Halong Bay

There is lore about Halong Bay.  Story goes a dragon thrashed through the rock carving out sea & the dramatic limestone karsts marking the landscape today.  As we prepared for our Vietnamese voyage, Kevin & I watched "Indochine."  When the story unfolded through the cliffs of the bay I thought, "We're going there?"  It was like the postcard of Lake Atitlan on my fridge.  It didn't seem possible.

In Hanoi, it's easy to book a cruise on a junk through Halong Bay.  These operators will usually take care of the transport to and from Hanoi.  The cruises vary in quality.  Also, they usually travel parts of the bay nearest the port town of Halong.  It can be a crowded trip.  We elected to travel independently and to journey on to Cat Ba island, which is within the bay.  The trip would take a little bit longer but it was more our speed-- quieter, remote, beautiful.

We headed to the bus depot in Hanoi.  Independent travel in Vietnam is not that hard.  The French imposed the Roman alphabet on Vietnam during their colonial tenure, so English speakers can read signs.  In cities, you'll meet English speakers.  At the bus depot in Hanoi, you probably won't.  Get there early, be patient, & friendly.  Pointing at maps, signs, & smiling go far.

Watching the surrounding rice patties and shifting landscape, I wished we had time to visit Ninh Binh.  It's said to be land-locked Halong Bay.  Can you imagine these cliffs emerging from land?

We were dropped at a bus depot in Halong City.  They drove us a short, traffic-clogged, industrial path to the port where we boarded a big, diesel-guzzling ferry to Cat Ba Island.  The dock at Cat Ba was tiny.  Small homes were built on high stilts above canals and rice patties.  We boarded a smaller van to weave through the mountains to Cat Ba town.

The drive was a bit treacherous at times, but jaw-droppingly beautiful.  Of course, about three mile outside of town the van broke down.  The Vietnamese passengers jumped off, grabbed their things, & began walking.  Again, I try to pay attention to my surroundings and use judgment.  In this instance, it seemed like they were the best guides.  We walked alongside a local bureaucrat for awhile, sweating under our luggage over the rough terrain.  A motorbike raced down the mountain but slowed for their friend, the bureaucrat.  He hopped on the back of the bike and waved to us.

We passed him later as we labored into town.  He said, "You're still walking?  I've already had my dinner!"

We found an inexpensive, off-season room for $15 a night with a truly hot shower.  A suicide shower, but it was hot in cool Cat Ba-- a plus.  We booked our passage into Lan Ha Bay for the morning and began our search for dinner.  As we wandered down the main drag we found a hotel offering a spa with massages!  We booked $12 couples massages.

We drank tea in a dimly lit waiting room.  Eventually, we were summoned into the massage room by scantily clad Vietnamese massage therapists.  They mimed for us to disrobe but didn't leave the room.  Eventually they began taking our sweaters and jackets & hanging them.  OK!  We disrobed.

We had side-by-side couples massage tables.  They massage therapists giggled and talked to one another.  They were AMAZING body workers.  They began on our faces and heads and steadily worked to the back and arms.  They finished by massaging the back vigorously while we were seated.  From a seat, we felt more energized to leave but absolutely refreshed (especially after all that break-neck travel!).  We returned to them throughout our stay in Cat Ba.

Just an aside-- a few days later it dawned on me (I can be horribly naive) that there were almost exclusively Chinese business men in this hotel and a nightclub underneath.  Our massage was rated G but I don't think many others were.  You definitely have to keep your bearings because some massage practitioners do feel it's important to... facilitate various modes of relaxation.  That's not my bag.  If it's not yours, make sure you go into well-lit, legitimate facilities.  I got massages as frequently as possible in Vietnam.  They were some of the best of my life.  Vietnamese look at massage and diet as healthcare, facilitating good circulation and overall wellness.  Vietnamese bodywork should be a huge draw and part of your experience.

The following morning we boarded our junk.

We headed to Lan Ha Bay.

Kevin dove in.

It was about 60 degrees.  This german shepherd was thrilled & licked Kevin incessantly when he climbed back on dock.

We kayaked.

Kevin even paddled!  He's funny like that.

I learned how to use chopsticks out of necessity.  Don't worry about practicing if you don't already know how to use them.  If you're hungry you'll figure it out.  Impressively.  I ate every last bit of rice.

We played in caves.

And went to Monkey Island.

Don't feed the monkeys!  I hate that tourists think it's cute or funny to feed monkeys potato chips and beer.  A German tourist tried to pull back her potato chip bag from the monkeys and was (rightfully) bit.  Don't feed them!  Give them a wide berth.  This is THEIR island.

From Cat Ba, we began the long trek back to Hanoi.  Van to the port, boat to Halong city, bus to Hanoi.  It took minimum five hours and was worth every second.