I had taken a three day tour on Halong Bay in the hopes that I might have a less crowded experience of the area. Little did I know that it would exceed even my wildest expectations. It seems that most people only do a two-day excursion to the bay. Only about 20 percent of people go for a three-day tour. Of those well over half choose to to have one day on Cat Ba Island, which is an island in the bay and has resorts and a national park for trekking. And only a few people actually choose to go on a boat excursion further into the bay for their extra stay in the area.
Breakfast on the boat was about 7:30 in the morning. We all got up and ate our breakfast, which wasn't all that good, truth be told. Then we got prepared for our days. A small boat approached our junk and I was told to get ready to go. I had to take all my stuff with me as the company was switching junks this day and I wouldn't be returning to this one. I got my stuff and went down to the small boat to meet with the others who would be going on the extra day. Only there was nobody else. Hmmm... Really? Just me? Cool!!!!!!! There were three or four people who were going to stay the second night on the island, but I was the only one who was doing the second night on the junk and doing the boat trip farther for the second day. It was going to be a good day!
As we headed out, there was some thunder that rumbled quietly, and I thought it was going to be even better. I thought I might get to watch a storm raging through the fantastic landscape. However, the thunder receded and it remained just cloudy. Then a bit of rain started to fall. My guide for the day was Thanh. He was a nice guy.
The itinerary called for a stop in at a little village and tourist outfitting area, where Thanh rented a kayak for later. Then we headed off into the farther reaches of Halong Bay. We had been supposed to go first to do some kayaking at another floating village, then some swimming, then some more kayaking amongst the islands. Finally we were supposed to stop at a pearl farm before heading back to join the new junk with the new passengers. But it was raining. I think that Thanh didn't really want to get wet. Or maybe he thought I wouldn't want to get wet. Whichever it was, he decided to change the order of things. We would go to the pearl farm first. Now I really could have done without the pearl farm. I knew it was going to be just a thinly veiled opportunity to get more money from me by convincing me to buy some pearls. But that is the way these things work and so I didn't bother trying to fight it. Thanh told me it was going to take 45 minutes or so to get there. That, of course, would mean that I would have 45 minutes or so of the stunning scenery to admire. I could put up with the attempt to sell me something. And stunning the scenery was. Because of the clouds and rain, it was a bit colourless, but it still had atmosphere, and the shapes of the hills rising from the waters was amazing.
We arrived at the pearl farm and I was shown around. They showed me the three different kinds of oysters that were farmed there. Then they showed me how they grow the oysters and seed them at the appropriate time. And they opened an oyster that had a pearl inside and insisted that I take a photo of it. Then I was led into the shop where there was a bunch of jewelry made of pearls, where I was exhorted by the three attractive shop girls to buy something. But I am not a real fan of pearls and I don't really buy much these days, since if I buy it I then have to carry it around. I have enough to carry. They were good-natured about it and waved to me nicely as I left on my chariot.
Then we headed to the floating village. This village is a group of 50 or so floating homes. They community lives out in the bay and is self-sufficient. They fish for their needs. Anything extra they take to Halong City and trade for more of what they need. They also grow another kind of oyster for selling as well. There is a small school to which a teacher comes twice a week. The village is in a serene little protected area among a few sizeable islands that protect the village from violent weather and tides and such. Thanh and I paddled our kayak through the village for 45 minutes or so.
Then we headed back to the boat and it was almost time for lunch. I swam for a bit while Thanh and the boat captain prepared lunch for me. Then they called me back to the boat and it was lunch time. Or rather, I should say feast time. I don't know if they had prepared food for more than one person, or if it was just what was presented to people on the extra day, but there was so much food, I couldn't finish it all. And Thanh just kept bringing more and more food out to me. There must have been 10 or 12 different dishes that I was eating, from French fries to shrimp to some Vietnamese spinach-like vegetable. And it was all delicious.
Then we headed to a secluded lagoon for our last stop. We would be going kayaking again here, but Thanh suggested a little rest to recover from the huge meal before we went. That was fine with me. It was in this spot that I finally saw more people again. Three or four more boats arrived, each with only a couple of people aboard. It seemed a bit wasteful to me to have all those spacious boats with only a couple of people each on them, but then I was quite happy as the lone passenger on my boat, so I guess I shouldn't make a big deal about it. We rested for about an hour.
Then we took to the kayak once again and paddled around the lagoon. We headed through a cave-tunnel into another lagoon, and through yet another one after that. Other than the sound of the paddles in the water, there was a serene silence that reigned. Then some of the people from the other boats also came along. But the scenery was amazing and it was almost all mine. I felt quite special to be experiencing this pretty much all to myself.
Then we headed back to the boat and it was time to return to the junk. By this time the sun had come out and there was more colour to the islands as we headed back to the spot where we had rented the kayak, and then the junk. It was impressive scenery, from the start of the day to the end.
At the junk, I met my new shipmates and we had dinner. Then there was some karaoke, which I ducked out of early. I was below when the storm came. An impressive amount of water poured from the sky, and lightning and thunder wished us to sleep to cap a thoroughly enjoyable day. It doesn't happen often that I make that kind of exactly correct choice that gives me such a special experience on a tour. But it does happen once in a while. I'm really glad I am not on a particular schedule, and that I was able to take the time to do that extra day's excursion.
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