Sailing again

Trip Start Aug 24, 2008
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28
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Trip End Jul 07, 2009


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Flag of Vietnam  ,
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

We took the bus to Halong Bay, which took about 3 hours. On arrival we boarded our little wooden  boat, which was actually quite nice and clean with nice little cabins and a sundeck. We then set sail for the beautiful rock formations that are dotted around the bay. It was very peaceful and relaxing to sit on the top deck and watch the rocks and islands drift past, all covered in greenery. We stopped for a little while at a cave, which was very impressive and full of stalactites and stalagmites in crazy shapes. When we left the cave we saw a beautiful view over the bay with its emerald colour and all the junks (a type of boat) with red sails floating around. We took some photos and then walked slowly around the island back to the boat, because we still had 10 minutes until our designated leaving time. We arrived at the jetty to find...no boat. A man from another boat came up to us and said "You looking for Fantasea?" (Fantasea is the name of our boat), we said yes and he said "They gone". Excellent! Luckily he had a friend who knew the captain of our boat so he phoned him and he phoned the captain and they got hold of our boat which came back about half an hour later for us. Nobody had bothered to do a head count and nobody had noticed we weren't there. Our boat sailed to a sheltered area with lots of islands and we got in some kayaks and went kayaking. This was good fun because we were on the waves, and then we paddled under a rock into a sheltered lagoon that was really clam and flat and our voices echoed all around it. Later David and I jumped off the boat and went for a swim in the sea. There was a beautiful sunset which we watched from the roof of the boat.

The next day we sailed gently through the islands and peaks until we reached Cat Ba island. Here we docked and drove across the island to the national park. This was full of jungle and villages, but we hiked up the mountains with a crazy guide who jumped around like a monkey. The hike took 2 hours in the baking heat but the jungle was beautiful, full of vines and lush greenery. At the top of the mountain was a rickety old tower which we climbed for a fabulous view over the island and the forest. I got quite a bad case of vertigo due to the ricketyness and the fact that you could see through th floor. Back on land we hiked back and then took the bus to a lovely hotel with a view over the bay and the floating villages.

We had some lunch and then took another boat over to Monkey Island, so-called because it has lots of monkeys. David and I were wary of them after our monkey attack in China, and kept our distance. We climbed some crazy sharp volcanic rock that looked like it belonged on the moon and got a lovely view over the beach and the clear blue water. After all that climbing we went for a swim. One of the monkeys tried to snatch a girl's bag and she made such a fuss, but it was nothing compared with what we endured in Emei. As the sun began to set we took the boat back to Cat Ba for dinner. We passed many floating villages, where people live in houses that float on the water. See the pictures for a better idea of what I am talking about.

The next day we took the junk back to Halong Bay harbour, which was a lovely cruise in the sun with the beautiful scenery floating past. Sadly we had to leave and took the bus back to Hanoi where I tried the traditional Cha ca for dinner. This is fish fried in herbs and served with noodles, peanuts and fish sauce. It was delicious!
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