Ha Long

After enjoying a delightful fusion of Western and Eastern breakfast options (Mum said she'll try the soup for breakfast the next day... Baby steps) the tour group climbed the stairs of their first Vietnamese bus, standing in the middle of the barely-big-enough-for-two-lanes road and blocking the infinite flow of motorbike riders on their way to work. The women are astonishing: they ride these scooter bikes in their most beautiful heels, all dressed up for another day of work in Vietnam.

We met our Local tour guide for the next two days. James is the name he prefers for us westerners. His wit and absolute comfort speaking about anything from important political figures visiting the country, the great Vietnam war, the 4 holy animals to rice farming was just an absolute delight. And then he said something that encompassed the heart and trials of Vietnam: "You are helping our economy by visiting us in our country and hopefully you will go home and tell other people to come here. Thank you from my heart for choosing Vietnam."

The humility and gratefulness this young tour guide displayed to our group of very vocal westerners seemed lost on the group. Within that one sentence he poured out his fellow countrymen's hopes, trials and realities.
Before covid Vietnam welcomed 25 million tourists a year. "Now we are hoping to achieve the goal of 5 million, maybe 5.1 million" he says chuckling at his own joke. The average wage of a farmer during harvest months ( harvest only happens twice a year) is 150 USD. Equates to R2700.
My thoughts immediately flashed back to the woman on the street desperately trying to sell me and my mum a pair of conical hats. Every time I politely refused she would negotiate her price downwards. Until eventually we walked away mildly irritated, oblivious to the need we just refused to address. This woman never stopped smiling, didn't even show a hint of disappointment during the entire exchange, never trying to make her reality our burden.

As the neverending stream of very narrow buildings passed the windows of the small tour bus, the spaces between buildings appeared to grow, nature seemed to force itself in between the abandoned buildings, tiny shops and houses that look like they've been handed down for generations. Electrical lines bunched up in front of the busier sections weighing down the straw-like poles, "garbage trucks" (manned by women mostly) comprising of an oversized wheelbarrow. Not motorised.

After 2 hours, we stopped at a tourist attraction that seemed to attract every single tour bus from Hanoi. Inside were a dozen or more workers, hunched over their latest embroidery project, meticulously hand sewing A3 sized pictures of life in Vietnam. The prices mirrored the target market, but the effort put into every single piece was obvious. Again a testimony of the work ethic the Vietnamese hold.
Finally, after 4 hours we arrived at our destination. Halong Bay. From the bus we jumped onto a junk boat (smaller boat that takes you to the bigger boat). At first I couldn't see the resemblance to the photos I had seen. But as we got closer to the destination the captain chose, the massive and almost threatening lime stone structures stretched towards the sky, hawks flying perimeter around the tops. The sheer beauty of this display made the group stop their meal several times during lunch time to behold the majesty of it all. Smaller fishing boats were floating around the bigger tourist boats in the bay. The paths taken are strictly allocated by the government, James declared. Water levels can differ by up to 2 meters between high and low tide. Our first adventure brought us to a famous enclosed almost volcano like limestone giant that could be accessed by canoe through a peep hole at the bottom. The serenity of the surroundings stood in stark contrast to the plastic bags and caps spotted in several places in the water. If you kept looking up at the wall of green and limestone around you, however, you wouldn't have noticed anything wrong with this picture.

Later on I had to climb what seems like Mount Everest to get to the most beautiful view of a large part of Halong Bay. The green engulfed me while I tried catching my breath every 20 steps I took up the stone stairs. The occasional conquerer of Mount Everest would give words of encouragement when seeing my face (tomato colour) and how my knees would periodically knock on in each other for mechanical support.
Finally I made it. And yes it was worth it. Yes, I will be starting a strict exercise routine when back home. Yes, I did make a bee-line straight from the stairs into the mildly sketchy Halong bay water for a much deserved swim...Read more