I'd love to stay- in Ha Long Bay
My neglect in posting has been due to complete lack of internet, We set sail out on to the breathtaking Ha Long Bay, on the North eastern coast of Vietnam, just about 3 hours east from Hanoi.
This bay is a top tourist attraction, and rightly so, as it's impressive limestone monoliths are truly something to behold. We arrived via bus to the docks, lined with tons of Junk Boats. Junk boats are ancient Chinese ocean sailing vessel. The design dates back to the 900's, back then used for shipping, but now has become a recreational sailboat in South East Asia. The unique feature being the sail rig design, as a junk boat has battened sails.
There are many choices of tours and trips you can do, but most opt for an overnight on the bay, we chose 2 nights. Pulling up, you can really see the large amount of tourism the bay sees everyday. It is a living organism of activity, boats shuttling people here and there, new tourist arriving and the ones coming off the boats with bad sunburns and wind blown hair. We opted for a smaller boat, with less of a party vibe than some of the more booze cruise options, and after loading in and settling into our cabin, we set sail for the bay.
The bay itself encompasses about 1,500 dense clusters of monoliths and islands, most of which have extensive caves systems (we won't visit the largest cave until day 3 on our tour, so stay tuned) But we kayaked through some smaller caves and caverns on our first day. We spent an amazing day on the water, paddling and then back on the boat to soak in the- on board -hot tub, while watching a sunset behind the cliffs.
The second day we woke up to the sea at our window and adventure awaiting us. We were shuttled onto a smaller day junk boat to explore around the waters more efficiently. The day stated with more kayaking, in an even more beautiful location, and then a quick dip in a secluded beach. We sailed to a floating fishing village, where I learned that more that 30 people lived. With in the bay, there are about 50 or so villages like this, being the primary home to generations of fisherman and their families. The way of life must be tough, floating homes rafted together, subject to all weather, and tides. These people are hard working and even as children raised there, learning to swim before they can walk... talk about sea legs.
After the village, we went to a pearl farm! I had been looking forward to this visit as soon as I read about there being pearls farmed in this bay. The tour is quick, a lovely Vietnamese woman guiding us through the process of cultivating pearls, and how rare they really are even in a controlled farm. The demonstration goes on to show the technicians adding the "core" to a live oyster to try to speed the cultivation process, and after some 3 months or so, only about 30% are even still alive. Within that 30% only 10% develop into "perfect" pearls.
After that she takes us to a table where she has some oysters fully matured and ready to be opened up, warning that most times these guys are not holding a pearl. She cuts in to the ovary of the muscle.... and guess what pops out!!?????
A beautiful shiny pearl!
She tells us this one is misshapen, and therefor imperfect- she hustles us into the showroom to try and sell some gaudy pearl jewelry, and I pull her aside, asking if it's possible to buy the pearl we just saw literally being birthed a moment ago. She is utterly horrified. Why would anyone want such a misshapen, discolored pearl? After much back and forth and pleading, by me, her manager agrees to sell it to me for $10.
So, yours truly Miss Maxine Pearl Lacer, has her very own pearl baby- and it's the most magical, beautiful thing I've ever seen.
The next day was our last one, and the trip itinerary took us to the biggest cave in the bay. The only downfall of doing one of these guided tours is that everyone in the bay seems to be at the same place at the same time. That being said, the cave was stunning and truly awe-inspiring, yes, it would have been even better with maybe 500 Less people, but we still enjoyed the hike up to the opening and the walk trough the 3, increasingly larger caverns. I have never seen such a cave, but Dan compared to to the size of the Carlsbad Caverns, if you are familiar. It's hard to capture the size and magnitude of this baby, but trust me, it was big and super impressive.
Here's the view from the top of the cave
After another lovely lunch while sailing back to port, we made our way back to the bus and headed back to Hanoi. This experience was truly memorable, and it left a lasting feeling with me of wanting to spend more time on the water. As much as I love Hanoi, I was sad to be leaving the quiet stillness and taste of the salty air. This trip will surely see more beaches and boats, but for now a brief return to Hanoi to figure out our next move.