Halong bay

We were picked up early from our hotel in Hanoi for the four hour drive to Halong Bay. Our driver did not speak English, so from time to time he spoke into his phone and asked Google to translate for him. He then held up the phone for us to read. His first message was, ‘am I driving too fast?’ A later message was, ‘I am driving to scare you’. Finally ‘ the train is late would you like to see my son who is learning to make jade’ that was approps to visiting a pearl selling operation!

We duly arrived in Halong Bay to board our Junk which turned out to be a large three deck, steel boat with 24 cabins - not quite as expected, but very comfortable, especially as it was only half full for this trip. We could not get over the sheer number of cruise boats, as we set sail into the bay. We were in a stream of 30+ boats all setting out. Fortunately they spread out into different areas, and we hardly saw another boat for the two days we sailed. The food on the boat is fantastic - full 5 course lunch and dinner every day - beautifully presented, but more than we can eat. The crew is also very polite and attentive. As it was still very cold we were thankful that the heating system in our cabin was blasting out hot air for all it was worth.

In the afternoon we visited a floating fisherman village where we had the option of using a kayak or being rowed by a villager in a bamboo boat. There were about 20 houses in the village, each with its fishing boat and set of holding nets containing any larger fish that they caught.

Halong Bay is filled with islands both large and small all made of limestone rising vertically from the sea, quite an impressive sight.

Our second day saw us on a 10k walk on one island to visit a village that is run by the shipping company. The villagers are basically fishermen, but the company has helped them to set up co-operative farming to grow vegetables that the shipping company use on their boats. The people work the fields for a couple of hours or so a day, then they are able to go fishing for the balance of the day. The village looks quite prosperous with all the houses being made of concrete or brick. There is a school and a clinic in the village, so the people have a much better standard of living than most. As we wandered around, we saw how they used rice to make various products and could watch them in the fields planting rice and tending the vegetables. In the afternoon there was a visit to a local beach with the option of swimming. As it was barely 15 degrees with a very cool wind, and the water temp was similar, there were no takers. The same cannot be said of happy hour which saw us wrapped in blankets, sitting under heat lamps, determinedly drinking our G and Ts.Read more