Halong Bay

There simply isn't enough space in this blog to write about Halong Bay. It is one of those places on earth that makes you understand that when the earth was created, there were some spots more special than others. Halong Bay is one of those spots. In Vietnamese, it's called "Ngon" or wonderful.

We boarded a small shuttle van with a couple of other couples from our hotel and rode 3 hours through the Vietnamese countryside to Halong Bay. We've always enjoyed getting away from the cities and seeing the more rural parts of any place we go to and this was no exception. Of course there were the obligatory stops at the embroidery and pearl factories where you are swarmed by sales people, but that was a small price to pay. 

One interesting part of the ride was seeing the factories for Foxconn and Canon, etc. They are so much in the news back in the states right now and seeing them in person gave me pause that we're not seeing the entire story back home. Where all we see on the news is the concept of "sweat shops" and poor working conditions, when you take in the context of how different Vietnamese life is compared to American, you realize that these factories provide much needed jobs over here that can transform people's lives. To us these may be "slave labor" but to the Vietnamese it is a way to elevate themselves above the level of being just a rice farmer. When you look at it from their perspective, these factory level jobs are a good thing and although their wages may be low in our eyes, for them it's high.

Upon arriving at the Bay, we were shuttled onto our "junk" boat for the cruise. Very comfortable accommodations, very hospitable crew (including throwing rose petals down upon us as we boarded).

What seemed like a bad thing initially was the fog. As we headed out into the harbor it thickened to the point where finally the captain had to drop anchor and explain that for our safety he could not continue. Everyone was disappointed, but Sonja and I took advantage to play some cards which we hadn't done since the kids were small. We also booked massages in our cabin, which is never a bad thing. I think the disappointment at not seeing the sights during our first day was replaced by the extreme WOW moment the next morning when we awoke and looked out our window to the massive rock formations less than 100 yards from our cabin. Breathtaking. That moment would never have occurred if we hadn't been shrouded in fog for the first day.

We arose early and hustled up to the top deck where Sonja took part in a Tai Chi class with some of the other passengers. 

Cruising slowly through the pillars of stone and watching the life on the bay with the fishermen and the women hawking their wares from their small dingy's was captivating. One woman in particular spotted Sonja and wouldn't give up on her quest to sell her bananas and fruit. Alas, I had to play the bad guy and walk off with the money before we became the target of all the vendors.

We spent an hour or so exploring the caves on one of the islands before heading back to the shore and our ride back to Hanoi. All in all, Halong Bay was a fabulous excursion and one we will remember for the rest of our lives.