Halong Bay

Wed, Jan 20, 2010
Halong Bay, Vietnam

It is early evening and we are sitting on the prow of our “junk” in Halong Bay. Jeff is playing his guitar and I can see at least 20 other boats moored around us. We are all here to spend the night on the bay, and we hope to see a beautiful sunrise in the morning. The bay is really incredible. There are more than 1,800 “islands” rising up out of the water and it is magnificent to see. The weather today has been foggy, so we don’t have the spectacular postcard view – things are more misty and mysterious. It gives the sense of being in the midst of a watercolor painting. .

We are here during what is usually a busy season, but because of the economy, things are pretty slow around here. The boat we are on is equipped to handle 12-14 guests at a time, but tonight it is only Jeff and I, and a father and daughter from France, Alain and Paulina. It is nice to have the boat to ourselves. It’s quiet and intimate and we are getting to know the other two guests and our guide Nam. This is the first time we’ve really experienced any kind of quiet since landing in Bangkok. Everywhere we’ve been, there has been the constant honking of horns and the sounds of traffic. It’s really the horn honking that wears on you, because it is non-stop. It’s just part of driving around here.

A woman just rowed up in a boat and sold Jeff a bottle of beer and a large bottle of water for 50,000 VD (about $2.50). Aaaah… life on the water.

We were picked up at the hotel in Hanoi this morning around 8:30, and then we had a 3 ½ hour drive to Halong Bay. I’m so glad we decided to do the overnight. It would be such a lot of driving to get here and only have a few hours before having to turn back around. Our first stop was at one of the islands that has a large cave. Because there are so few people visiting this year, we had a very small crowd in the cave and were able to take our time and look around without bumping into people. In the cave Nam kept pointing out all kinds of shapes in the limestone formations. He told us there is a special surprise in the 3rd chamber and when we got there he pointed to a formation and asked what we thought it was. Well it just looked like a penis and testicles. Jeff said he didn’t think he should say what it looked like, and Nam grinned and said it was a finger pointing to the ceiling. And it does look a bit like that too. There were lions and witches and frogs and snakes and skeletons and elephants and all sorts of shapes to see. It’s a bit like finding shapes in the clouds.

At one stop we were able to get a bird’s eye view of the bay by climbing to the top of a small mountain. It may have been small, but the climb up just about did me in – 420 steps. I was wheezing and my legs were burning and I had to stop and rest several times on the way up, but I was determined to get to the top. I figure I’m never going to get stronger if I don’t just tackle these things.

9:15pm We have just come from a lovely, leisurely dinner and visit with Alain and Paulina. The food has been terrific – seafood for lunch and seafood for dinner. Way too much though. I think the cook is accustomed to cooking for larger crowds and it’s just the four of us. Everything has been great, except for these crazy freshwater “lobster” things they have here – they look like giant cockroachs, which really doesn’t work for me. Jeff likes them, but I’m more than happy to take a pass.

We shared some wine for dinner and just sat visiting about all sorts of things. Alain is a processor of ducks for foi gras, which he said isn’t so popular in America – something about the force-feeding of geese puts off the average American consumer. Paulina has been studying in China for 4 months. Now the two of them will travel together in Vietnam for 2 weeks before going back to France. Paulina has been away for a long time and has let her mother know all of her favorite foods that she is looking forward to eating upon her return. It’s the same everywhere. We love to see new places and try new things, but in the end, it is home where our heart is, and it is there that we ultimately long to return.