Ha Long Bay - Caves, Squid Fishing, Kayaking and Karaoke

(by Lauren)

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Despite our best hopes, the weather did not clear up. That didn't stop us from hopping into a van and heading out to Halong Bay. This iconic waterway has recently been named one of the new Natural Wonders of the World, and for good reason. Hundreds (maybe thousands?) of islands dot the bay, ranging from mere boulders to towers cliffs, hiding magnificent caves and tranquil lagoons. Caz and I joined a group of about 20 for a one day, two night cruise. The boat was in the style of a Vietnamese junk boat, although due to weather, we never got the full splendor of it with the sails up.

The first day started with lunch as we sailed towards some of the caves. The food was quite delicious, and we chatted happily with our tablemates: a group of Australians and a Scottish couple whose journey included an upcoming year living in Oz. Once we weredone eating, we hopped on a smaller boat and were ferried to the caves. The first was called Heaven Palace Cave. It was indeed a beautiful structure, taller than the most lavish ballroom and full of interesting rock formations. Unfortunately it was a bit overdone for tourists. Unnatural colored lights lit up the entire place as countless tour guides pointed out shapes with laser pointers. We passed a few souviner shops in the 5 minute walk to the next cave, called the Wooden Pillar cave. This one was a lot less crowded and developed, so it was a little more relaxing to walk around.

Upon our return from the caves, the ship sailed to another area of the bay to offer us a chance to swim, starting with a leap from the top of the boat. It was pretty exhilarating, and Caz and I each did it twice before a police boat came around and told us to stop. Whoops. Afterwards we and the Australians chilled out in the water (literally; it was not exactly swimming weather) until we were called in for dinner.

Dinner started off with a lesson in making spring rolls. Caz and I were all over this, as we had already had practice in Chiang Mai. The bartender/spring roll maker did not hesitate to tell me that mine were bad, although Caz made one of the best of the bunch. They went off to be cooked, and we all had a drink before sitting down to a delicious meal, including spring rolls that looked way too nice to have been the ones we made.

The evening's activity was squid fishing off the back of the boat. It looked easy enough; just drop a line attached to a simple bamboo pole, shake it around a bit, and snag a squid. Yeah, not so much. We spent a good hour or more trying to catch those teasing little tentacles, but it was a futile effort. A few others managed to get one, but we had a pretty poor showing for as many of us tried. Once we tired of that, our boat guides roped a small group of us into some karaoke. It really turned into mostly Caz and I singing while the Vietnamese guys chose songs they wanted to hear. I even attempted Mariah Carey on their behalf. That didn't work too well, but it was good fun.

The next morning we woke up early for breakfast, then sailed on to a floating village. There we grabbed kayaks and spent an hour paddling through lagoons and archways in the area used in the Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun. It was still cold and cloudy, but kayaking was a lot of fun. There were about four boats full of Taiwanese tourists who cheered us all on, and we drove the dogs on their floating docks crazy. We took a look at some of the fish pens held by the fishermen, then got on our little ferry back to the boat. Just in time too: another tourist boat ran straight into the dock where we had been standing just as we were leaving!

Lunch was served as we were returned to the harbor, then it was back to Hanoi to catch our first sleeper bus!

Dodging Scooters in Hanoi

(By Lauren)

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The last country we were visiting was Vietnam, and we started out in the capital of Hanoi. From the airport we got in a taxi van full of locals, not entirely confident that we'd be dropped off somewhere near our accommodations. However, once all the other passengers were dropped off, we paid the driver an extra dollar each to get taken straight to our hostel.

May De Ville was the name of it, and it was extraordinary. Built to be a hotel, the owner decided at the last minute to turn it into a backpackers instead. We stayed in a dorm room, but the beds were pristine and so comfortable, and the shower was always hot and at full pressure. The next morning we partook of the free breakfast buffet, which included treats like real bacon, omelettes, and donuts. It was a pretty good way to start the day.

We only had one full day in Hanoi, and we decided to pursue our own walking tour. Our hostel was situation in the Old Quarter, a lively area full of shops, vendors, and motorbikes. Oh man, the motorbikes. They were everywhere you turned, honking incessantly and seemingly ignoring all road rules. Crossing the street was always an adrenaline rush; you had to walk slowly and steadily as motorbikes came rushing straight towards you, dodging you at the very last second. It definitely must be said that at least the drivers stayed alert.

Our first stop was the Temple of Literature, a large complex dedicated to Confucius and his teachings. It was once a center of learning itself, the first "university" in Vietnam. Now it's one of the symbols of Hanoi. The temple grounds were filled with graduates taking pictures in cap and gown and traditional Vietnamese dress. Farther in, three ladies played old-fashioned Vietnamese instruments. A floor above them was a shrine to three kings who had contributed much to the development of the temple, and on the roof money lay on the shingles, thrown as a donation to the temple, we assumed.

Next we walked over to Ho Chi Minh's masoleum. It wasn't open to the public; in fact there was white tape at least 20 feet in each direction from the building itself that indicated we weren't allowed to cross. Supposedly Ho Chi Minh's body has been preserved much like Mao's in Bejing, but we'll never know. We also stopped at the nearby One Pillar Pagoda, a small temple elevated by, as you might guess, one pillar.

From there we wandered over to one of Hanoi's many lakes to see another pagoda, but found we were not properly dressed for full entrance. Instead we bought some pineapple from a nearby vendor. She gave us chili salt as an accompaniment. It was an odd taste combination, but I rather liked it. We trekked all the way back to our starting point, then around another lake to get some pho, the well-known Vietnamese noodle dish.

We were pretty worn out and wet at that point (it had been overcast and drizzly all day, our first day of bad weather in weeks), so we headed back to the hostel to chill out. Next up was Halong Bay!