Here I am once again in the lively Ho Chi Minh City after flying back from Hanoi. In my last post, I had just arrived in Hanoi, and was off to see the famed Vietnamese water puppets. The show took place in an auditorium, but instead of a stage, a pool with about two feet of water was set against a backdrop of an ancient and ornate structure. The puppets emerged from behind curtains, and they appeared to glide and dance over the water, acting out many old folk stories of from Vietnamese history. Live traditional music accompanied the performance, which was quite lively and humorous, and even utilized fire and other pyrotechnics.
I would have liked to stay in Hanoi longer than one night, but I wanted to tour Ha Long Bay and then have ample time to spend in Sapa. So early the next morning, I booked a tour ten minutes before the bus left and headed out east on a two day one night tour of the bay. It was only a four hour bus ride, and before long we hit the coast. In the distance, shrouded in mist, the many jutting islands that make up Ha Long Bay slowly became visible. According to legend, the area's unique island formations were created by dragons, and Ha Long was where the mother dragon settled down to live.
We got out of the bus and headed to our junk, which is a type of boat that originated in China, and in Ha Long Bay is usually used to take tourists to see the bay. The junk our tour took place on was a very nice boat. Lots of dark polished wood and finely carved railings. The eating area on the main deck made great use of windows to provide an excellent view of the surrounding area. The top deck was open air and had no shortage of lounge chairs to relax in. The cabins were located below deck, except for several that were just off the eating area. I was lucky enough the get one of these rooms. My room was spacious and bright, with large windows on two walls and nice wood panelling.
After getting settled in, we were served lunch as the junk made its way out into the mist, into Ha Long Bay. The remarkable landscape of the bay is different than any other I've seen in my life. After getting further out into the bay, away from the fishing ships and the dense groups of tour boats, the fog created a secluded atmosphere. It was almost like being on a different planet. The small islands that make up the bay rise steeply out of the water, making beaches rare. The islands vary greatly in size and shape. Some are connected to form long chains of shrub covered limestone mounds, while others sit on their own. Various types of minerals in the bay gave the water a dark turquoise color, and because of the number of tiny islands to break up water flow, the water was much calmer than the rest of the ocean. The weather was still kind of chilly, but it was much warmer than what I was expecting. Our first stop was at a larger island where we took a short walk through small but intricate cave, and then we walked up near to the peak of the island for an amazing view of the surrounding bay. We then headed deeper into the island and eventually came across a small inland lake, completely separate from the ocean. Tranquil is really the only word needed to describe it. A gem unseen by boat, and untarnished by tourists.
After that we went to another larger island in which a family had lived and farmed there for twenty years. It's important that they continue to live there, because it's prime location for a small resort. In many parts of Vietnam, construction and expansion is ever present as tourism levels continue to rise. Ha Long Bay is no exception, so it was nice to see at least part of the natural beauty kept out of the hands of developers. After a quick hike into the island, we came back to the beach to enjoy some green tea and a surprisingly clear sunset. Then we boarded the junk once again to enjoy a few relaxing hours before dinner. These relaxing hours included swimming for me, which turned out to be absolutely freezing. Later I was enlightened to the fact that there are quite a few jellyfish found in the bay, after someone spotted a large one next to the boat. Our dinner was quite elaborate, and was brought out in several courses, comprising of various seafood dishes, vegetable dishes, and of course rice. Also as usual, fruit topped off the meal as a dessert.
The next morning we had a light breakfast and got ready to go out kayaking on the bay. With no tedious safety demonstrations and instructions, our small group made for a dense group of smaller islands. The morning was chilly but not too cold and we passed very few boats on our way. Getting up close to the smaller islands and the islands that are too steep to walk on, the formations were incredible. It was almost easier to believe dragons once made the bay instead of them naturally occurring. We spent about an hour on the water, circling around the islands and then back to the boat. Soon after that we had an early lunch as the boat returned to the dock.
At that point, the bus took us back to Hanoi, where I booked an overnight bus to Sapa for that evening. However, I'll save that escapade for tomorrow. I hope everyone is doing well back home! I'll be flying back in a couple of days and then work on getting some pictures up, so you can stop suffering through all this tedious literature.
Cheers!
-Adam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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