doing halong bay by halves
by Rob, who paid for this gig
Hanoi to Halong Bay, Vietnam
The day didn’t start in a promising fashion – at the 8am minivan pickup there were ten AyresBears, but only seven available seats….and four more people were yet to join us. Squashed! Some aggravated dialogue in Vietnamese by one of two American-Vietnamese tourists resulted in them being transferred to another bus immediately and the last two passengers not being picked up at all. Still squashed, but at least most of us had seats.
Four hours later the Hanoi traffic jams were far behind and we were at Halong Bay along with thousands of other tourists. This, clearly, is THE THING to do in Vietnam. We had expected perhaps a dozen or so junks to be moored in the bay, but there would easily have been 200. The place was like Heathrow on water. Junks jostled each other for a berth by the loading pier, lined up ten across and three vessels deep. People were being directed aboard by the hundreds; from a distance it all looked like complete chaos. Having bought tickets for this tour at rock-bottom prices we expected to be shuffled onto a smaller, smellier vessel hiding round the corner. Instead, we found ourselves steered down the concrete pier with only ten other tourists onto a large, very comfortable three-level junk, with crisp white table-cloths flapping invitingly on pre-set tables, deck-chairs set out on the top deck to lie on while we waited for lunch to be served.
“Is this really our boat?” the children queried unbelievingly.
It turned out it was, and no, there were not another twenty people waiting to come aboard! We soon found ourselves seated at a table in front of delicious array of spring rolls, whole fish, sotong, peanuts, rice and vegetables. There were only five plates for Us Ten, but everyone was so taken with the niceness of the setting and the deliciousness of the food, that the quantity went virtually unnoticed.
The day continued to get better. The junk slowly motored out amongst some of the more than 3000 rugged islands that thrust their way up out of the water throughout the bay, and the haze slowly cleared. It is truly an amazing place and lives up to all the guidebook hype. We were taken to one of the islands just out from the harbour, which hides a large limestone cave – unremarkable from the outside, but a real wonder once you enter. Having been through several caves with varying degrees of interest, we were not sure how this one would rate – but it was totally awesome. And packed. There must have been as many people in that cave as there are islands in the bay – all of us shuffling along the concrete path at a predetermined rate. We had to break ranks and step aside just so we could stop and soak it all in – our tour party disappeared ahead as the human snake wound its way through the cave. Kgirl10 simply remarked, “And to think God actually made all this”.
Back on the boat we lounged on the upper deck in the sun looking like a Kontiki tours advertisement and continued our gentle motor through the islands to a sheltered bay, where a small floating village is set up with dozens of kayaks for use. After some quick talking, all but the smallest two were granted permission to use the kayaks – the initial word was that children were “not allowed”. For some reason the prospect of eight children floating around the deep green waters made our guide very nervous. I assured them that they were competent swimmers as well as adept with a paddle, and the guide finally relented. For almost an hour we paddled under the 100m cliffs, explored the water caves and dodged the other junks coming in and out of the harbour. Fantastic fun. Lboy8 declared it his top highlight of the day.
Then there was just time to get showered and changed before it was time to sit back down to dinner. Showered and changed in our two cabins, each cabin with only two beds. We know two of the children were free, but that still meant we were paying for eight and we were expecting three cabins. It turned out our booking was only for 4 adults and one child, all of whom supposedly should easily fit into four beds. Squeezing ten of us into the same space would not be so easy and we wanted to know who had illegitimately pocketed our money. Our questioning was rewarded with a little more food at dinnertime, but still not much more than the five people at the next table – another sumptuous meal, which would have been perfect if there had been sufficient.
More food, but not more beds. It was going to be a squishy night to balance out the squishy minivan trip. Ah well, a battle ahead with the tour company…sigh…this part of travelling in Asia does get wearying.
Nonetheless, the evening was topped off by a gloriously deep sunset, which was framed by two sheer cliffs of nearby islands. We sat as a family on the top deck enjoying the tranquility and the quiet lapping of the water against the junk.
It actually made up for it all….
Tags: postcard: Vietnam, recreation, transport
rayres
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The awesome scenery must have left them all speechless!
Great pics