I have not been back to Vietnman for more than ten years. There must be a lot of changes by now. Yg's post on Halong Bay last Sunday reminded me of my visit to the same place in 1987. I was there with a friend. We put up at Bachdang Hotel which was very close to the bay. Many private boats were at the harbour waiting for passengers. We chartered a boat which could accomodate 10 persons. We had the privacy of two persons. As the boats cruised down the lagoon passing many limestone islets, we had beer while viewing the beautiful sights. The boat package included one sea food lunch cooked on board the boat. We paid additional charge for our beer.
Bachdang Hotel
At the harbour
We chartered this boat
Lunch on board the boat
Going up to the cave
Inside the cave
Outside the cave
Hawker stalls
Outside our hotel on the way to the beach there were many hawker stalls selling souvenirs, food and drinks to the tourists. At the beach there were many beer stalls with beach chairs for the tourists to relax and enjoy the drinks. Beer per can was very cheap at S$0.85 cents each. That was more than 30 years ago.
Enjoying beer by the beach
