Gazing at towering limestone pillars in Halong Bay should be on everyone's list when visiting Vietnam. I won't sugarcoat the less attractive aspects of Halong Bay, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. It's riddled with hundreds of junk boats (ruining its natural beauty). It’s polluted because of the hundreds of junk boats. It's crowded with tourists (contributing to the pollution). It's over-commercialized (because all the tourists want to go). A vicious circle it is.

But it's also quite an exceptional kind of place.

We only spent two days gazing at towering limestone pillars in Halong Bay but it was plenty of time to take part in the fun activities on hand.

We didn't reserve our junk boat in advance. We decided to just show up and hope for the best. While wandering around the harbor, a friendly young man came up to us offering an excursion on his junk boat. We had read plenty of bad stories about the decrepit state of some of the boats so we were doubtful when he insisted his boat was very clean and luxurious. We told him we would take his excursion only after seeing the actual boat.

After a few hours of waiting, his junk boat finally docked. I wasn't impressed with the washed-out white exterior so I wanted to see inside before committing (and paying) for the one-night cruise. I was so surprised to see how clean and impeccable the rooms actually were! The bed sheets were a crisp white, the tiny bathroom was spotless and the decor was adorable complete with traditional wood slat walls and ceiling - just how I had imagined!

Satisfied with our choice, I was looking forward to our excursion on the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

As mentioned previously, there's a number of fun activities to do in Halong Bay besides lazying around the roof-top deck of your junk boat (nothing wrong with that!).

Hang Sung Sot Cave is one of the biggest and most popular caves in Vietnam. Colored spotlights point out the more unusual rock formations shaped like familiar objects or animals. The entrance fee isn't included in your junk boat excursion but it's very minimal so a visit to the cave is worth it. Also, the coolness inside the cave is a welcome respite from the humidity and heat outside.

Read also: Ngu Hanh Son - The Marble Mountains of Vietnam

The activity I enjoyed the most was kayaking which was included in the price of our excursion. It's at this time I realized how small we were in the shadows of the towering limestone pillars.

The inhabitants of the quaint floating fishing village enthusiastically waved from afar and laughed at our attempts at navigating the kayak. I was enchanted by the colors of the ram-shackled houses floating carelessly in one of the world's most famous bays. At that moment, it struck me how ironic it was that tourists paid huge amounts of money to get a chance to visit Halong Bay while at the same time it was home to poor, modest fishermen and their families surviving on very little.

Read also:  Can Tho - The Entryway to the Cai Rang Floating Market 

Climbing the hundreds of steps to the top of one of the karst formations was indeed sweat-inducing and tiring but the views were reward enough. This unobstructed viewpoint is where you can admire Halong Bay at its best. From above, the limestone pillars looked like a cluster of handsome stately gentlemen dressed in their finest apparel. Get your cameras ready to snap a few pics of the awesome panorama!

Have you been to Halong Bay? Do you think it's overrated or worth going to?