Easy. You simply hire a private junk for a 4 day, 3 night cruise of Halong Bay. It sounded extravagant, but probably cost the same as a nice hotel and food in Hanoi for the same period of time. And it was awesome.
Halong Bay is often described as Guilin under water. The Bay is full of karst islands, secret coves, floating fishing villages and secluded beaches. Our junk was staffed by a crew of 6 for the 5 of us (our friends Bob and Naomi Klaw were with us). Good ratio. One crew member was our personal tour guide, another our cook. We knew we had made a good choice when we arrived on the boat and were immediately served a 6 course lunch of fresh seafood, watermelon juice and outstanding coffee. Each meal trumped the next. I suspect we consumed an easy 2000 calories at each sitting. In addition to incredible food, the assistant captain was a master vegetable and fruit carver and our table was always decorated with his creations-fishermen, hummingbirds, boats, etc.
We were able to see much of the Bay including caves, beaches (beautiful and isolated), small villages and temples. But simply cruising through the islands was magnificent. The pictures don't do the scenery justice. Had it been a bit warmer we probably would have spent all our time sitting on the top deck, but the picture windows by the comfy couches were a nice alternative.
This was absolutely a once in a life time trip on a beautiful boat with a cook we all wished to marry.
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