The sun is starting to set over Ha Long Bay, one of the most picturesque spots of coastal Vietnam, with floating houses and local boat traffic intermingled with dramatic rock formations jutting out of the bay.

I’ve lifted my oar out of the water, and have paused for a moment, listening to the rhythm of the water lapping next to the kayak.

It should be one of the most peaceful moments of the trip, enjoying golden hour out on the bay. But instead, a deep panic is tightening its grip.

How It All Began

“Just perfect,” I had thought, as I made the booking in person the evening before. I like to rock climb when I travel, even though I don’t always travel with people who do. Luckily I was able to convince my travel buddy in Vietnam to come along for the full day of adventure – a morning of rock climbing followed by an afternoon kayaking around Ha Long Bay. For me, the perfect vacation itinerary.

The day started off typically enough. We boarded a boat with our guides and a large group, then split off based on which outdoor adventure came first. There were several activities available, and everyone basically mixed and matched different half-day components to enjoy.

The morning was picture-perfect as a group of us were dropped on a white sand beach overlooking the turquoise water, with rock formations towering overhead.

The surroundings were absolutely breathtaking, and the hours flew by meeting fellow travelers and scaling the limestone. Even now, that morning in Ha Long Bay was some of the best outdoor climbing I’ve ever done in my travels.

At mid-day the various groups returned to the boat for a communal lunch and some swimming in between the two halves of the day.

Setting Off Kayaking in Ha Long Bay

The afternoon of kayaking in Ha Long Bay involved a different mix of people than the first half of the day, and there were 7 kayaks full of people that set off.

Of course, what was a minor footnote at the time became critically important later in the afternoon. The rock climbing guide from the morning was not feeling well, and couldn’t go out with the afternoon climbing group. So the tour operator did the logical thing and had the ill staff member stay on the boat, and the original kayaking guide went with the climbing group instead.

Which meant that our kayaking group would be without a guide.

But it was simple enough: “Just keep turning to the left as you kayak, and you’ll get back to the boat.”

This made sense to all of us, so we grabbed kayaks and oars and set off into the sunshine.

The first few hours of kayaking in Ha Long Bay were glorious. It involved leisurely jutting back and forth ahead of one another as we took turns stopping off at random beaches on the many islands dotting Ha Long Bay, weaving in and out of the rock formations along the way.

Honestly, there was no clear left with how irregular it all was, but we were all making what was generally a counter-clockwise loop around the area.

And Then…

We were supposed to be back at the boat by 5pm to reconvene with the other afternoon groups and head back into town. So around 4:30pm, when there was no end or break in the rock formation in sight, what earlier had been a fairly spread out swath of kayaks started to cluster closer together to figure out where we were and how much farther there was left to go to find our way back.

At 4:45pm, with no left turn still available, we all started to simple paddle harder, assuming that we had been a little too leisurely earlier. And that if we just went a bit faster, we would shortly find the boat.

By 5pm, and the island’s edge extending far into the distance, I think we all realized that we were lost. And in trouble.

We didn’t know where we were.
We didn’t know where the boat was.
We didn’t see anyone else in sight besides our group of kayaks.
We didn’t know exactly how we arrived to the spot we were currently.
We didn’t know if it was closer to try and retrace our path or keep going forward.
We didn’t know if the boat was looking for us. Or waiting for us, even.

The only thing we did know, was that we had to stick together, and that we’d make the situation even more dangerous by splitting up as night was about to fall.

We also realized at some point around this time that we were only 6 of the 7 kayaks that had gone out, and were just hoping the other kayak had somehow made its way back to the boat, and wasn’t even more lost than we were – and alone!

The consensus was to continue on and hope that we came across the boat, or even someone (anyone!) who might be able to help

With each stroke of the paddle, the situation seemed more and more hopeless.

We didn’t know where we were. No one had a phone. And no one had much of a plan other than to keep moving.

At the beginning of what felt like a possibly dangerous situation, I was trying to stay calm and keep a clear head. With each passing minute though, the calm was being replaced by progressively more and more dire panic.

All of the worst case scenarios started to surface . . . We could be lost for days . . . How would anyone find us? . . . What if the weather turned bad?

We had minimal fresh water left and no food.

And my arms were feeling exhausted.

The several hours of morning rock climbing and the escalating pace of our paddling was weighing my arms down with each stroke. Somehow the adrenaline of the situation was carrying me forward, but it was starting to feel like my arms could not continue at this pace for all that much longer.

After what felt like an eternity of Herculean paddling effort – and was probably more likely a half hour or so – finally the horizon changed when a large freighter boat faintly came into sight in the fading light of the day.

Hope

Frantically we all started paddling toward the boat while also trying to dramatically wave our arms and oars to get the attention of someone on board. Luckily it was a pretty large vessel that was moving relatively slowly, so our paddling efforts allowed us to approach closer even as the boat continued to move, and finally get someone on the ship to notice us.

Of course, being well out of the touristy part of Ha Long Bay at this point, no one on board spoke any English (and no one in our group spoke Vietnamese).

The only thing that made what came next possible was that someone on another kayak had a waterproof digital camera, and I’ve never been so grateful for a piece of technology in my life.

He had taken a picture with the side of the boat in it earlier in the day. Which just so happened to also have the ship’s markings – with the name and phone number of the tour company emblazoned in bright yellow paint on the dark brown background. And thank goodness he had the clarity to think of this and pull it up!

Despite no common words or language, the boat crew fortunately could figure out that we were looking for the boat in the photo and to call them. And that calling the phone number might lead to someone who spoke Vietnamese and could help sort out what all of us were doing this far out on the water, with night falling rapidly.

The next few minutes were a blur, with my usual focus clouded by the all-encompassing anticipation of maybe, just maybe, being able to get back to our boat.

