Ha Long

I was picked up by a guy on a motorbike from my hotel. He said he was going to take me to the bus which was outside the Old Quarter since cars weren't allowed in this area. It was another new day, I felt so good and so happy as we cruised through the morning traffic while feeling the wind caress my face.

I got on the bus and found an empty seat and noticed a guy sitting across me with the same hemp bag with the same familiar "symbol." I found it particularly curious and later realized that this might have been one of those meaningful synchronicities that I had asked for. I thought to myself: "Wow, the Universe is fast, I'm not alone in this," and just as I thought that a bus with the name Universe sped pass ours as I looked out the window. This made my mouth gape open as I tried to process what had just happened. More than the bag, this was beyond me.

I had a lot to reflect and introspect on until we reached Ha Long where our first stop was the Pearl Farm where we were introduced to the art of harvesting pearls from the oysters. Ha Long Bay's waters had the perfect environment for them. I was even surprised to see Mikimoto again after we had visited the Pearl Island in Mie just a month ago with my family. What was different in Vietnam's was that they show everything, live demonstrations, and the backrooms.

The male guide was particularly passionate about his work which made me even more interested in what he had to say. He even took me back to see the actual pearl farms around Ha Long.

We then went to the docks to get on our boats where we had a pretty good lunch, there was quite a variety to it but nothing to write home about, certainly not like the food in Hanoi. Our first stop was the Sung Sot Cave which was the second biggest cave I've seen so far in my life, the first being Akiyoshido Cave over at Yamaguchi. It had three chambers, each bigger than the last, the final one being the most impressive one. We had to hike a bit to get to the entrance, and a bit more while inside but it wasn't that bad as the crowd started to disperse.

We then went to Hang Luon where we got to do some kayaking around the lagoon. I found it a bit crowded but I still enjoyed listening to some tunes while kayaking around. I then went back outside the cave and out into the open sea where there was no one. A much better experience.

The last island we went to was called Titov Island where I got the chance to do another hike albeit with a crowd. The views were so worth it though. After the hike, I went down to the beach to feel the waters for a bit before going back to the boat where we had a sunset party with some snacks and drinks.

Tired and satisfied, we got back to Hanoi a bit late and I was hungry so I went to a restaurant called Met where I had one of the best pho I've ever had in my life. True, it was a bit of a tourist-oriented restaurant and the prices reflected that yet the taste also reflected the price and I'd say it was so well worth it. I returned back to the hotel and found my new room on the first floor, which was much more quiet than the first one which gave me much better sleep.Read more