Halong Bay, Vietnam

The Bay of Descending Dragons, as it translates to, is considered one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam. It is famous for its rock formations, which are the same as the ones I lived among when I was in Yangshuo, China, except that in Halong Bay they are set in water. Unfortunately for me, however, with trips to Halong Bay you get what you pay for so going there on a budget means you do not get everything you want. The trip I decided to do (again with Rachael and Tim) was for US$53, which is not the least expensive you can get but it is close. Most trip are in the US$80-120 range. I enjoyed Halong Bay OK but I know there is much more to be enjoyed and do that I did not. Given that, I still went kayaking, spent a night on a boat ("I'm on a boat!"), ate plenty of fresh seafood, some decent hiking, explored some caves, and played soccer with some locals. It was fine, just not great, but I knew this was going to be the case before the trip even started.