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“Halong Bay In My Eyes” – Photo Contest

activetravelvietnam — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:36:04 +0000

“Halong Bay In My Eyes” - Cuộc thi ảnh “Hạ Long trong mắt tôi”

Photo Competition sponsored by Indochina Sails, Halong Bay, Vietnam - Thể lệ:
The competition is intended to highlight the incredible beauty of Halong Bay and encourage more travellers to see the Bay for themselves. In addition, it is hoped that more people will become aware of the online “New Wonder of the World” competition and vote for Halong Bay. To participate in the contest please go to http://www.facebook.com/halongbay.indochinasails

Góp phần trong chiến dịch bình chọn cho vịnh Hạ Long trở thành di sản thiên nhiên thế giới và quảng bá hình ảnh Hạ Long đến với những người yêu thích du lịch trong nước và nước ngoài, du thuyền Indochina Sails tổ chức cuộc thi ảnh “Hạ Long trong mắt tôi”. Cuộc thi sẽ được tổ chức chính thức trên Facebook của Indochina Sails http://www.facebook.com/halongbay.indochinasails. Hình dự thi sẽ được đăng tải trực tiếp trên Facebook Indochina Sails.

Duration of contest - Thể lệ chấm giải:
Indochina Sails will choose the two winning photos from the websites top ten LIKE getters.
10 ảnh nhận được nhiều like nhất sẽ được vào vòng chung kết và các giải cụ thể sẽ do Ban tổ chức chấm giải từ danh sách 10 ảnh này.

Contest dates: 25/8/2011 to 5/10/2011
Cuộc thi diễn ra từ 25/8/2011 đến 5/10/2011

The prizes will be announced on 10/10/2011
Thời gian thông báo kết quả: 10/10/2011

Prizes - Giải thưởng:
First prize: Indochina Sails Premium Holiday package valued at 450 USD for 2 people all inclusive.
Giải đặc biệt – 01 giải, 1 chuyến du lịch trị giá 8 triệu cho 2 người trên du thuyền Indochina Sails – Hạ Long

Second prize: Indochina Sails Deluxe Holiday package valued at 350 USD for 2 people all inclusive.
Giải khuyến khích – 10 giải, 1 chuyến du lịch trị giá 6 triệu cho 2 người trên du thuyền Indochina Sails – Hạ Long

First five entrants will receive an Indochina Sails Souvenir T-shirt.
5 người gửi ảnh đầu tiên sẽ nhận được phần quà là áo T-shirt Indochina Sails.

Term and condition – Điều kiện & Ghi chú:
Prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be redeemed for cash.
Các giải thưởng không có giá trị qui đổi thành tiền mặt và không có giá trị chuyển nhượng

Submitted photos must be the property of the contestant. Submitted photos cannot be prize winners of any previous photo competition.
Bài dự thi phải là tác phẩm của chính tác giả, chưa tham gia các cuộc thi và các giải thưởng khác.

Contestants are responsible for any copyright infringements or violations
Tác giả hoàn toàn chịu trách nhiệm về bản quyền ảnh tham gia dự thi.

Indochina Sails maintains the right to use submitted photos for publicity purposes.
Indochina Sails có quyền sử dụng bài dự thi vào mục đích quảng bá nhãn hiệu mà không cần thông báo trước.

Winners may be required to participate in publicity programs
Indochina Sails có quyền từ chối quyền tham dự cuộc thi của những hình ảnh có nội dung không lành mạnh, không phù hợp và có quyền từ chối trao giải nếu phát hiện bất cứ vi phạm nào từ người dự thi.

How to find safe travel in Halong Bay Vietnam

activetravelvietnam — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:43:09 +0000

ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA would like to give out some advices about how to travel safely and enjoyably in Halong Bay. There are some something you should concern about as you plan your trip there.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

1. Overnight junk (vessel) or hotel?

When you travel you can stay in hotel anywhere, anytime and that is just so normal. If you want to have a unique travel experience in Halong Bay it worth spending a night aboard of an overnight vessel amongst thousands of islands and islets. Though the recently tragedy incident happened to an overnight vessel I still vote for it. The question now is how to minimize the risk.

