Ha Long Bay
Having seen the odd picture and heard very little about this place I was eager to see it but it became a must do after seeing more of it on the Top Gear special. We booked a two day, one night trip meaning leave early morning to get to the pier, board the boat for lunch whilst cruising out to the bay for a visit to 'Surprising cave', kayaking then dinner, drinks and squid fishing as we anchor in the 'sleeping bay'. In the morning then a visit to the Pearl Farm, a cooking class before lunch and then cruise back to the pier for the bus back to Hanoi.
Picked up at the hotel, we get on the bus and as we head out of Hanoi, our tour guide 'Tony' introduced himself giving us a brief history of his credentials and reiterating the itinery. We then all had to introduce ourselves and where we're from if you could understand everyone, not too bad this time, some English, Thai, Scottish and Aussie's. after this the dreaded question came; "does anyone have any special dietary requirements?" After a brief silence and a prompt from Geri, I piped up with the sad fact that I do not eat seafood! This statement was met with a general response of shock and amusement, thankfully my bravery seemed to prompt a Scottish girl to advise that she did not "eat anything with a face" which took the heat off me.
With a little anxiety as to what kind of boat we were about to board for the next 24hrs after hearing many nightmare stories we arrived at the pier and thankfully our Imperial Cruise Junk boat looked pretty good and we were very happy with our cabin equipped with ensuite, air con and a decent double bed. It was quite misty as we cruised out which did impair the view somewhat but you could get a real sense of the dramatic scenery we were approaching. Lunch was good food, primarily seafood and plenty of it with the staff looking after me with an 'alternative' dish of an omelette which kept me happy.
When we reached the bay with 'Surprising cave' we became aware from the sheer volume of similar boats out here just how many people take this trip and evidently how much money was being made by the entrepreneurial people running these tours. The climb to the cave entrance from the tiny dock was considerable but as we climbed we were rewarded with some stunning views of the islands dotted around the bay with the mist starting to lift. This cave is the largest cave open to the public in Ha Long and it is massive with very impressive formations throughout resembling various shapes of animals, people and objects some very obvious and others becoming clearer after being suggested by the ever energetic 'Tony the tiger'. The caves have been adapted with paths and not very strategically placed lighting but it really was a curious place given its height up from sea level and enormous dimensions within the tiny island that housed it. I'll let some photos give you a much better idea of this.
Returning to the boat we cruised to a nearby floating village which is where we picked up our kayaks. Having been told the direction we could and couldn't go we headed off taking a little time to settle into a rhythm as we had already tried the tandem bicycle this was our first foray into tandem kayaking. Given our lack of experience we opted to leave the camera and passports in the relative safety of the boat. We covered a reasonable distance taking any opportunity to paddle into any little cave openings on the water, a little scary at times but good fun. We even out ran any unspoken attempt by our fellow kayakers feeling the need to race us. On our cruise to the "the sleeping bay" we encountered numerous entrepreneurial ladies rowing between boats with a veritable floating supermarket with beer, wine, and "western snacks" without advertising them, you know the tubes with flavoured chopped and cooked spuds in them. Those ladies must work bloody hard though and were obviously so natural with manoeuvring these well laden boats around with ease.
Time for a hot shower and a beer before dinner, again plenty of good food and a plate of chicken nuggets for 'the child' which kept me quite happy really!
Following dinner we were invited to try squid fishing, now maybe it's just me but if you have seen half the same movies there's a mental image creeping into my mind of me falling backwards into the dark water desperately trying to pull a squid off my face! Most people obviously with either similar mental images or just knew the real story gave it a miss and went onto the top deck for a few beers and to chill out in the glow of all the other cruise boats anchored in 'the sleeping bay'.
It transpired however that my supposed premonition of squid fishing and the reality differ considerably. On hearing calm celebration we looked down to see that by shining a light on the water, using a short hand line that they did indeed catch a squid. The poor victim on the line must have been cursing how easily he was duped by the whole "ooh, look at the shiny light" thing but was not any bigger than my open hand in its entirety and this was the norm! Back to a few more beers and exchanging travellers tales with fellow passengers, some Spanish, German, Australian, Canadian, and a Thai family.
Our boat was quiet in comparison to some of the other boats presumably floating parties but it was nice just to enjoy the location. Unfortunately or conveniently depending on your mood at the time, our boat ran dry of the cheaper beers possibly due to the fact that everyone was drinking it or because the imported beers were more 'cost effective". Everybody suddenly seemed to remember the floating supermarket lady and sure enough it was not long till we heard a low call from the darkness. This lady was not not using a light of any kind and seemed to have ninja like stealth as none of us heard her approach.
Having suggested whiskey might be a good way to go, (yeah.....yeah.....shut up!) I enquired and was unfortunately declined, but she did have wine. I asked how much she put it in a net on a twenty foot pole and handed it all the way up to me! Funnily enough it was a red wine, everybody wanted white! I hold the red out for net whilst asking about white and how much, well as I was talking to her she was already in action responding as the net appeared at my hand with a bottle of white wine! Not thinking this through I am now holding a bottle of red and a bottle of white and the net is gone, this caused terrific amusement among everyone because the lady had no clue why we were slightly baffled and then to realise in my situation that in any case, nobody here has a damned corkscrew!
