Halong Bay

Even though we are at the end of our trip, we still had one tour left to do. Halong Bay is another UNESCO World Heritage site and is often on lists of "places to see before you die". It is indeed a beautiful place, even under the very overcast skies we had for our two day, one night trip.

The van with us and our fellow passengers took 4.5 hours to get to the bay itself. Just outside the city of Hanoi we passed several vendors with their bread displays. I'm trying to imagine stopping for a loaf of bread on a busy highway like this. People must or these women would not be here.

We transferred to our boat by tender. I took this photo from the wharf, and was pleased to discover it was our boat.

Just as on long distance flights, our routing was displayed as we travelled.

The karst formations that make this site so dramatic are visible from shore, but it is so wonderful to glide by them.

These dramatic islands are limestone and were created as the limestone dissolved. As you can see below, the area is an important shipping route.

There are over 1600 islets in the area of the bay.

Our cabin was very comfortable. We had a very nice shower, and all the toiletries were provided in recycled paper containers. Handspan Travel which was our tour company are very ecologically minded. I do think it's totally unnecessary to provide all these things though - combs, shower caps, toothbrushes, toothpaste and razors. Don't hotels realize that people tend to travel with their own toiletries, especially toothbrushes.

There are, of course, many tour boats. These boats have their characteristic sails but the rules laid down by the Vietnamese government say they cannot use sail alone and must always have engine power.

People do live in the area, fiishermen and pearl farmers mainly.

Here is the sail of our boat, the Treasue Junk. Note, the sail was up only while we were anchored. They really are just for decoration.

I got to go for a swim in the afternoon.  The water was lovely here. And we were anchored in an area with no other boats in sight which made it quite special. 

For those who think my bathing suit a little skimpy, p,ease understand that I swim with a Masters Competitive swim team. Baggy swimsuits cause drag.

Before dinner we got a food prep demonstration. I say that instead of cooking demo, because all we got was how to roll up a spring roll - not terribly difficult.

In the early morning it was still grey but the light was lovely. The staff were out in full force at 6 am swabbing decks and wiping down railings, but I was the first passenger on deck. I was also one of only three people who took advantage of the Tai Chi class. There are no photos, because, after all, I had the camera in my pocket.

After a light breakfast snack we went off to visit one of the floating villages. 

These bamboo boats were out pr transportation. Most of the people who rowed us around we're women by the way.

It was quiet and peaceful although our tour guide told us that the evenings tend to be noisy becuase the people enjoy karaoke. However they don't go too late because they have to use a generator to supply the power.

This was a lovely sight. The hole in the rock was dramatic. We boated right up to it.

Note that we had a boat woman.

After seeing the village, boating around one of the islands and seeing the pearl farms, wesaw a demonstration of the process of seeding the oysters. The small pellets are inserted after the oyster is pried open and anaesthetic is used to ensure the seed isn't rejected. The seeds are made with material from the insides of the harvested shells which is ground and pelletized.

And here, for milady's pleasure is one of the pearls of Halong Bay. Apparently, and it's no surprise, the biggest market for these pearls is China, although we did have the opportunity to buy some right at the  village dock. I'm sorry, we didn't buy any strings of pearls for you.