Bai Chay waterfront

Neon signs and flashing fairy lights blaze out at night along the Bai Chay waterfront, advertising north Vietnam’s most developed resort, with shoulder-to-shoulder hotels and a picturesque backdrop of wooded hills.

While Bai Chay is swamped in summer with local holidaymakers and tourists from China, out of season it’s a pretty sleepy place and decidedly less sleazy. Apart from strolling the seafront boulevard and taking a quick look at its very indifferent beach, Bai Chay has nothing to distract you from the main business of touring Ha Long Bay.

If you’re staying here, you can take a turn through the night market, a somewhat desultory array of overpriced souvenirs, on the seafront at the junction of Ha Long Avenue and Vuon Dao, the budget-hotel strip. More interesting is the Royal Amusement Park (6–10.30pm; 100,000đ), further west along the front. Of various entertainments on offer, best are the water-puppet performances and the “cultural shows” offering a jazzed-up sampler of “traditional” song and dance. The park also boasts a surprisingly well-presented museum of Vietnamese art and history.