Cruising the Bay of Halong

Being greatly disappointed with the fact that I could not make it up north to Sapa-apparently I timed it right in my travels to realize the Vietnamese are currently all on vacation. Another option was to to tag along to Halong Bay with two very nice American ladies from D.C.-Jen and Evelyn-that I had met on a long sleeper bus ride from Hue. A few backpackers prior to entering Vietnam warned me that going to Halong Bay was overrated and very touristy. But I thought this option was better than staying in Hanoi for three days with the constant traffic going horn crazy and filling the city air with exhaust fumes. Never have I seen a sight other than S.E. Asia where someone can use a horn ten times in a matter of ten feet. Imagine every person doing this and you have a culture that loves their horns. I'm surprised someone hasn't capitalized on developing different types of horns that can be installed and sold at stores like upgrading your muffler back home.

The first day on a three day tour we were herded like sheep into a small minibus to the port of Halong Bay. Upon entering the docking Bay I started to worry I had made a very bad decision as it was jam packed with many, many tourists, and many, many boats that looked all the same.  We were then cattled again onto a nice old school cruiser boat which followed with a lunch of steamed rice, greens, a stir-fry dish, french fries, and fried fish.  After we docked in Cat Ba Bay half the people on the boat left for the Hotel and the rest of us stayed on the boat for our first night of lodging. Jen, Evelyn and I all sighed in relief as we were starting to wonder how all these people would fit on the boat. The highlight of the day was a very fun hour long kayaking trip among the beautiful limestone cliff mountains. I was gratefully teamed up with a nice young  girl from Ireland named Kyra that had previously kayaked before and was able to provide some good paddling skills.

My new found friends from D.C. and I decided to buy a couple bottles of the 'hard stuff' prior to getting on the boat so after dinner and Kayaking we ended up playing a few card games on the roof top of the cruiser. It was good times as we got to know each other over drinks and a few friendly card games. The stars were out which made it a very beautiful evening on the bay. THis made me realize once again that it doesn't matter where you are in the world, if the stars are out you can find some peace within yourself. One thing that will never get old in my life is staring at the stars.  When we all finally decided to retire to bed my little cabin room turned out to be a nightmare sleeping situation as I was placed right above the motor engine room. The fumes were so powerful I had to sleep up on the top deck of the boat which actually ended up to my advantage as falling asleep under the stars on a peaceful bay was quite gorgeous.

Day two started with some instant coffee, fruit and greasy fried eggs. Then we quickly headed off to a trek into the forest of Cat Ba National Park. Actually it ended up being on the outskirts of the National Park but still the trail opened up into a beautiful shot of the bay and forest along a steep sharp rock ridge. In the afternoon everyone was free to do whatever they pleased and I decided to walk to a near by town called Cat ba.

Cat Ba is a very nice little bay/fishing town nestled right off the  Northen coast. Even though it seems to rely heavily on tourists it still has a certain charm to it. The seafood is incredible and as fresh as it gets-the shrimp I ate was hand picked out of a live holding tank. The night life consisted of drinking in a plush city bar which felt like we were in a metropolitan setting, quite a weird experience. And later we sought out a cheap beer at a local market. The owners were nice enough to tell us that if we decided to take our beers off the premises of the store we would be charged extra money-this was a way to keep the bottles so they could recycle them for cash. Yet another way of the Vietnamese to charge you for something completely ridiculous. But then again better a bottle going into recycling then in the ocean or river which happens quite often in these parts.

After meeting up with some very hammered French guys, talking about music-one of them was so drunk he was starting to forget where he was-we decided to head back to our Hotel. I took immediate notice to the two extremely drunk moto taxi drivers waiting for us to get on their bikes. Jen in return suggested we walk back to the Hotel instead of the drunkin' taxi ride and this turned out to be a wonderful idea as the night was lightened by a full moon making it a very fun end to a very long beautiful night.