defeat the invaders. After the fight, Thanh Giong left behind his iron horse and sword then came back to Heaven. In reality, Surprise Cave was first discovered in 1901 by a French scientists. So overwhelmed by the beauty of the cave that French people called it “Grotte Des Surprises” in French, or Surprise Grotto in English and “Sung Sot” in Vietnamese. Despite being discovered in the beginning of the 20th century, it was not until 1993 that Surprise Cave was widely open for tourists. Surprise Cave is the largest cave of Halong Bay, with a total area of more than 12,000 square meters. Sung Sot Cave is about 25 meter above sea level. The entrance of Surprise Cave is quite narrow, but in contrast, the space inside the cave is enormous. In general, this cave is a dry one, so you can discover the cave on foot. As the biggest cave in Halong Bay, the capacity of Surprise Cave can be up to 1,000 people. This cave is about 30 meters high. Along the 800-meter length of the cave is a magnificent and sparkling world of stalagmites and stalactites. The area of the cave is divided into three separate chambers, each part has its own attractions. If you are interested, you can read more here.


As you will see in some of the photos, this is another very popular attraction at Ha Long Bay and the number of people was staggering. It was two steps forward, wait a while, another two steps, wait, etc, etc. Anyway, another 'tick', no need to go back.

Back on board the boat, we had a quick shower, packed up our stuff and 'checked-out'. They want you our of your cabin ASAP so they can start the refurb process as there is not much time between getting rid of the old passengers and welcoming the new ones. Once everyone had checked-out, brunch was served. Almost immediately, Wendy started to feel unwell, but didn't say anything.

We had about 45 minutes to wait once on dry land before our bus arrived to take us to Hanoi, our home for the last five nights. Once on board, Wendy was feeling decidedly unwell with waves of nausea. Long story short, we stopped at a 'tourist trap' just in time and Wendy felt a little better for a little while. Once at the hotel (another change - The Light Hotel), she climbed straight into bed and never left! While Greg went to dinner and a walk, Wendy slept.

Sunrise and moon setting


Chicken Rock

'Surprising Cave'






Stupid amount of people lining up to get into the cave

Chicken Rock from the front




Hang Sung Sot Cave




























Another picture of our boat, our cabin was on the other side


Some structure on the way into Hanoi

Room #307 at The Light Hotel

Train Street - when the train comes, everyone stands up and stands as far away from the tracks as possible


Dinner

Musical performances at the Lake


The red bridge



















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