How long ?
The day dawned heavily overcast after a rainy night. Not ideal conditions for a tour on Ha Long bay but we were hoping it would clear. We boarded a 30 seater full of westerners and headed out of town. Over three hours later we arrived in Ha Long city. Only four of us on the bus had opted for the el-cheap-o trip (2 days, 1 night) and we were immediately demoted to another tour group. The bay at Ha Long was surprising – packed with tourists being led about in groups while junks jostled for position on the piers. Our new group made my ears itch instantly as the loud affected twang of SAFA accents bellowed forth. On board we were provided lunch as we drifted out into the bay.
Even in the heavily overcast conditions the bay is still stunning. Over 3000 karst islands of varying sizes fill this UNESCO world heritage site. Unfortunately without the sun the water wasn’t close to the deep turquoise you see on postcards. Our first stop was the recently (1994) discovered Hang Sung Sot cave. Beautifully set out and lit for tourists even V enjoyed the space (not at all claustrophobic). Our guide led us through a bit of the history and pointed out the well known formations – more dragons, lions, frogs, turtles and bits of anatomy. All required little imagination.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent cruising around the amazing waterways and formations before dropping some people off at Cat Ba Island and continuing to a floating fishing village and the promise of kayaks. By the time we got to the kayaks the wind had come up, the temperature had dropped and night had fallen. Pity – I was looking forward to a swim.
We anchored for the night surrounded by dozens of similar boats all being swirled around by the strong wind. Dinner was acceptable (although the ‘fresh’ seafood looked decidedly not) and we enjoyed the evening with an English/Irish couple before retiring to our cabin. A large celebratory scotch and a pile of M&M’s had me unconscious before we could get through two eps of The West Wing ! Tough life we have 🙂
[Pictures: Views of Ha Long bay ]
– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi
We can hardly believe it. 5 months ago today we left Manchester and haven’t stopped moving since. It’s an odd coincidence that on that first day of our adventure we spent the night on a ferry crossing the North Sea to the Eurasian continent and tonight we’ll be sleeping in a junk on the South China Sea (Ha Long bay) at the far eastern end of the same land mass. We have had an amazing time but it really feels like we are just getting warmed up. Our little 10kg packs are holding up just fine and their contents have been adequate (to be honest we have hardly been into the bottom two thirds of those packs since leaving Mongolia). We are both in good health except for minor colds and distractions. This traveling business is hard work and we are in need a ‘long weekend’ off – that’s what Thailand is about in about a month or so.