2. How to choose a reliable overnight vessel?

Stick to popular names like Indochina Sails, Huong Hai Junk, Bai Tho Junk, Hai Long Junk,… there are many boat fleets recommended or not recommended on Trip Advisor by travelers. We all know that the big brand is likely a guarantee for the quality. In this case, it is so true. A wooden vessel of a big fleet after some year in operation would be sold to smaller fleet who is targeting at cheap services. These old wooden vessels are not reliable especially in bad weather.

When you book overnight vessel ask your travel consultant or reservation license of the vessel for doing its business. That can tell a lot how reliable your overnight vessel is.

3. What else a popular big vessel fleet can offer?

Their crew are better trained and more discipline. They concentrate on what they do better than crew of a small and unorganized fleet. The vessels are well maintained and safety equipments aboard are better equipped. There are many more things about quality and safety that a small and cheap fleet can not offer traveler since they just target at cheap services.

4. Already aboard, what you should concern?

There should be a hummer in your cabin which can be used to break the glass window in case of emergency. The hummer should be hang right on either sides of the window and you have locate it so you can have it when you need (hope not). If you do not find the hummer you should ask for one from the crew or you make something yourself for that purpose.

There should also be life-vest in your cabin. You have to be sure that you have them ready in case.

Scan the whole vessel for emergency escape way, fire extinguisher,… that would be useful in case of emergency

( Source: news.activetravelvietnam.com)

Ha Long Bay listed among the world’s most surreal landscapes

activetravelvietnam — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:30:31 +0000

The Telegraph has recently selected the world’s most surreal landscapes, including Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, a world natural heritage recognised by the UNESCO.

Halong Bay, Vietnam: This stunning landscape features some 3,000 limestone pillars rising out of the emerald waters on the northwest coast of the Gulf of Tonkin. Local legend has it that the islands were created by giant dragons, summoned by the gods to fight Chinese invaders.

Valley of Desolation, Dominica: This valley was a lush rainforest until a volcano erupted in 1880. Fauna is now reduced to lizards, ants and cockroaches while boiling mud and fumaroles dot the landscape.

Painted Desert, Arizona, USA: Vibrant reds, oranges, blues, greys and pinks decorate the sun-baked Painted Desert on a high plateau in Arizona. Home of the Hopi and the Navajo peoples, the latter known for their ceremonial sand paintings, it’s an utterly unique part of the planet.

Purnululu National Park, Australia: Until the release of aerial photos in the early 1980s, this remote area in Western Australia was all but unknown to the outside world. Traditionally used by Kija Aborigines during the wet season, the rugged web of gullies, cliffs, gorges, domes and ridges hold aboriginal works of art and burial sites.

Petrified Forest, Argentina: This flat arid land in Patagonia’s Santa Cruz province is strewn with the stumps of fossilised trees. Some 130 million years ago, during the Jurassic period, wet forests of giant araucaria trees covered the area. During the formation of the Andes, large-scale volcanic activity buried Patagonia in ash and these forests turned to stone.

Wadi Rum, Jordan: The forbidding beauty of Wadi Rum was the perfect backdrop for the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia. This desert wilderness is certainly cinematic – sand valleys and dunes punctuated by a maze of monolithic rock, natural arches, slender canyons and fissures, beautifully moody colours at dawn and dusk, and night skies sprinkled with a multitude of stars.

Lake Myvatn, Iceland: The Apollo 11 crew were sent here to train for their moon walks. It is lined with craters, lava pillars and mud pits, while volcanic islets are scattered across the water. If not for all the ducks roaming the sandbars, it could well be on another planet.

Cappadocia, Turkey: So inhospitable is the landscape here in the heart of Turkey that early dwellers went underground, building churches and houses into the soft cliffs. Above ground, honeycomb cliffs and volcanic cones – known as ‘fairy chimneys’ create dramatic landscapes.

