Our day started too early for both of us the morning we were picked up to bus north to Ha long Bay but you can’t exactly complain when you’re on your way to one of the great wonders of the natural world. After four hours, we disembarked at Ha long tourist harbor, giving up full trust to our guide to purchase all the right tickets and put us on the correct boat. Fortunately, it all worked out and we were ferried out to our three star junker in no time. From the time we set foot on the boat to the moment we hopped onto the bus back to Hanoi, our schedule was structured down to the minute and by the end of our stay in Ha long bay, we were completely exhausted, enthralled and happy to have made a few new American friends. The boat wasn’t exactly a luxury cruise liner but it was nice enough, old on the outside and new(ish) on the inside.
Our first meal came when we boarded the vessel for the first time and it was actually pretty gross. I feared for the food quality for the rest of the trip (food is just about always on my mind). Our boat was really international and fun. About 20 passengers total with Americans, Germans, many Brits, two Hungarians and a Polish father and son. After lunch we set a course for the Sung Sot cave on one of the limestone islands in the bay. It was certainly a large cave but it was crowded (I thought this was the low season!) and the whole experience had a disney feel to it (different color lights and lit up photo areas). It just didn’t feel like a real cave experience like in northern Thailand.
Next, Megan and I went kayaking for one hour and we certainly stretched that hour to the last minute, paddling pretty far from the dock through a small cave tunnel and into a tranquil cove. Simply amazing to see such monumental rocks shooting up from a clear emerald green sea. All the scenery was spectacular, there are hardly words for Ha long bay, even topped with fog. Pictures barely do justice! After realizing that we were definitely not going to be seeing the sun in person today, we were ferried back to our junker and served dinner after an hour break (even our breaks are scheduled!).
Dinner was much better and the evening was enhanced by the bottle of French wine Megan and I brought with us aboard from Hanoi. We had lively conversations with most of the other passengers but it was really refreshing for us to talk to some Americans again. There were five of us total on this ship (including Megan and myself): Randy, an Asian Texan man on the road through Europe and Asia for nine months, Jackie, a military contract worker on a job in Australia and Shane, a U.S. Army Sergeant or Lieutenant, also stationed in Australia. It was a lot of fun mingling on the boat at night with everyone - many accents were tried (and failed) and more lubricated conversation of traveling, culture and politics ensued.
Dinner was much better and the evening was enhanced by the bottle of French wine Megan and I brought with us aboard from Hanoi. We had lively conversations with most of the other passengers but it was really refreshing for us to talk to some Americans again. There were five of us total on this ship (including Megan and myself): Randy, an Asian Texan man on the road through Europe and Asia for nine months, Jackie, a military contract worker on a job in Australia and Shane, a U.S. Army Sergeant or Lieutenant, also stationed in Australia. It was a lot of fun mingling on the boat at night with everyone - many accents were tried (and failed) and more lubricated conversation of traveling, culture and politics ensued.
The next morning we were woken for an early breakfast so that we could part ways with the folks who only ordered one night in Ha long bay and ferry the rest of us to Cat Ba island at the southern part of Ha long Bay. We took a full van to the entrance of Cat Ba national park and were led to the top by a very charismatic tour guide. On the steep and rocky hike to the top, strangely enough, we saw a bright red sand crab. Once we reached the summit, it was so foggy you could barely see 100 feet in any direction. Still, it was quite a feat and good bonding experience for the rest of us two-nighters.
At our three star hotel, we were served a tasty late lunch before being ferried over to Monkey Island, another place steeped in adventures. The two story ferry took us from the dock straight up to the sandy beach of the island where we were told to meet back in 90 minutes. There was a deserted restaurant at the top of the beach which was a couple hundred meters long and full of semi coarse sand and broken coral pieces and shells. We followed a path up towards a peak of the island, scaling extremely sharp rocks and through some dense forest. Shane, Jackie and I hiked and climbed our way to a thrilling peak at the highest point on the island (seeing an old man up at the top first helped our courage a bit). It had some spectacular views and at this point, the clouds had broken up for the first time in our Halong bay excursion so we had a great, sun soaked vista. Meanwhile, Megan had climbed down to the other side of the island where there was a small resort with domesticated monkeys. She fed them peanuts while I looked around for her on the trail once we climbed back down a bit later. When we found each other, she was quite (rightfully) upset that I had taken the camera and she was camera less in a cute monkey feeding frenzy and we had little time to spare to catch our ride back to Cat Ba. The rest of the monkeys we saw on the beach were aggressive, even provoking attacks on Jackie and rummaging through bags left behind at the abandoned restaurant. Dinner that night was also delicious and the Americans resolved to go out for a few drinks afterward. We ended up meeting a Spanish woman and German web developer who we talked to over the course of a few drinks. Because it was low season, the hotel was literally empty save for the seven of us on the package tour which was creepy as much it was fun!
After a pitiful breakfast, we hopped on a junker all the way back to Ha long harbor with gorgeous weather (finally!) and a decent breeze. Our final meal was an impressive feast and the rest of the day we spent busing to Hanoi and then an overnight sleeping bus to Hue. Though not all the promises made by the travel agent were met (go figure), the natural beauty of Ha long was sublime and the memories unforgettable.
After a pitiful breakfast, we hopped on a junker all the way back to Ha long harbor with gorgeous weather (finally!) and a decent breeze. Our final meal was an impressive feast and the rest of the day we spent busing to Hanoi and then an overnight sleeping bus to Hue. Though not all the promises made by the travel agent were met (go figure), the natural beauty of Ha long was sublime and the memories unforgettable.