Ha Long Bay

We checked out of the hotel in Hanoi and were on the bus immediately after breakfast. Although we were hoping for an end to the constant overcast, instead we got rain and fog for the journey.

The first stop was our guide’s family apartment in the Hanoi suburbs. Dai (aka David) brought the whole group to meet his wife and daughter and to see his home. This was a first for us on an OAT trip.

The apartment is small. One enters to a sitting room with a couple of chairs, a TV, and a small family altar “dedicated to the spirit of the building.” A nice but compact kitchen is to the right, and the main bedroom to the left. A second bedroom is just beyond the first, and a bathroom/laundry is just beyond the kitchen. There is no table or eating area. The family spreads a straw mat on the floor of the main room and sits on the floor to eat.

The three year old was shy at first, and overwhelmed by so many strangers. She cried for the first few minutes, but ended up showing off. Ahn, Dai’s wife, looked less than thrilled to have 14 people tromping through her home, poking noses in the bathroom and kitchen. She did, however, have fruits purchased and laid out for our arrival. She had delayed taking the child to day care and going in to her bank job in order to greet us.

It appeared to be a comfortable, if compact, living arrangement. The building is new and everything is quite modern.

Back on the road, this time for nearly two hours. Dai talked almost the entire time. It wasn’t too bad until people began asking questions. This became somewhat tedious.

The bathroom break was at a shop that makes and sells lots of craft junk. Prices were high. We walked through, then kept on walking, just to get some exercise and stretch our legs.

After another hour and a half we arrived at Ha Long. We knew we were to board a boat here. We did not realize how many boats would be here. It was like a Hanoi traffic jam, but on water. A small launch ferried us from the shore to our “junk.” The junk is also comfortable but compact, with a single dining room on the main deck, state rooms below, and an open observation platform above.

The boat was under way almost from the moment we were aboard, joining a queue of tourist junks all leaving the harbor at once. We sailed with other boats in close proximity, but gradually got farther apart.

Ha Long Bay is famous for limestone karst outcroppings that make up thousands of rough, irregular, small islands. It’s been the scene of a number of movies, including a relatively recent James Bond episode. The clear, green water and the brush and trees on the islands, would have been pretty in sunshine, but the fog and mist lent a feeling of mystery.

A wonderful, ten-course lunch was served by the crew, then most of us went to the upper deck to take in the view as we sailed on for another couple hours. Eventually we reached a place nearly as crowded with boats at anchor as the harbor had been. They transferred us to the launch once again (which had been towed behind our boat), and ferried us to one of the larger islands.

We climbed up about 100 steps and entered a cave that was mildly interesting, but then found more stairs and climbed to another room which was a huge cavern. Like the first room, the entire area was accented with various colored lights. A smooth, paved walkway led us on a circuitous route around the stalagmites.

Upon exit, we were treated to a panoramic view before descending another 100+ stairs on the outside. It wasn’t the best cave we’ve ever visited, but it was larger and more interesting than we had expected.

We had another large meal on the boat, and would have enjoyed relaxing on deck if it hadn’t been raining. We retired to room, and after reading awhile, had an early night. There was virtually no wave motion, so we may as well have been sleeping on land.

In the morning we were served a breakfast that did not match the quality of the previous day’s meals on board. But after breakfast the chef came to the dining room to demonstrate how some of the decorative garnishes are made that had highlighted our previous meals. He is very talented with sharp knives!

The rain had ceased, so we enjoyed time on deck during the cruise back to port. The bus picked us up and drove us back to Hanoi. On the way, rain resumed, this time much more heavily. It was fortunate that our itinerary placed us on a travel day when the rain came, rather than a touring day. We were taken directly to the airport for our flight to Hue. Thus, it wasn’t a very exciting afternoon, but we were at least dry.

The excitement came after we were aboard the nice, new Vietnamese Airlines Airbus 321 jet. We were all buckled in, had had the preflight demonstration of seat belts and life vests, and were all ready to go, when the pilot (with distinctly British accent) announced that we would be delayed 20 minutes due to weather conditions.

The 20 minutes turned into an hour and a half. At that time, we were told to gather all our carry-ons and to disembark the aircraft. We crowded onto buses to be shuttled back to the gate, where we stood in line to be issued “reboarding passes.” After some standing around, our guide suggested we get ourselves something to eat. The only options were a bad looking hot dog or a bowl of “instant pho” (Pho is traditional Vietnamese chicken noodle soup).

The pho wasn’t too bad for instant, but just as it was served, we were called to re-board, so we gulped it down. We got back onto the same plane, but it took us to Da Nang, instead of to Hue (we never really got an explanation as to why). At Da Nang, OAT had a bus and driver waiting to take us to Hue. Per our guide’s instructions, the driver had picked up fresh baguette sandwiches, snacks, fruit, and even cold beer! It helped make up for the instant pho.

By the time we got to Hue, checked into the hotel, and into our beds, it was past 1:30 a.m. and we were very tired. Wherever one goes in the world, flying can still be an adventure.