LittleSandyBeach

From Bai Chay to the centre of Ha Long there is a cable car that you can get across which takes you to many attractions located on the highest mountain in the area. The views are amazing looking out towards the bay.

The first area we checked out was the ‘Zen Garden’. It was very peaceful and made us feel like we were in Japan.

Just next to the garden is the famous, surprisingly named, Koi Bridge. Great for a photo but it does bounce quite a bit when you walk across so we got off it quickly!

As you can see in the last photo there is a giant ferris wheel right at the top of the mountain so we had to give it a try. It’s 115 metres tall and feels extremely high when you’re on it as the pods are very tight. The pods also sway slightly in the wind so Tasha was very pleased to be back on solid ground! The view though was very good.

Afterwards we checked out the Wax Museum which is literally underneath the ferris wheel. Lots of interesting figures such as the Queen, Winston Churchill, Einstein and even Putin. Let’s just say they could be more realistic…

Our last stop here was another Alpine Coaster. It wasn’t as good as the one in Sapa but still fun and had the added excitement of going through a cave like tunnel!

Our next stop was the Dragon Theme Park. It was an extremely hot day so all the rides were closed for two hours at midday. We had a great time but the highlight was definitely the Dragon Run rollercoaster. It’s the tallest in Vietnam and the longest coaster in Southeast Asia. By far the best rollercoaster we’ve ever been on!

Next door to the park is Typhoon Waterpark which you can get a combo ticket for both together. It was a welcome relief to escape the heat even if the water was like a warm bath! We spent most of a time in the lazy river and the wave pool called ‘Tsunami’.

The next day it was time to leave Ha Long and go to Cat Ba Island. We got picked up by a private car at our hotel and taken to the ferry port. We did get to watch this sea plane take off which was very cool especially seeing it come back in and using the road with cars on to turn around…

The ferry was very smooth and the views going through Ha Long Bay were incredible. We then got picked up at the ferry port on Cat Ba and dropped off a fair distance from our Homestay…. We luckily found a taxi to finish the journey!

The Homestay we’re at is about 6km outside Cat Ba centre so very peaceful and quiet in a small village. There’s a lovely bar just a few minutes walk away and this is the view from our room…

Time to jump in the pool!