Lake Bogoria, Kenya: So shallow is the earth’s crust in this sinister landscape that the surface looks like a giant witch’s cauldron, with scorching springs and geysers. Rich in sodium salts and minerals, the lake has no life bar the blue-green algae, eagles flying overhead and the incredible number of flamingos that feed here.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: Blindingly white and dizzyingly high, this vast salt flat near the crest of the Andes could easily be mistaken for a Salvador Dali painting. Eerie and otherworldly, Salar de Uyuni holds intensely blue skies, red and green lagoons, pink flamingos, smoking volcanoes, giant cacti, hot springs and spitting geysers.

Source: Telegraph

Halong bay – Offshore paradise

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:11:12 +0000

Spending a couple of days floating on the waters of Halong Bay is always an unforgettable experience for Duc Hanh

I arrive in Halong at noon. The sun is high in the sky and burning bright. Personally after a four-hour-stint on the road, I’m dying to get out the water and feel the sea breeze running through my air. I presume as normal with Halong tours we’ll be left “sitting on the dock of the bay” for the best part of an hour, but almost instantly a speed-boat arrives with a flourish and as soon as we pile on board we’re zooming towards our large and handsome junk, the Indochina Sails, which the captain proudly announces is 44m?long and 8.5m?wide – and indeed it seems a fine, seaworthy vessel to me!

In my time I’ve been on board a few of the bay’s shabbier junks. It is one point worth making: when it comes to visiting Halong Bay don’t go for the budget trips! Thankfully there are more than a few classy junks to choose from these days that are also reasonably priced.

On board the Indochina Sails, there’s a restaurant, a bar, a massage room, a gift shop and even a library.

A trip to Halong is first and foremost about relaxing so within minutes every single passenger arrives on deck to sip drinks in the sunshine while basking at the brilliance of bay. Sun-shy, I stretch out on a lie-low on the more shaded lower deck and listen to the the sound of the boat chopping through the waves. As time slowly passes, I happily doze off in the salty air.

Eventually a call for lunch stirs me from my light slumber. A Vietnamese five-course lunch is devoured by the hungry guests even though we’ve hardly worked up an appetite. Afterwards, we drop anchor by Ti Top Island. The tiny island takes its name from the cosmonaut Ghermann Titop of the former Soviet Union, who came here on a trip with President Ho Chi Minh in 1962.

To mark the significance of their visit, Uncle Ho named it Ti Top Island. Thirty-five years later, in 1997, Ti Top returned. Deeply moved, he wrote in the souvenir book of the Management Board of Halong Bay: “My deepest thanks to destiny, which has allowed me to come back to this tiny island.”

It’s a small island, but certainly one to be proud of. It is quiet and airy atmosphere as well as its clean white sand and clear waters. The beach is ideal for swimming nearly all year round. The island’s main attraction is possibly the pagoda-styled lookout point at its peak.

After climbing the 427 stone steps that wind up to the summit, one is treated to a most incredible 360-degree view of Halong Bay. Heading back to my cabin to shower and change for dinner, I discover a card inviting me to a wine tasting. So when we’re ready, we head back to the deck to sample the offerings of Chilean, South African and American grapes.

We sip and savour the taste on our palettes as the sun slowly drops behind the surrounding islands and the twilight dwindles – just another perfect Halong moment. Slightly tipsy after a sampling the wine, I’m happy to head for the restaurant and fill my stomach.

Sweet melodies of a traditional Vietnamese dan bau (a monochord instrument) fill the air as we feast on an international buffet with Vietnamese sweet-and-sour salad, crab and corn soup, fried rice, BBQ crab, shrimp, oysters and cuttlefish as well as seasonal fruit and green-bean and lotus seed cake for dessert.

With a canopy of glittering stars above us, a refreshing coolness in the air and flashes of fluorescent lamps from the cuttlefish boats in the distance, at night the bay is truly magical. It is pure bliss just to sit around with the other travellers, your friends or partner.