In hysterics everyone around me incapable of speech for the same reasons left me to deal with this situation of landing two glass bottles into a boat fifteen feet below me! The poor lady still with no more of a clue as to what we were saying as we did when she said something reacted quickly believing we needed to know how much. This was in the form of the net appearing at my hand with 200,000 Vietnamese dong in it! I don't know exactly how or why I took the money out and didn't just put the bottles in but as soon as I took the money the net was back in the boat. Deciding between fits of laughter on a new approach, I requested beer. At last we're moving forward, before I took the beer out of the net I put the wine and money back in there so that it just back to a straightforward transaction; I have beer, she wants money. Thankfully that long story finished amicably, us with beer and her with the money although the laughter continued till bed time. Thankfully a comfortable nights sleep too.
Breakfast was at 7:30am and led us to the Pearl Farm of Ha Long, where they grow and harvest oysters for the obvious reward of the pearls. It was interesting to learn about the process and also interesting to see again first hand just how the human race can intervene in an age long natural cycle to, not mass produce as such, more like play the hand your given in terms of making a living and surviving in a specific type of environment.
We were all awaiting our included "Vietnamese cooking class" on the top deck when the staff started to come up with trays including a covered bowl, rice paper and a wet towel! 'Tony the Tiger' then appeared announcing the class on his way. As he stood in front of the table he explained how "today you will learn to make spring rolls as he uncovered the bowl which contained all the ingredients for vegetable spring rolls all pre prepared and mixed finely in the bowl. He took a sheet of rice paper, laid it on the damp towel, took a spoon of the mix and placed in neatly on the paper. Yes we were learning the "ancient lost cooking technique of rolling pre prepared vegetables in rice paper. Well it's a good job at least everyone rolled two because, funny coincidence we're having spring rolls for lunch. As we dined in our culinary expertise we cruised from the bay back to the harbour for our bus back to Hanoi.
Ha long Bay is genuinely a spectacular place on earth to visit but to anyone who has on their lists of "must do" I would urge you do it soon. Between the worsening rubbish pollution caused mainly by ignorant tourists and the expansions daily to take yet more of them there it will not remain so naturally spectacular for long! Ha Long meaning "Descending Dragon" really
Having seen the odd picture and heard very little about this place I was eager to see it but it became a must do after seeing more of it on the Top Gear special. We booked a two day, one night trip meaning leave early morning to get to the pier, board the boat for lunch whilst cruising out to the bay for a visit to 'Surprising cave', kayaking then dinner, drinks and squid fishing as we anchor in the 'sleeping bay'. In the morning then a visit to the Pearl Farm, a cooking class before lunch and then cruise back to the pier for the bus back to Hanoi.
Picked up at the hotel, we get on the bus and as we head out of Hanoi, our tour guide 'Tony' introduced himself giving us a brief history of his credentials and reiterating the itinery. We then all had to introduce ourselves and where we're from if you could understand everyone, not too bad this time, some English, Thai, Scottish and Aussie's. after this the dreaded question came; "does anyone have any special dietary requirements?" After a brief silence and a prompt from Geri, I piped up with the sad fact that I do not eat seafood! This statement was met with a general response of shock and amusement, thankfully my bravery seemed to prompt a Scottish girl to advise that she did not "eat anything with a face" which took the heat off me.
With a little anxiety as to what kind of boat we were about to board for the next 24hrs after hearing many nightmare stories we arrived at the pier and thankfully our Imperial Cruise Junk boat looked pretty good and we were very happy with our cabin equipped with ensuite, air con and a decent double bed. It was quite misty as we cruised out which did impair the view somewhat but you could get a real sense of the dramatic scenery we were approaching. Lunch was good food, primarily seafood and plenty of it with the staff looking after me with an 'alternative' dish of an omelette which kept me happy.
When we reached the bay with 'Surprising cave' we became aware from the sheer volume of similar boats out here just how many people take this trip and evidently how much money was being made by the entrepreneurial people running these tours. The climb to the cave entrance from the tiny dock was considerable but as we climbed we were rewarded with some stunning views of the islands dotted around the bay with the mist starting to lift. This cave is the largest cave open to the public in Ha Long and it is massive with very impressive formations throughout resembling various shapes of animals, people and objects some very obvious and others becoming clearer after being suggested by the ever energetic 'Tony the tiger'. The caves have been adapted with paths and not very strategically placed lighting but it really was a curious place given its height up from sea level and enormous dimensions within the tiny island that housed it. I'll let some photos give you a much better idea of this.
