Bhutan King and Queen enjoy Halong bay cruise

The King and Queen of Bhutan visited Ha Long Bay on the Sea Stars Cruise, enjoying the world natural heritage and experiencing Vietnamese cuisine.

Nearly a week after welcoming King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen of Bhutan, Nguyen Duy Hau, manager of Sea Stars Cruise Ha Long (Quang Ninh), still feels proud and happy.

He recalled that a month ago, the cruise ship received information that it would serve the Royal Bhutanese delegation . Having hosted many high-ranking delegations, the unit was not too worried.

"The King of Bhutan's delegation had no special requests, so everything went smoothly," Hau said.

According to the schedule, the King and Queen visited Ha Long Bay Route 1 from 11am to 2:30pm on August 21. Different from the familiar image in traditional national costumes when appearing in public, the King chose jeans and sneakers, while Queen Jetsun Pema wore a light green floral maxi dress and wedge-soled straw shoes.

During the journey, the King spent a lot of time on deck sightseeing, taking pictures of the bay and capturing moments with his family.

Due to limited time, the group did not go ashore to visit Thien Cung cave like many other tourists but had lunch right on the boat.

The King and Queen dined in the VIP room, with a menu including vegetable salad, snow crab soup, Fuji beef fillet, grilled sea urchin with scallion oil, natural tiger prawns, salt-fried mantis shrimp, steamed grouper with mushrooms, steamed squid with ginger, seafood vermicelli and longan sweet soup. During the meal, the two Royal guests also enjoyed Vietnamese folk music performances.

After lunch, the King's family rested in the Presidential Suite on the yacht, which costs nearly 100 million VND/night.

"Like Bhutan, we cherish the values of nature and true happiness, bringing that spirit to every cruise on the heritage bay. Every moment on the cruise is an experience worthy of the most special guests," said Hau.

The King and Queen of Bhutan paid a State visit to Vietnam from August 18 to August 22 at the invitation of Vietnam President.

This is the first state visit to Vietnam by the King and Queen of Bhutan since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 2012.

Halong Travel Tour - We are a leading tour operator specializing in tailor-made holidays in Vietnam including Halong Bay excursions. We offer a variety of packages and act as a booking agent for many cruises.