Friday, 27 December 2013
On Thursday we went on an overnight visit to Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay is recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and we were looking forward to being on the water and seeing some of Vietnam's coastline.
Our tour guide, Duk, picked us up from the hotel at 8.30am and walked us to the tour office where we jumped on board a mini-van with the other 10 guests. We drove for nearly four hours to Ha Long city, from where we boarded the Junk boat that would be our home for the night.
On the journey to Ha Long, Duk sat in the back with us and shared lots of information about the areas we passed through. He is quite a character, full of jokes and always teasing people, whether they liked it or not, so it was an entertaining drive.
(Ha Long City Harbour)
(Pulling up to our boat for the night)
(One of the cabins on the boat)
Once we had boarded the boat and had eaten lunch, we set off for Bai Tu Long Bay, which is northeast of Ha Long Bay. The sinking limestone plateau that has resulted in the large number of islands that make up Ha Long Bay extends as far as China and Bai Tu Long was considerably quieter than the busier Ha Long Bay but still very beautiful. The limestone pillars are really magnificent. Looking out into the horizon, there is layer upon layer of jagged peaks, fading out into the distance.
(Entering Bai Tu Long Bay)
(The marina below the Surprising Cave)
In addition to our tour guide, Duk, the boat was crewed by six men and as far as we could tell, everyone took turns at different jobs - steering; cooking; cleaning; serving drinks; even entertaining the guests with magic tricks.
Our first activity was a visit to the Surprising Cave, which contains three caverns. Initially discovered by the French in the 1800s, local fishermen sometimes use the cave to hide in during a typhoon. The last cavern was the largest of the three and it was absolutely huge - like a large concert venue or stadium. Duk pointed out pieces of rock that had naturally taken on the form of an animal or object. The name Surprising Cave seems to have come about due to a phallic shaped rock in the third cavern. We've been to a few caves so far on our travels, but the Surprising Cave was certainly the most impressive.
(Nicky and Duk)
(Inside the first cavern. The archway-like hole used to be the access point to deeper caverns)
After the cave, we were taken to another bay where a few of us went kayaking. Having been kayaking in Melbourne, we were interested to see just how blasé the locals and tour guides were about allowing people with little to no experience out on the water unassisted. Thankfully, there were no accidents or issues and we enjoyed the hour out on the water, exploring inlets and other parts of the bay. As the sun began to set, we made our way back to the boat for a hot shower and dinner.
(A small village on the water where fishermen live)
(A local woman selling goods to tourists from her boat)
(Nicky and Paul ready for kayaking)
(One of the crew on our boat - he asked for his photo to be taken.
He was good fun and entertained us all with some magic tricks after dinner)
Before dinner, we were given a demonstration on how to make a Vietnamese spring roll. Duk labelled one spring roll "the happy Buddha spring roll" and another "the ugliest spring roll" he had ever seen. Doesn't the saying go, don't judge a spring roll by its cover?!
(Making Vietnamese spring rolls)
After we had made a big enough mess, we all sat down for dinner and drinks. We slept well that night thanks to the fresh sea air. The following morning, we were up early to climb Ti Top Island. The sun wasn't long up by the time we reached the peak and we were rewarded with great views of the bay.
(The view from Ti Top)
(Nicky and Jim at the peak of Ti Top)
Once we were back down on the beach, we were given some time to enjoy the surroundings before heading back to the boat and on towards Ha Long Bay.
(Ti Top beach)
(Ti Top Island - the viewing point is visible at the top)
We were served a huge lunch before pulling back into the harbour, making our way off the boat and back onto the mini-van. We were back in Hanoi by late afternoon where we said goodbye to Duk. We had a good Indian meal for dinner and spent the evening chatting about all that we'd seen and all that we'd been told on the trip. Tomorrow, we plan to visit Uncle Ho and have tickets to a performance of traditional Vietnamese music and dance.
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