Returning to the boat we cruised to a nearby floating village which is where we picked up our kayaks. Having been told the direction we could and couldn't go we headed off taking a little time to settle into a rhythm as we had already tried the tandem bicycle this was our first foray into tandem kayaking. Given our lack of experience we opted to leave the camera and passports in the relative safety of the boat. We covered a reasonable distance taking any opportunity to paddle into any little cave openings on the water, a little scary at times but good fun. We even out ran any unspoken attempt by our fellow kayakers feeling the need to race us. On our cruise to the "the sleeping bay" we encountered numerous entrepreneurial ladies rowing between boats with a veritable floating supermarket with beer, wine, and "western snacks" without advertising them, you know the tubes with flavoured chopped and cooked spuds in them. Those ladies must work bloody hard though and were obviously so natural with manoeuvring these well laden boats around with ease.
Time for a hot shower and a beer before dinner, again plenty of good food and a plate of chicken nuggets for 'the child' which kept me quite happy really!
Following dinner we were invited to try squid fishing, now maybe it's just me but if you have seen half the same movies there's a mental image creeping into my mind of me falling backwards into the dark water desperately trying to pull a squid off my face! Most people obviously with either similar mental images or just knew the real story gave it a miss and went onto the top deck for a few beers and to chill out in the glow of all the other cruise boats anchored in 'the sleeping bay'.
It transpired however that my supposed premonition of squid fishing and the reality differ considerably. On hearing calm celebration we looked down to see that by shining a light on the water, using a short hand line that they did indeed catch a squid. The poor victim on the line must have been cursing how easily he was duped by the whole "ooh, look at the shiny light" thing but was not any bigger than my open hand in its entirety and this was the norm! Back to a few more beers and exchanging travellers tales with fellow passengers, some Spanish, German, Australian, Canadian, and a Thai family.
Our boat was quiet in comparison to some of the other boats presumably floating parties but it was nice just to enjoy the location. Unfortunately or conveniently depending on your mood at the time, our boat ran dry of the cheaper beers possibly due to the fact that everyone was drinking it or because the imported beers were more 'cost effective". Everybody suddenly seemed to remember the floating supermarket lady and sure enough it was not long till we heard a low call from the darkness. This lady was not not using a light of any kind and seemed to have ninja like stealth as none of us heard her approach.
Having suggested whiskey might be a good way to go, (yeah.....yeah.....shut up!) I enquired and was unfortunately declined, but she did have wine. I asked how much she put it in a net on a twenty foot pole and handed it all the way up to me! Funnily enough it was a red wine, everybody wanted white! I hold the red out for net whilst asking about white and how much, well as I was talking to her she was already in action responding as the net appeared at my hand with a bottle of white wine! Not thinking this through I am now holding a bottle of red and a bottle of white and the net is gone, this caused terrific amusement among everyone because the lady had no clue why we were slightly baffled and then to realise in my situation that in any case, nobody here has a damned corkscrew!
In hysterics everyone around me incapable of speech for the same reasons left me to deal with this situation of landing two glass bottles into a boat fifteen feet below me! The poor lady still with no more of a clue as to what we were saying as we did when she said something reacted quickly believing we needed to know how much. This was in the form of the net appearing at my hand with 200,000 Vietnamese dong in it! I don't know exactly how or why I took the money out and didn't just put the bottles in but as soon as I took the money the net was back in the boat. Deciding between fits of laughter on a new approach, I requested beer. At last we're moving forward, before I took the beer out of the net I put the wine and money back in there so that it just back to a straightforward transaction; I have beer, she wants money. Thankfully that long story finished amicably, us with beer and her with the money although the laughter continued till bed time. Thankfully a comfortable nights sleep too.
Breakfast was at 7:30am and led us to the Pearl Farm of Ha Long, where they grow and harvest oysters for the obvious reward of the pearls. It was interesting to learn about the process and also interesting to see again first hand just how the human race can intervene in an age long natural cycle to, not mass produce as such, more like play the hand your given in terms of making a living and surviving in a specific type of environment.
We were all awaiting our included "Vietnamese cooking class" on the top deck when the staff started to come up with trays including a covered bowl, rice paper and a wet towel! 'Tony the Tiger' then appeared announcing the class on his way. As he stood in front of the table he explained how "today you will learn to make spring rolls as he uncovered the bowl which contained all the ingredients for vegetable spring rolls all pre prepared and mixed finely in the bowl. He took a sheet of rice paper, laid it on the damp towel, took a spoon of the mix and placed in neatly on the paper. Yes we were learning the "ancient lost cooking technique of rolling pre prepared vegetables in rice paper. Well it's a good job at least everyone rolled two because, funny coincidence we're having spring rolls for lunch. As we dined in our culinary expertise we cruised from the bay back to the harbour for our bus back to Hanoi.
Ha long Bay is genuinely a spectacular place on earth to visit but to anyone who has on their lists of "must do" I would urge you do it soon. Between the worsening rubbish pollution caused mainly by ignorant tourists and the expansions daily to take yet more of them there it will not remain so naturally spectacular for long! Ha Long meaning "Descending Dragon" really
fantastic I feel I was on the boat longing for the red wine
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