Some may be tempted to try an adventurous night activity and join fishermen casting out nets for cuttlefish before heading for bed but I’m perfectly happy to sit and quietly contemplate life with a nightcap. After a deep and dreamless slumber, the voices of vendors who have rowed up to our junk to sell snacks, seafood, souvenirs and cigarettes wakes me up.

There is not a soul bathing on the beach – truly for tourists looking for a remote hidden getaway spot this fits the bill. The island is 12sqm in area with over 1,000 inhabitants living mainly off fishing, farming, aquaculture and afforesting.

But there are no bars or restaurants, no showers or toilets. But that’s why we’re here: to escape the crowds! After swimming, sun-bathing and walking along the beach, we head back to the boat where our tour guide introduces us to our kayaks. Again, taking a leisurely pace, we paddle around Cong Do, a floating fishing village in Bai Tu Long bay, 25km southeast of Halong wharf.

Here you can find shrimp, crab, fish, squid and aquatic plants. If you’re not shopping for dinner, it’s fun just to soak in the incredible atmosphere of a true Halong fishing village. Personally, it just reminds me that I’ve been promised a seafood dinner tonight back on board the Indochina Sails!

Full steam ahead captain! The Indochina Sails is currently offering a Sensational Summer Savings promotion package for a three day and two night cruise. Check out www.indochinasails.com

An ode to Ha Long Bay on Indochina sails cruise

activetravelvietnam — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:57:00 +0000

It was my fourth visit to Ha Long Bay, but the first time my mother and I could together float on the sea, from sunset to sunrise on a large wooden junk.
by Cam Giang

Follow the leader: Holidaymakers explore limestone rock formations in Ha Long Bay. Kayaking is just one of many activities tour operators offer in the area. — Photos courtesy Indochina Sails

Our three days and two nights on a the wooden junk named Valentine, of Indochina Sails may just be our most memorable trip together since I was 10 years old and accompanied my mother to visit the sea for the first time. Now I was a 20-something girl, old enough to stretch by my mother’s side on two deck chairs and enjoy the darkness surrounding the numerous white limestone towers, not to mention the melodious ballads flying up from the wooden deck into the sky. It was our first night on board, a moment so tranquil that it made a western couple stand up and waltz. At the time, our junk was still moving slowly ahead, passing through the cool sea-breeze and many gigantic limestone towers, which impressed us with their bizarre shapes in the darkness.

We were excited the moment we took a tender to step onto the gigantic wooden junk, which resembled an ancient French-style palace floating on the sea. Passing through the glittering dining room, with its windows facing the sea, we reached our cabin. My mother and I immediately saw beyond the wooden doors: two parallel white sheeted beds, a jar of white Madonna lilies, two large windows covering almost half of the brown wooden wall, and a splendid view of the sea outside.

Our first day was spent relaxing on the deck and in our cabin, although there were various activities tourists could enjoy partaking in on land, such as visiting Bat Cave, Cua Van fishing village or Soi Sim Beach. Most of us were not interested in stepping off the junk, since it served as an idyllic day-trippers’ paradise. Lying on the beds at night, we could see both the high limestone towers and bright stars glittering in the dark sky.

We went to bed early that night. Perhaps it was the effect of consuming a few glasses of good red wine on deck, or the cool breeze coming in from the large window mixed in with the intoxicating air from the cream lilies, that served as soothing lullabies.

The second day began filled with energy as we woke up early to participate in a tai chi session on the sun deck. We then transferred to the day-trip boat and cruised to the bay’s most untouched areas. A buffet-style breakfast was served on the boat, which was not only impressive in its various delicious Western dishes, but also served very good Vietnamese pho (noodle soup).

The highlight of the trip turned out to be kayaking in the afternoon, when our boat reached Cong Do area. All of us were very eager, although my mother seemed hesitant. She had never squeezed into a kayak before and she didn’t know how to swim.