There were enough hand motions happening to indicate that this boat found our other boat by phone, and even that alone was a source of great relief. Even more amazing in that moment we somehow were able to figure out that our tour boat was still waiting on us.

And by a great stroke of luck, the giant freighter boat (that hadn’t even been headed that way!) was willing to take us back to our boat. Which otherwise would have been a very long paddle – probably lasting the approximately 4 hours it had taken us to reach this spot.

Savoring One of My Luckiest Travel Moments Ever

The freighter being so high off the water, there was no real way for us to board, but they tossed us a rope. With the panic subsiding, clear thought seemed to take over as we all methodically tied our kayaks to one another, and then to the sturdy-looking rope they had tossed to us off the back of the boat.

Secure and never more relieved, we flashed each other giant smiles as the freighter started to move.

All of the kayaks were bunched together, so as the boat picked up speed, we actually started to bang horizontally into one another. Which was entirely unexpected.

On another day, we might have considered this to be just another part of the adventure. But in this moment, still emotionally charged, the collisions presented what felt like a lethal danger. The last thing we needed was for one of the kayaks to get damaged or ropes to snap off, given the afternoon we’d had.

So we each pushed the end of our oars horizontally into the side of the adjacent kayak to create a consistent bit of space as we bounced in all directions in the wake of the boat rushing forward. Hitting the water, but no longer hitting each other.

Once we got our configuration stabilized, it all started to sink in. How close we had been to being lost and stranded. In the dark. Without anything to eat or drink. And along with those emotions, also reveling in the sheer joy that comes with relief of that magnitude after a crisis. Especially with the beautiful surroundings of Ha Long Bay at sunset rushing by.

One of the most serious terrors I’ve experienced first-hand transformed into being overtaken by a sense of deep, meditative calm. Which then morphed into joy and exhilaration as my adrenaline response faded and I could be again fully present in the moment. Feeling the breeze of being dragged along, the fun of bouncing on the water, and the absolute humility and gratitude at the mysterious ways of the universe that led to our improbable rescue.

Although this wasn’t my most recent time getting rescued by a boat after being stranded, this was definitely one of the most dangerous and terrifying situations I’ve encountered in all of my travels – even though it all worked out in the end.  (Including that 7th kayak not with us, who had never gotten lost, and made it back to the boat on time.)

Had things gone even just a bit differently, I am not exaggerating when I say that I might not be here to share this story.

Thinking Back On It Now

Even with all the chaos and panic, there was so very much I was grateful for that day:

We were 6 kayaks lost together.
Someone had a waterproof camera and had taken a picture of the side of the boat with the phone number.
That the camera still had battery charge to pull up the photo.
That we even found another boat to flag down.
That the freighter stopped for us.
And was willing to try and figure out what was going on.
And call.
Then was willing to go off course and tow us along.
That the original boat waited for us, even before they had heard from us about where we were.
That we were able to make it safely back into port.
Especially since unbeknownst to us at the time, tourist boats on day trips are not allowed to return to the bay after sunset.

Which led to us – and everyone else out on a tour that day – ducking down as we re-entered the bay after sunset.  I would have happily done whatever crazy thing was being requested to ensure our safe return to dry land, and fortunately we made it back without being stopped by the Ha Long Bay harbor patrol.

I could have bent down to kiss the ground, I was so elated to finally step off the boat after such a long ordeal out on the water.

I couldn’t tell you any of their names, but I made some friends for life in that shared life-threatening afternoon.

There is this indescribable bonding that comes with shared calamity – especially while traveling. After a much-needed shower to restore a sense of normalcy and wash away the drama of the day, we came back together to relive it all, sharing a meal together at a local spot in town.

And of course back on land and with a WiFi connection at the guesthouse, we were finally able to pull up a map of where we had been.

It turns out that there was an inlet about 15-20 minutes into kayaking that was meant to be the left turn that would lead back to the boat. Once we missed that turn, it probably would have taken days of kayaking in Ha Long Bay to propel ourselves around the giant island that kept going and going and going.

It was so lucky that we encountered that other boat. By the time the freighter picked us up, we were only a small fraction of the way around the giant mass. Although of course we had no way of knowing that at the time.

I’m not sure if it was there when I took this trip back in 2012, but now the FAQ on the tour outfitter website warns that “Even with a compass, it can be extremely difficult to navigate among islands. For this reason, all of our kayak trips are guided.”

Lessons Learned

So, would I do it all again? Is there anything that I would do differently next time?

Honestly, I would still go kayaking in Ha Long Bay. But even if it was with a guide (like this trip was meant to be!) I would definitely be more prepared. Because really, anything can happen.

TIP! If you’re doing any water activities (or even just think you might), get a waterproof bag you can take with you.  this clear one that comes in many color options but is clear enough to see the contents.

TIP! Have a phone with a local SIM card with credit or an international plan to be able to call for help if you need to.

TIP! Always have the phone number of any tour company you use in your travels.

TIP! Use a map program to save any group meeting point to your cell phone.

TIP! Always have a backup battery for technology. For cell phones, I use and like READ MORE: 16 Travel Essentials for Every Kind of Trip

TIP! Check in at the halfway point before you need to make your way back to your tour group, to be sure there is enough time to return.

TIP! Trust your instincts! If a situation starts to feel dangerous, treat it that way and act accordingly. I talk about trusting that intuition in my post on Solo Travel, but really, it’s an important tip to keep in mind whenever you are on the road, alone or not.

Nothing is foolproof when you travel – and the unexpected can always happen – but a bit of preparedness will go a long way in keeping you safe.

Have you ever been lost in your travels? How did it turn out? Any things you would do differently the next time around? Any other tips I missed?

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