Ha Long has big problems - overcrowding, pollution, and an inconsistent tourism product. That doesn't take away from the beauty of the place but it does present some concerns.

It's hard for people (myself included) to choose a boat to go on. None of the travel agencies actually own the boats they are selling you a place on. They work on commission and they get more commission from certain companies – so they’re the ones they’ll push. They also don’t really know whether there will be a place on the boat they are selling you. It’s entirely possible (and happens very often) that you actually just get on-sold to another boat without realising until it’s too late.

I wish there was an easy way to guarantee a good time. That's hard, though. I think the tourism industry would benefit in the long term from working on improving their product and not ripping off the stream of tourists who will never come back again.