Indochina Day 14, Halong Bay

Friday June 10^th

This morning our new group of fifteen started our via minivan for the drive to Halong Bay. We still have Richard as our GAP guide, but we have a great local guide, named Chi. On the way he gave us some really interesting information about Vietnam, which I will type up for a Vietnam summary at the end of the trip.

En route we stopped at a large tourist shop where there were lots of crafts for sale, such as silk paintings, eggshell lacquer ware, jewelry and clothing. Inside there were different sections where disabled or handicapped Vietnamese craftspeople made the items that were for sale. The work and detail were amazing, and it was fascinating to watch them at work. Some of the art was really beautiful. We also saw a live cow trussed up and tied to a scooter on its way to market.

We arrived at the harbour of Ha Long City by 12:30 and were ferried to our boat by a small shuttle boat. The boat we are on is called the Hauglong Hai. It has three levels. The first floor has four sleeping cabins on each side, the second floor has a diningroom and a covered sitting area, and the third floor has a sundeck. Apparently there was an issue with an incoming tropical storm and a new nervous harbour master. He was reluctant to let any boats out into the bay because of the storm and the fact that in the last little while two of these boats have sunk, and if another one did he would probably lose his job. He had already cancelled all of the day trip boats, and there were dozens of them. We had a good seven course seafood dinner and awaited the decision. Right after lunch we were given the good news, the engines were started up and we headed out. Apparently only about ten boats were given permission to sail today, the rest are staying in hotels on the mainland! We were very lucky.

We sailed for four hours through the beautiful natural scenery of Halong Bay. In this area there are hundreds of limestone islands rising from the sea in amazing shapes and cliffs. Again the weather was very hot and thankfully there was a bit of a breeze as we sailed along. We stopped in one spot for a short climb up and into a large cave. There were some nice stalactites and stalagmites inside. The cave was quite large and we followed a path through it. Then we sailed a bit further to a floating fish farm/village, to go sea kayaking. I was paired with one of the crew from our boat and he was the guide. We paddled for an hour and a half and went through two sea caves or tunnels that went right through a rock formation and led to lagoon on the other side. Then we paddled back to our boat for a swim. The water here is very warm and is not really refreshing. However, it was nice to get wet and get the sweat off.

We relaxed for a bit and then we had another great meal. They serve it in little servings and seven courses. We had crab, prawns, fish, and fruit. After dinner we sailed for our night anchoring spot and we had a couple of beer and just hung out talking and getting to know each other. I sat up on the top deck for a bit to see the stars and enjoy the tranquillity before joining the others. Then off to bed on board a boat for the first time since the Galapagos.