Since we do not have Wifi on the boat, I'm just going to keep a running blog going while on the boat and then post it up once we get access. And since I left one, four inch long cable at home, this segment is pictureless. I'll do a seperate picture chapter later.
Got up early on Sunday morning and took a brisk walk before breakfast to stock up on a bit of cash at the ATM. There was very little traffic, but I was shocked at how much local commerce that was happening at 6 am. Several side streets were essentially unpassable from all the bicycle vendors selling fruits, vegetables, and very fresh fish. Around the lake there were probably a few hundred people jogging, stretching, or doing some group exercises. If we get back from Sapa really early on the train, we'll try and get back here again before we leave Hanoi.
Our van arrived right on time for our ride to Halong Bay. There were eight of us in a 12 passenger van. Quite new and comfortable. The trip took close to four hours, with a stop about halfway at a touristy setup where a lot of crafts, etc were sold. Eileen was very impressed with the embroidery work that was being done, but we got away without any purchases. Driving in Vietnam is chaos. There is no way that an outsider would ever navigate Hanoi and not end up in an ambulance. The only rule is to avoid hitting anything or anyone else, otherwise it's a general free for all. Traffic lights and lane markers are there as a suggestion only.
When we got to the docks at Halong, there was a bit of confusion. We were on a different boat than the other six people, so the woman asked us to wait in the lobby, it would be 30 minutes before the others for our boat arrived. Meanwhile, everyone else for our boat was in the next room waiting for us. Got sorted out and off we headed to the boat, with one very jovial tour guide.We all got tendered out to the boat, had a short safety orientation, and off we went. Nice sunny day with just a bit of a cool breeze. Lunch was served about a half hour after we got going. Everyone was stuffed by the end. I think there was something like eight courses, mostly dim sum sized servings, but they just kept coming, think shrimp, oysters, clams... Of course the scenery of Halong Bay was stunning, no wonder this place makes the top seven natural wonders of the world lists. It's just a never ending postcard view. We cruised for 3-4 hours and ended up in a very sheletered area, surrounded by the tall limestone cliffs. Everyone hopped into kayaks and paddled around some of the islands for about an hour, getting back shortly before sunset. At 6:30, the chef set up in the dining room and we had a cooking lesson on Vietnamese spring rolls and dipping suace. A few different ingredients from the ones we always make, and very tasty too. Supper was similar to lunch, many small servings, with lots of seafood. One different dish was a type of shrimp, I think it was called Mantis shrimpp, that looked more like a crayfish or small lobster. You peeled it open like a lobster, for a few bites of very sweet meat. Quite enjoyable. After supper, everyone gathered at the back of the boat for some squid fishing. They are attracted to light, and there was quite a bright one there. You can see the squid in the water, and eventually one guy snagged one. Eileen and I crashed shortly after that, so not sure if more were caught.
As per normal, we were up early. Coffee was promised for 7:00 but we were probably up on the sundeck an hour before that. Not much of a sunrise with those big cliffs surrounding us. A late breakfast and then we kayaked around a few of the islands for part of the morning. Back on the boat for lunch, then anchors up and away for a few hours of sailing. We stopped at an island that the boat company owns, and then the tender took us into the beach. A few people did some more kayaking, one or two went for a swim. Eileen relaxed on the beach and I wandered for a few photos. Back on the boat we had time for a few drinks with everyone, then back to the island for supper in a cave. They really work hard to make something like this happen, all the food and drink is brought over from the boat, hauled way up a hill to this cave and then served up to us. Everything was BBQ tonight. Several very elaborate food carvings were brought out during the meal as well, all made on the boat that afternoon. The last one was a replica of the boat that was incredibly intricate. The meal probably was not as good as the evening before, but the setting was pretty cool.
Interesting group on board the boat. Five Denver nurses, a few British couples, a few Aussie couples, one German couple and us, 19 in total. Two age groups, our age and 20 something. Not much in the middle.
On the third day, we had an early breakfast and while we ate the boat was on the move towards a floating village. The place is more like a tourist village now, the government has moved most of the residents to the mainland. Split up into groups of four to six and got into these sampans, that rowed us around the village area, ending up at a pearl farm, where we were shown how the oysters were raised.
A brunch on the boat as we cruised back to the harbour. Some of the crew were already making up the rooms for the next batch of tourists. These guys work something like 27 days and then get three days off, doing the same circuit over and over. Their accomadations on the boat are a little less glamerous than ours too. They have to get onto their hands and knees to get through the crawl space entrance, where there is a row of mattresses in a space about four feet high. The captain has a cot in his wheelhouse which is quite spacious compared to the others.
Right now we're cruising down the highway back to Hanoi in a WIFI equipped van, hopefully this posts. We'll get dropped back at our original hotel where we'll repack for the next leg of the trip, again leaving our main bags at the Hanoi hotel. After supper, someone will be taking us to the train station for an overnight trip up to the Sapa region in the northwest part of Vietnam. Hopefully our weather up there will be as good as the last few days in Halong Bay.
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