Last week we did an amazing tour of Ha Long Bay - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - and its sister Bai Tu Long Bay, both made famous by the thousands of towering limestone rocks that rise up out of the water. From the first day our guide and friend Ha was a riot as our junk sailed between the misty peaks of Bai Tu Long Bay. After docking at a small island, we got on bikes and rode 15km through rural Vietnam. The untouched scenery that surrounded us was breathtaking, and the locals were very friendly; construction workers called out "hello" from the third floor of an unfinished building; children came running out of houses to say hello; dogs chased us and snapped at our heels. I remembered my doctor in Tokyo telling me, "If you get bitten by a dog, do not wait! Go to a hospital straight away!" I didn't want to catch rabies or anything anyway, but I began to wonder if this island even had a hospital.
We stayed the night in the home of a sixty-something-year-old local, Mr Sau, and his family. A single generator provided their house electricity, so they only kept it running from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. However, as I discovered at 9:55pm when I was having my shower, sometimes they turn it off early. Thanks for the warning guys! Standing butt-naked in pitch blackness in some old dude's home isn't my idea of fun.
The next morning we visited a local school, where we were swamped with kids asking us questions: Where are you from? What's your name? How old are you? ...and so on. Don't think they understood most of our answers, but that didn't discourage them. We'd been told before the tour not to give the locals any money or gifts, so I felt extra-bad when one sweet little girl handed me a chocolate coin. Maybe I shouldn't have taken it... but who am I to refuse the kindness of a generous little girl? Let me remind you: it was chocolate!
That evening we headed to Ha Long Bay on a 3-star junk (I know, "3-star junk" doesn't make much sense to me either, but hey, it had karaoke!). After singing our little hearts out we slept on the junk for the night, before waking up to the first hints of sunlight we'd seen since arriving in Vietnam. That could only mean one thing: it was time for some swimming out in the middle of nowhere!
I'd like to say how clear the water was, but sadly, I was swimming amidst a few chip packets and some other rubbish. And after seeing a massive jellyfish slide past none-too-casually, I decided it was time to climb back into the boat and stay there.
It was an awesome tour, and Ha was great value. We met up again in Hanoi after the tour on Saturday night. She took us to a "bia hoi", a set up of small plastic chairs and tables on the sidewalk, where beer is sold for 25 cents because it contains no preservatives and can't be stored for long, so it's very fresh. Most people who know me are aware I have a strong distaste for beer, so it goes to show how good the beer must've been, since I got one down without too many troubles. Following that we went out clubbing. It was all great fun until the guy from Adelaide started hitting on me. Well he got the message eventually but in the meantime it was pretty annoying. I swear, if I had a penny...
More to come!
Definitely starting to say something about you dude :P But on a serious note who do you prefer hitting on you? Guys or sickly fat prostitutes?
ReplyDeleteSounds like your having an awesome trip. A shame about the water though... Kind of made me feel a bit sick. We both love our beaches, it's a shame to hear about places like that.
Ah well, I'm sure you've had a heap of adventures we still haven't even heard about so keep in touch. Cheers for the birthday mail too, I'll get back to it... eventually :P
You should have had cofee with Damiens mum all those years ago,because she and uncle serge always have condensed milk in the coffee,soooo yummy.Sounds like the trip is enjoyable,looking forward to more adventures.Take care xx
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