Those famous limestone islands (Feb. 5/09 - Halong Bay, Vietnam)

It's funny how when you go out onto the street early in the morning in Vietnam, every shop is still locked up tight despite the fact that locals are bustling about and already crowding the streets. Even at 7am, nothing was open. Our hotel said breakfast was included with the price of our room at 6:30am, but even at 7am the staff were still sound asleep on the floor and their motorbikes were parked between the tables. The hotel staff seem to do the same thing - often in the morning they are passed out on couches in the lobby, or pigging out on dinner at the reception desk, or trimming their toenails on the coffee tables in the lobby. Yes, classy.

We ended up having breakfast at the same veggie place as where we had dinner last night, which suited us just fine as their muselix and banana pancakes were perfection! A van picked us up as planned, and we made our way east out of Hanoi towards Halong City on the coast. Wherever towns and massive diesel power plants didn't occupy land, rice fields pretty well dominated the landscape, filling in all the available land right up to the highway. Workers wearing the classic conical hats stood in knee-deep water planting rice seedlings or driving ploughs pulled by water buffalo across dry fields. Half way through the 3 hour drive, we stopped at a rest stop where people were making pottery and hand embroidered silk artwork by hand. Some of the things for sale were so beautiful, but we jut can't carry any more stuff with us - not to mention fragile stuff! Soon, limestone pinnacles could be made out on the horizon, and eventually we pulled into a marina with Halong Bay sprawling out before us. Those famous limestone islands jutted out of the sea all the way to the horizon - several thousand of them! Our transportation was a traditional boat called a "junk" - a large wooden boat with the bright orange round sails that Chinese sailboats are known for. When we climbed aboard, we were blown away - it was so luxurious! Nice clean, cozy rooms downstairs, a large enclosed dining area with a bar upstairs, outdoor furniture and potted palm trees near the bow, and a sun deck with lounge chairs near the stern. You never really know what to expect when you book things online, but we clearly lucked out on this one!

We motored away from civilization out into the vast bay, anchoring an hour later in an area surrounded by lush limestone islands. This must be a pretty nice spot, as about two dozen similar boats could be spotted in the area doing the same thing. With limestone comes caves, so we weren't surprised to hear that we would be going to explore what they call Amazing Cave, which is perched a couple hundred metres above the sea, a few minutes away by boat. It became clear that this was the highlight, as we rounded the corner in the boat to see dozens of other boats jockeying for space at the dock while hoardes of people moved on and off the boats. It served as a great reminder as to how much we detest mass tourism, as much of the beautiful cave's charm was spoiled by the crowds of people and the stupid souvenir booth that had been built INSIDE the cave. Come on! It was a steep climb to the mouth of the first chamber, so we had the pleasure of standing amongst sweating obese seniors as they hobbled their way up the stairs. Inside, our guide gave what was a somewhat bullshit description of the cave, and he had no trouble putting his hands all over the stalagmites - a behaviour that would get you kicked out anywhere else, as these spots that have been touched turn black, destroying the carbonate with hand oils and chemicals. The natural decorations were interesting (albeit greatly inferior to those in Borneo), especially the leaning mini stalagmite that took on the shape of what I'll simply say we called a "phallictite". We all laughed when the guide, who didn't get the joke, continued his speil with "the cave was discovered by seamen..."

Anyway, we walked through the three chambers with about 537 other people, then picked our way back down to the dock. It was funny how ladies would paddle their rowboats up alongside a tourist boat to ask if anyone wanted to buy anything - their boats were crammed full with water, beer, and snacks that tourists just can't live without. After the cave, we were dropped at a nearby island that had a nice little sandy beach and a climb to the top for a spectacular view out over Halong Bay. Despite the crowds, it was an incredibly beautiful spot, as the islands popped up out of the water as far as you could see, with the sinking sun sparkling off the water and majestic junks dotting the harbour between them. It was a beautiful little spot, and eventually the sun disappeared below the horizon, leaving behind a brilliant pink sky.

Fresh seafood was served for dinner, and we mean fresh - prawns, squid, roasted fish, and whole crabs - so delicious! We watched as some people tried squid fishing off the bow, and a couple were actually snagged in the process. A few people also ended up with ink stains on their clothes... With the cool night air and just the faint sound of small waves lapping at the hull, it's pretty much guaranteed that a perfect sleep will be had by all tonight!