The ONLY true must-see of Vietnam
From Eyes Wide Open in Halong Bay, Vietnam on Aug 03 '07
I know that the title of this entry is a pretty bold statement, but seeing as how I've made my may through Vietnam over the last month I think that I'm qualified (if only a little bit).
After Nha Trang and the craziness of that resort town we (Ruth and I) made our way up to Hanoi, the capital and booked our trip to Halong Bay through one of the literally hundreds of travel agencies. They all book the same trips; usually combinations of one day, two day, three day trips that take the traveler through the Bay on a chinese junk looking ship thats fairly comfortable. The true highlight though is just cruising around the bay and staring at the limestone formations (called karsts) that jut hundreds of feet out of the water and are covered in green ivy and other plants.
It all adds up to a great experience, one way or another.
One stop on the trip is pretty much standard and thats a cave (I've forgotten the name... it gets hard to remember things when something new is happening everyday) which is really very beautiful, even with the cheesy multicolored lights that have been installed inside, as well as the "waterfalls" which are actually manmade with pumps that have been camouflaged into the limestone. I pointed this out to some of the other tourists and got a few laughs. Even with the hundreds of people filtering though the cave it was still amazing to see and I enjoyed it.
Back on the boat it became apparent why the boats were so beat up on the outside, and thats due to the parking/docking procedure which is as follows:
1. Find a gap between two other boats. The smaller, the better.
2. Aim for the gap.
3. Gun the engine.
4. Once contact is about to be made slam the transmission into reverse at the last possible second and trust that the three shredded tires on the sides of the boat will absorb most of the shock. The wooden side of the boat will help this also.
5. It helps to have a spotter on the front of the boat shouting and waving frantically, although the captain can't see him from the helm.
6. Pulling out is similar, although you may have to push the three other boats that have docked behind out of the way. Again, with lots of shouting and faith in rubber tires.
It all adds up to a great experience, one way or another. Plus swimming off the side of the boat at night is not to be missed, neither is the spectacular sunsets in the Bay, or kayaking around the islands (mind the currents though, they can be deceptively strong).
Some tours have a stop on Cat Ba island, with either trekking or cycling through a national park. We choose cycling, and had a ball riding through some of the greenest scenery I've ever seen. Although Ruth hadn't ridden a bike in some time she got the knack right off the bat and we were off. We promptly abandoned the group and set out on our own, drinking in the lush tropical forests and fresh smells (god bless clean air!). From what we heard from other members, we didn't really miss much by leaving the group, there's only one road thats paved, and there is no cycling through the park. The trekkers were similarly disappointed, with reports of the walk being boring and feeling trapped in the group. So Ruth and I were especially grateful for our time away from everybody and being able to really take in the countryside.
Back with the group we were shuffled off to the hotel at Cat Ba town. The view from the hotel was spectacular, and I enjoyed a severe thunderstorm from the safety of the balcony in my room. The rain comes down so hard its almost unbelievable! There was rivers of mud flowing down the streets to the ocean and the legions of fishing boats in the bay were no longer visible. Then there is the sound. The sound of millions of gallons of water hitting tin roofs is completely deafening. The thing about these storms is that although they are SO intense, they rarely last longer than an hour and soon enough people can be seen braving the streets again for a another bowl of Pho Ga, or Bun Bo (my two favorite dishes in Vietnam that cost about 15000D, or $1!)
After all was said and done and we were back on the mainland headed back to Hanoi we both agreed that this was definitely the highlight of our trip and highly recommend it to anybody going to Vietnam. I'm going to get into too much detail about Hanoi as I'm not terribly fond of big cities, just be careful crossing the street, and don't be afraid to pull up a tiny plastic chair at ANY street corner and try some food. It'll be cheaper than a restaurant, plus (this is a big one) the service will be spectacular. Also keep an eye out for the Bia Hoi signs and clusters of local sitting around, this is a makeshift curbside pub where the fresh beer without preservatives can be had for about 2000-3500 Dong a glass. That translates to about 20 cents a glass! We learnt that cyclo drivers regularly sit down for several beer at about 10am and proceed to offer their services to the unsuspecting travelers. Now I know why they have that glazed, bored look in their eyes!
Since time is running short on my visa and Ruth is running out of time as well we've had to skip Laos and book a flight to Bangkok for about $53 each, plus taxes and other nuisances. Next stop Thailand (again). Possibly taking a sailing course here, this time a proper one that will get me a chance to work toward my Competent Crew Certificate.
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