Halong Bay
Trip Start
Jul 11, 2008
1
11
12
Trip End
Jul 26, 2008
Halong Bay,
Vietnam
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Poor John had been sick the night before, and the long car ride did not agree with him. By the time we got to the boat he was positively green! We piled out of the van and onto a busy pier that was teeming with tourists. I had imagined that there were maybe 5 - 10 junk boats operating on the Bay, but boy was I wrong. There seemed to be hundreds of boats, and thousands of tourists! Maybe I exaggerate a little, but it was a bit overwhelming. We made our way to the Jewel of the Bay and got on board the boat. After a quick run down of the itinerary, we received the keys to our cabin. We dropped our bags, and John dropped into bed. I began to worry that the boat may not be such a good idea.
Quickly after we began sailing the bay, lunch was served. The food was delicious, course after course of fresh seafood and vegetables. After sailing for about 1 1/2 hours, we dropped anchor and started kayaking over to a nearby beach. John was still in the cabin and I was just heading out in the kayak by myself, when he called from the deck to tell me to come back for him I was so excited. What a trooper!! John jumped into the double person kayak and we headed to the beach together. After swimming around the Bay for a bit, we climbed up the 500+ steps to the top of the limestone cliff for a spectacular view of the bay and limestone cliffs jutting out everywhere! We left the beach and kayaked through a limestone overhang to a small lagoon of emerald green water. We were the only people in sight and the calm was infectious (just as good as a thai massage).
After getting back on the boat, we took showers and got ready for dinner, which was another all out feast! After dinner we all went up to the lounge chairs on the top deck and talked for a couple of hours about every subject you can imagine. It was a really nice opportunity to get to know our fellow travelers, and the fresh air was good for John.
The next morning we woke up for breakfast and were once again astounded by the view of the Bay. This must be one of the most beautiful places on earth! After breakfast we sailed over to Surprise Cave. There had been much speculation over what the "surprise" would be, but we were certainly not prepared for what we saw. The surprise for most of us was the enormity of the grotto! There are three large chambers in the cave and you could spend hours finding the "tortoises" "penguins" and "people" that the water has carved out of the limestone. After exploring the cave we went back to the boat and got ready for lunch. I took a shower and reluctantly packed up to leave. One of our fellow passengers, who wasn't much of a swimmer, decided that she was determined to jump off of the top deck of the boat, which was pretty high for even a great swimmer. John was so impressed with her bravery that he decided to join her and soon everyone was jumping in! On John's third go-around, he was stung by a big jellyfish on his leg. Poor John! After lunch, we sailed back to the pier for the long ride back to Hanoi..
Feeling Queasy in the Cabin
