HALONG BAY
5th - 6th August 2015
We made it to Kangaroo Cafe bright and early to find the boats to Halong had been given the all clear and our bus to the coast was on route. Whilst hanging out at the cafe we made friends with two Brits, Jane and Charlie who were also booked on to our trip. There was sixteen in total on the bus and we all introduced ourselves, it was like the first day of school. They all seemed like a good crowd especially the lad sitting near us with one of Tim Burtons dark characters tattooed up his arm. Just as we were getting to know everyone we were told that Jane, Charlie, Helen and I were on a different boat to the rest of the passengers. This was a tad annoying as this lot seemed like a good crowd. Not the best start but fingers crossed our boat would have a good bunch of people too. The reason for this we later learned, was the boat we were originally booked onto was full of water from the recent typhoons so we had been upgraded to a different boat. This was great news but a little worrying, hopefully no more typhoons were swirling towards Halong.
We pulled in to the harbour round 12 and within moments were skimming across the harbour on a little boat heading out towards the bigger boats milling about in the bay. The one we were aiming for looked really plush and there appeared to be a big sun deck on the top. Win!
The captain welcomed us aboard and we were showed to our room. It looked like a fancy hotel, nicer than most of the places we have stayed the whole trip. We made ourselves at home, then went to meet the rest of the crew. There was the two Brits we arrived with, a Spanish couple, an Indonesian couple and a group of middle aged Aussie ladies on a girls holiday. They looked like good fun so we joined them on the top deck for beers.
Before we knew it the anchor was up and we chugged our way out the harbour and into the bay. Beautiful doesn't even come close to describing the scenery. Massive green and grey limestone outcrops shot out of the emerald waters towards the sky. There were so many that they merged on the horizon creating the illusion of a much bigger island. From what we had heard we thought we would be surrounded by hundreds of other tourist boats blaring loud music and generally feel like we were in some sort of foreigner flotilla. However in reality it was far from it, with only a few boats at any one time dotted about in the distance. Soon it was lunchtime and this is where our upgrade was obvious. Chicken soup, stuffed crab, clams, a pork dish, fish something with rice and dragon fruit to finish served against the ever changing Halong backdrop.
Apparently because we had been upgraded our route took us away from the main tourist area to this lesser visited floating village where they farm pearls. We boarded a little motorboat to get to a floating jetty where we hopped into a little rowing boat with a cone hatted local behind the oars. Soon we were gliding smoothly through much smaller channels weaving in and out of the limestone skyscrapers and every now and then passing the odd floating hut or fishing boat. It was like rowing through a postcard. After about fifteen minutes we came to the pearl farm. One of the farmers gave us a little demonstration how they grow the pearls. Firstly they open the oyster just a tad and insert a grain of sand into the centre. The oyster realising there is a foreign body inside itself starts to coat the grain in layer upon layer of nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, eventually creating a full round pearl after roughly eight months. They opened one to reveal a shiny little pearl happily snuggled into the centre. It was pretty cool to see as I have never really given much thought to how pearls are created.
We made our way back to the boat and jumped off the back for a swim. It was pretty refreshing however due to the recent typhoons washing everything into the sea it meant the water wasn't the most clean making for a short dip rather than a long swim. Still it was nice to be in the sea again.
We showered and then all congregated on the top deck to have a few sun set beers, or "sundowners".
Whilst enjoying the evening light one of the chefs gave a fruit and veg sculpture demonstration. I have never seen fruit and veg look so good and to show our appreciation at dinner Helen ate the crafted carrot flower. They may have been pretty sculptures, but they we still food and we were hungry. Dinner was as impressive as lunch with pumpkin soup, summer rolls, prawns and fresh oysters (no pearls inside unfortunately), squid balls, a zesty beef dish, a fish curry and melon to finish.
After dinner we all hit the top deck again for some more boozing. The Aussie ladies were awesome and once they learned we were traveling the east coast they started to give us loads of travel tips as all their husbands and kids are surfers. We were even invited to stop by when we reach Copacabana. Our boat dropped anchor for the night in a designated sleeping area surrounded by more towering limestone walls and many other boats. Apparently all the boats have to moor up in the same places for safety and conservation purposes. It was quite cool looking at the twinkling lights below a purple night sky that gave way to a blanket of stars. Sorry for the slightly wanky writing but it was just such an amazing scene.
We had a crack at squid fishing off the front which was very unsuccessful. However we could hear lots of shouts and laughter from the dining room and it was apparent the Aussies were having much more success with the karaoke machine. We went and joined them and within no time we were all swaying to Hey Jude and spilling our drinks. The night goes a bit fuzzy after that but it must have been good as the next day my head and throat were complaining.
The following day we awoke at 5:30 for sunrise, a bit early in my opinion after our musical performances the night before. The sky was just turning golden when we hit top deck and sat and watched the bay wake up.
Brekkie was eggs on toast round seven, and compared to the lunch and dinner it was a bit disappointing, however the coffee was bottomless and free which put things right. The mornings activity was a visit to a nearby cave. It probably would have been good to see, if we hadn't already spent time in Phong Nah and Hang En, which were much more breathtaking and less touristy. I never thought I'd become a cave snob. However we did climb up fairly high to the entrance which framed a beautiful view of the bay making the trip worth while. Also in the cave was a rock that looked very much like an erect penis which seemed to go down well with everyone.
We were back on the boat by 10 and embarked on our voyage back to the harbour. On route we had a go at making Vietnamese spring rolls, some were far superior to others. This was followed by another brilliant lunch which made up for breakfast, whilst cursing back through the limestone metropolis. We said our goodbyes to the Aussies as they were on a different bus to us. Whilst waiting for our ride the Brits introduced us to gin rummy, unfortunately it wasn't a strong cocktail as the name suggests, but is just as addictive and now we have a cards problem.
We arrived back in Hanoi round four and took Jane and Charlie to the Caphe Pho Co rooftop for an egg coffee as they wanted to try one and we wanted to try them again. This was followed by some street food near our hostel, BBQ pork and salad in a really tasty broth, we also ordered some crab spring rolls for good measure. We said good bye to the girls as they had a late train to catch, and went for a beer in a rooftop bar overlooking the lake and a crazy roundabout below where the creativity of Vietnamese drivers provided the evenings entertainment. We turned in early ready for our morning flight to Laos.
We are going to miss Vietnam. This country has been amazing, the caves, beaches, jungle, people, food, motorbikes, rivers have made it truly unforgettable. To conclude... Go to Vietnam, it's great.