Relaxing on a junk, watching the sun rise over Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

This has to be a great memory of quite possibly one of the most relaxing mornings I’ve ever had. Partly because I had no choice–my destination was controlled by the ship’s captain–and partly because it’s such a relaxing way to start the day.

Besides the quiet rumble of the motor (and other nearby motors) it was nearly silent and everyone on deck was enjoying the sunrise. A really great morning.

Junks meeting in the early morning sun. Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

I’ve mentioned that Ha Long Bay was the reason I wanted to see Vietnam, and I think this picture makes it obvious why it is such a popular destination. The thing is, this shot doesn’t do the view justice, and I didn’t take any photo that came close to capturing how beautiful it is.

One of the hundreds of islands at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Taken while cruising along in a junk.

Ha Long Bay is the single reason I decided I wanted to go to Vietnam. I must have seen it on Getaway or some such show, and as soon as I saw it I realised I wanted to go there. It took a long time to convince Justine that she wanted to visit Vietnam as well; given that she thought it was populated by guerrillas waging war in dense jungle (or possibly just a dive) I can understand her reluctance.

This was taken shortly after we arrived, from over the bow of the junk on which we stayed. I really like the way the anchor was skimming along the surface of the water in this shot, but given the way the boat is, I couldn’t actually see it until I had already taken the shot.

I attempted a few and this is my favourite; the water is just blurred enough to convey what is happening but clear enough to look like water.

Day Seven – Nov 7th 2008
Ha Noi
21:18 – The Ritz Hotel, room 102

We rose at 6am this morning just in time to see the sun rise and have a small breakfast of pastries. We had an exceptional night’s sleep. Some did Tai Chi but I’ve done it before and wasn’t in the mood. Instead, we sat on the sundeck and soaked in the inspiring view.

The junk sailed at a leisurely pace past another fishing village and met up with dozens of other junks, some are nicer than others; I’m not sure if ours was the nicest (though it certainly looks it) but it’s far from the worst. After looking at the map of the bay, I don’t know if we actually stayed in “Ha Long Bay” overnight as the designated area is World Heritage listed. Regardless, we stayed in the vicinity.

We disembarked and climbed one or two hundred steps to see the largest cave on the bay: “Hang Sun Sot” cave. The cave consists of three chambers totalling 10,000^m2. The tour took us through ever larger chambers. Some of the features are not as impressive as other caves I’ve seen, but the scale of the interior is a first for me. There is also a lot of graffiti dating back to the 40s and 50s. A large tortoise-shaped formation is near the middle; we rubbed its head for longevity.

Legend has it that the Ha Long area was created by a dragon who, loving the scenery so much, decided to stay. One of the rocks is shaped like a dragon’s head and symbolises (or is) him.

We exited the cave high above the water which gave an incredible view of the bay, islands and the many junks anchored. With the sails hoisted, the view evokes a 19th century feel.

Back on the junk, we were again fattened like Thanksgiving turkeys. I had a bowl of “Pho Bo” (a Vietnamese noodle soup with beef) which a fellow passenger who was a Vietnamese-American (on honeymoon with his nice-but-ditzy wife) said it was about the best he’s had, and he’s been to Vietnam a number of times. We both had two bowls (not Justine!).

The timing and schedule of the tour is down to a science. By the time we get off the boat is ready to refill, take on new passengers and head off. All in under an hour. Even though the boat and tour were brilliant, we didn’t really enjoy the “package tour” feel of the whole thing. So ended our tour on the “Ha Long Ginger”.

Unlike the other passengers, we didn’t have a private car so waited a few minutes for our mini van driver to turn up. Our trip back was much the same as the one there, boring but hectic and loud. I can’t believe the driver does it six hours a day. We even stopped at the same souvenir shop. I bought some alabaster statues of old monks.

Back at “The Ritz Hotel”, we re-checked in. Instead of the fifth floor, we happily settled for a first floor room with no windows.

We ventured into the Old Quarter to pick up our hand-carved stamps and left them at the hotel. Back again in the Old Quarter and the rain began a steady downpour. While souvenir shopping we were soaked. Poncho and umbrella sellers were too slow.

Dinner was at KFC because 1) we couldn’t be bothered and 2) we hadn’t seen one for ages. They sell chicken soup and chicken rice. I settled for a small burger.

Photos taken today: 242
Photos taken to date: 2399

Day Six – Nov 6th 2008
Floating in the middle of Ha Long Bay, near island #690, on a junk
21:48

We woke early again to our alarm, went downstairs and ate our breakfast. At our table were a father and son from Hawaii (dad) and Denver (son) who were leaving for home today. They told us of their 20-hour train ride to Sa Pa, where the train was pushing the water along, as it’d flooded recently.

Part way through breakfast, a young lady asked us to please hurry up. It turns out our pickup time was 7:50 and not the 8:30 we’d been told. We stuffed the food into our mouths, ascended the 95-plus stairs, grabbed our stuff and rushed back down. We hopped into the mini van and prepared for our 3-hour ride. The carpet roof in the mini van was shrink wrapped.

As many of the roads along the trip are two lane, we frequently found ourselves stuck behind a large truck which itself was often stuck behind another truck. Our drive was on the wrong side of the road, on the horn (and mobile phone) the whole time. We also saw many motorbikes with caged or tied down animals: chickens, dogs, pigs – all alive and squished together.

A short stop at a roadside souvenir place (not our choice) and we bought a couple of embroidered pictures. Again we were the last in the van. I think we pissed them off.

Luckily, we were also the first off the van, and none of the other passengers were coming on our boat. Another short wait and a short boat ride and we were on our junk.

Our room had two single beds pushed together, but the look and feel of the whole boat is French Indochina meets Asia. It’s quite pretty.

Lunch was served in the dining room. It consisted of something like eight courses – prawns, calamari, soup, grilled fish, stir fry and more—and when finally dinner came we could barely bring ourselves to eat.

We sailed—potterred, rather—amongst the island, making our way to the first destination of the tour. The people on the boat are quite varied. One lady was wearing a souvenir shirt as her luggage was still in Bangkok.

The rocks and islands here jut straight out of the water. The go as high as an eight or ten storey building. It is an impressive and beautiful sight and as we float along, new views reveal themselves. All are as wonderful as the last. The trees and other plants clawing for life on the grey rocks add some greenery to a drab vista. It is so misty and hazy in some parts the greenery is not noticeable.

The first destination was either Ti Top or Soi Sim island, I didn’t check [Note: it was Ti Top Island]. We climbed hundreds of stairs to the top, hearts racing. The view was worth the effort, it’s about the highest point around. Back down the bottom, at the beach, I swam in the bay while Justine stayed just in the water, up to her ankles. The water was refreshing.

Back on the junk, we visited a fishing village on the water. Unlike the Cambodian ones, these are houses on pontoon style floating things. For power they use diesel generators here instead of car and truck batteries as in Cambodia.

The last destination was a ride in a small rickety bamboo boat. We floated near Cat Ba island and through a “cave” underneath one of the islands next to Cat Ba. The silence here was amazing, if the French couple could keep quiet for 30 seconds.

We lay on deck under the stars, which are very bright out here. Even in so remote a place we still have mobile reception.

Dinner was another six courses and we could barely bring ourselves to finish one, let alone all six. More seafood again, most was great. I had a glass of Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve. Nice.

Photos taken today: 417
Photos taken to date: 2157