Escape from the City
Trip Start
Oct 24, 2005
1
46
150
Trip End
Ongoing
Quan Lan Island,
Vietnam
Monday, September 4, 2006
We had to gather at the school, about a ten or fifteen minute drive from our house, at 5:45 in the morning on Saturday, September 2nd. That's quite early by our usual standards, and was a bit of a challenge, but we were up to it. We prepared everything the night before: bags packed, veggie food at the ready, cameras, etc. charged, taxi numbers located. We rose early, got ready, and called a cab. But they didn't answer
Enjoying the Surf
. Neither did any of the other cab companies in the city. Now we were a bit worried, as we were running out of time. With no alternative, we hit the street and kept our eyes peeled for cabs or xe oms (guys on motorbikes who drive you around on the back). We were not having any luck at all -- we repeatedly saw cabs, but they were all 100 yards away and didn't even slow down enough to hear our cries. Finally, we secured two xe om drivers whom we agreed to pay too much money to cart us over to the school. By this time, it was already after 5:45, and we were very worried we were going to be left behind. Fortunately, we rolled up to the school right around 6:00, which was the planned departure time, so we were able to scramble onto the bus and escape the city for the weekend. The drive to Halong Bay (where our boat departed from) took about 3 1/2-4 hours. It gave us a chance to reacquaint ourselves with the country, and made us remember how truly beautiful Vietnam is. We arrived in Halong City and made our way onto a big covered "fast" boat. Using this boat instead of the regular speedboat/ferry saved us many hours of travel time, which was great b/c we arrived on the island around 12:30 -- plenty of daylight left for lounging in the sun. After some finagling, we had the rooming situation figured out and found ourselves sharing a nice little seaside bungalow w/an Australian couple, Emma and Sean. The bungalow was basic, but was equipped w/running water, a shower, a toilet, and beds, and most importantly, was just a stone's throw away from the beach. I must say, one could easily get used to falling asleep and waking to the sound of the waves lapping the shore... much better than the obnoxious new school across the street from our house.
We whiled the weekend away lying on the beach, exploring the cute little town which our "resort" was located on the edge of, and getting to know our fellow teachers
Goats!
. We played some long overdue TP, participated in some silly games around the bonfire, and dined on some delicious vegan dishes, courtesy of the ADOS at one of the schools (not much on the island for us veg-heads to eat). When all was said and done, we were definitely sad to be leaving after our short stay (we had to head back mid-day on Monday). Our little weekend trip filled us w/resolve to get back on the road again to the life of beaches and tropical paradises. The island was a mixture of all the best Vietnam has to offer: brilliant kelly green rice paddies, breathtaking sunsets, white sandy beaches, and stunning hills rising from the sea. Not much to complain about. Despite its relative proximity to Hanoi, it is still very undeveloped as a tourist destination, as it usually takes people nearly twelve hours to reach Quan Lan from Hanoi. Hopefully it will remain the idyllic paradise it currently is -- I know we'd like to return to such peace and tranquility.
