Up Halong Bay without a Paddle
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2005
1
9
24
Trip End
Aug 02, 2005
Hanoi and Halong Bay,
Vietnam
Friday, April 15, 2005
April 11
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After taking the overnight train from scorching hot Hue, we arrived in Hanoi and made our way to our hotel in the Old Quarter. This section of Hanoi is the old market set up by the trade guilds in the 15th century on with each of the 36 guilds occupying a street. The names of the streets, and many of the types of shops from long ago, remain. There is a tin box makers street, an eyeglass street, a silk road, and a wood-turner's street. We stayed on Onion Street, but it was seemed more like Coffee Street with all of the outdoor cafes that spilled out into the street. The shops that occupy the Old Quarter are often only 3-5 yards / meters wide and 15 yards / meters long. This is a result of the period where storekeepers were taxes based on their store's frontage on the road.
For the first time in several weeks, we were caught in the rain in Hanoi. We used the time to go to send some goodies home and to take a walking tour of the Old Quarter.
Alex has noticed in the communist countries that we have visited that there are loudspeakers everywhere. In the morning, all of the loud speakers turn on and we are awakened to the delightful tunes of Vietnamese patriotic songs, regaling the virtues of Ho Chi Minh, etc. Since they seem to switch on at 7 or 8, it must be the "People's Government" making sure that the People are not lazy. Maybe by means of conscience objection or protest, we noticed that many Vietnamese keep their PJs and conduct their daily business in the streets until they change before lunch.
Amphibious Alex
Fight the power.Halong Bay
April 12 - 14
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We booked a three day tour with Handspan Tours, which was highly recommended by everyone, to cruise along Halong Bay in a Vietnamese "Junk" ship and to have a day of kayaking around the limestone mountains that rise vertically and abruptly out of the bay.
After meeting some new friends, Ellen and Jules, on the 3.5 hour bus ride to Halong Bay, our small group of 8 boarded a large Junk, that was pretty well decked out. It had nice cabins, seating space for a group double our size, and wonderful dinners of fresh seafood. We slowly cruised around the massive limestone formations that make this area a World Heritage Site and settled in a little cove to spend the night on the boat.
The next day, we transferred to a smaller boat that took us to Handspan's "Base Camp", which consisted of a four or five small huts, with mattresses on the floor and mosquito netting. This was to be our "roughing it" day. There was a western toilet and a shower hooked up to some kind of solar heating device. We jumped in our tandem kayaks for what we thought was going to be a leisurely paddle through the "karst" formations of Halong Bay -- enjoying nature, taking in some sun, and paddling every now and then. Well...we were in for a little more than we had bargained for. It seemed like we were on some kind of triathlete training program. We paddled and paddled for nearly 7 hours straight with a 1.5 hour break for lunch. Boy were we whipped.
Attack of the Water Puppets
Just before lunch we did paddle through a small crescent shaped opening into a still and quiet lagoon which was peaceful and nice. In the late afternoon our last stop was a cave that was supposed to gently carry us through a short passage into another lagoon. It was a bit fast going through but fine. We had flashlights and were able to navigate fairly well. Once out into the lagoon our guide told us that we now had to go back the same way we came in - immediately we were not thrilled. The current was quite fast and trying to get back up the small step of white water and through the dark cave proved incredibly challenging, even for our guide. Our guide jumped out of his boat and tried to pull us out of the cave but lost his footing, slipped and almost got pulled under the boats. After what seemed like forever of Amy furiously paddling and Alex holding on to stalactites in the ceiling to pull us through the current, we made it back out to daylight. Claustrophobia anyone?!
Talking to our guide later about it, he said that just that day possibly local people had put rocks at the mouth of the lagoon for some reason. This increased the water level which increased the current. He hadn't known about it and it was all a surprise to him (and US!)
We finally made it back to base camp after a circuitous route around and with about a mile to go we got a tow from the boat that had dropped us off that morning at the camp. It was a welcome surrender!!
That evening everyone was exhausted but before retiring we enjoyed a fire on the beach and star-gazing.
Chanting Buddhists -- a preview of Laos!
Unfortunately Amy was sick most of that night though did feel a bit better the next day with medicine. We were picked up the next morning and cruised leisurely back to the harbor where we got some lunch and headed back to Hanoi in time for dinner. It was a great adventure and we enjoyed it even with the few hiccups.
Back in Hanoi
April 15
========
After a good night's sleep we were ready to see the rest of Hanoi before our flight left the next day.
We first headed out to the Temple of Literature. This was an academy of Confucianism set up by the emperor to educate young people for service in the royal court. They were required to take and pass various examinations to excel. This Temple became the first National University in Vietnam. It was a beautiful complex and surrounded by trees which muffled a lot of the motorcycle traffic outside. The stone stelae tablets, supported by stone turtles, which noted the graduates of the academy, only dated back to the 1400s, though the school was originally opened in the 1000s.
After leaving the quiet of the Temple, we walked up to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex. Uncle Ho was not seeing visitors any of the days we were in Hanoi but we got to see where he relaxes and chills out most of the time. It was heavily guarded and quite an ugly, austere building. Also in the complex was a small pagoda supported only by one pillar hence its name "One Pillar Pagoda". It was a replica of the original since it was the last thing the French destroyed on their way out in '54 but none the less it was cute. Perhaps more fascinating was the attached temple where we were able to listen to monks and nuns chanting their daily prayers. It was mesmerizing to listen to the rhythm of their chanting.
Once back in the Old Quarter we met up with Jules and Ellen again for coffee and dinner before Jules went off for a tour and the rest of us headed over to the Water Puppets show that evening. Alex's skepticism about the water puppets did not hold true - though he did have some precedent for these types of performances with the Beijing Opera. It was about 45 minutes of 3-5 minute vignettes. The stage was a tank of greenish water where the puppets stood (were held in) to their ankles and were moved around by puppeteers with long attached poles from behind. There was a band and some singers on the side but they were amusing and added to the story. The puppets were brightly colored and the dragon even breathed smoke and fire (sparklers!). There were vignettes like Fishing, Catching Frogs and Foxes, and Amy's favorite, Phoenix Dance. It was worth the $1.25 in amusement for the evening.
We said goodbye to Ellen and wished her well. We had an early flight to catch to Luang Prabang, Laos where we will again meet up with Jules for a few days. Stay tuned . .
