We woke early and had breakfast at the hotel. Pho ga, Vietnamese donuts, hard-boiled eggs, fruit and coffee, for me. Then, shortly after 9 am, we boarded the bus to Ha Long Bay.
We have a local guide with us, Chong, who gave us a Coles Notes version of Vietnamese history as we wound our way through Hanoi and the freeway south. Tales of the inevitable failure of those who attempted to conquer the country (even if, in the case of the French, failure was a long time coming).
Ha Long, he informed us, means “descending dragon”. One of Hanoi’s previous names was Thang Long, which translates as “ascending dragon”, so these two northern cities have long been related by more than just proximity.
We merely skirted an edge of the city itself, making our way more or less directly to Ha Long Bay and the small cruise boat we’ll be spending the night on.
It feels strange not to have to frogger ourselves across the street. In fact, for there to be no street. Nothing but water, tall, jutting, stone islands, and dozens of other cruise boats doing essentially the same as us.
The heat is just as intense, even if it’s slightly less muggy than in Hanoi. We check into our rooms, enjoy a fantastic 9-course lunch, and prepare to explore a small lagoon in kayaks or rowboats. Adele doesn’t feel up to kayaking, and it’s too hot for me to even think about arguing, so we opt to have someone row us around instead. The advantage is it means we can take pictures.
After that we’re shuttled back to our boat to change into swimming and/or hiking gear. If I’m too hot to kayak, a hike up Ti Top Mountain isn’t in the cards, either. Swimming sounds good, though, and it would be if the sea floor weren’t covered with rocks the size of tennis balls and barnacles. And if there weren’t reports of several people being stung by jellyfish. Still, I managed a brief swim in the small area marked off by the buoys.
On the way back to our floating hotel, we managed to get some shots of the gorgeous sunset.
Dinner is a 7-course meal, with grilled prawns, oysters, the mildest curry chicken I’ve ever encountered, squid, and more. I can’t do more than taste every course, though. I’m still fairly full from lunch, and the heat is making me tired.
We make it an early night. Tomorrow we’re exploring some limestone caves in the morning, then heading back to Hanoi to catch the train to Hué.
More anon.