Our yellow kayaks followed each other, moving in the low surf, with the warm waters of the sea lapping, and the cool breeze wrapping around us. The high rock formations seemed much higher when looked up and could make our way through all the narrow slots between the towers to discover a strange area where big boats couldn’t reach.

Our second day came to a good end with a delicious dinner, a grilled seafood feast, after which we went off to see people catching squids offshore. Passengers who caught squids could be found at our table for a second dinner, laughing away as they shared their funny stories.

The next morning our ship steamed forward to Sung Sot Cave, one of the bay’s most impressive limestone caverns. The entrance required a hike up stone steps to a spot high above the bay. More steps led into receding chambers, past humongous stalactites and stalagmites that resembled giant sandcastles.

Our cruise ended in the afternoon with us waving to the staff as we returned to land.

Many hesitate to vacation in a sailboat, but it is worth trying, for once you go, you will want to go again and again. It is advisable to go in a group, as you can share together all the wonderful moments of sitting standstill in the cool sea-breeze, listening to love ballads, sipping Vallformosa red wine, while the limestone towers all around move softly as the boat keeps drifting ahead.

Ha Long is like a story whose ending I thought I had reached but in reality I discovered that it has many alternative endings that need to be discovered, again and again.

A new paradise aboard with Indochina Sails

A new paradise aboard with Indochina Sails

admin — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:24:27 +0000

Ha Long – a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders- may have never been easier and more comfortable to discover with INDOCHINA SAILS. Let’s get aboard.

The boarding time is 11h 30 am. Passengers are welcomed with smiles and the sound of drums. The friendly staff provide each with a fresh cool tower and a welcome drink to refresh after a long travelling distance. One hour to take a short rest before lunch at magnificient seascape.

This traditional junk is special from its materials to decoration. It is made by Aroma woods, a relaxing perfume living in every corner of the ship. With 15 air-conditioned rooms of twin, double and single, Each room is luxuriously and neatly decorated in 4 star style. It is a truly perfect paradise for those who travel in couple, with friends or alone.

Lunch time seems everlasting as the ship moves very slowly, the gentle music sound and every dish is served in a very professional way by servants in Vietnamese traditional costume. This is one of the most unforgetable experience during the day as the sun shines brightly over green water and trees. After lunch, boarders can either walk freely around to take marvellous pictures/photos, sunbathing on the sundeck. Sun tan oil is available at the reception for free.

The trip also takes boarders to Cua Van Fish village where more than 600 people live and earn their living on water surface. The details in their daily life must be a very exciting impression for tourists. On returning to Indochina Sails, boarders are provided with cool towers before having a swim at Soysim beach nearby and enjoy the sunset.

Indochina Sails by night is even more romantic. Passengers are dressed themselves like King and Queen. In good weather, buffet will be served on sundeck restaurant so that everyone may feel the sea breezes and hear the sea breaths. Not just seafood but each dish got its own taste through the skillful hands of experienced chefs.

Huong Hai Junk is finishing its own pier opposite Halong Bay hotel which is very convenient for tourists of small groups or free and easy style. The pier may act as an interval before boarding. The design includes souvenir shops, restaurants and can accommodate up to 200 guests.

“We wish to provide our valued customers with best service quality and we are trying our best for that. Many other leisure activities will be put into operation soon” said Mr.Bui Tuan Ngoc, Director of Huong Hai Company.

“For those who want to travel from Hanoi, we can also pick them up at their hotels if informed early. They may drop in Dong Trieu Ceramics on the way Ha Noi – Ha Long or buy green bean cakes in Hai Duong on the way back to Hanoi” , he added.

Huong Hai has been very popular with Ha Long aboard discovery tours with Huong Hai Junk trademark on a number of cruisers: Huong Hai Deluxe, or Gingers.

On soft opening of Indochina Sails, Huong Hai Junk is now offering special rates of accommodation and package tours:

The two daily trips are 2days/1night and 3 days/2 nights aboard at 285 USD and 570 USD based on double or twin share respectively.

For reservations, Please email info@indochinasails.com

Supported by Indochina Sails

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