Day 2 – 04.10.2016
This morning we got up bright and early and headed down for a quick breakfast.
We then headed out for Halong Bay on our bus.
We started off by driving over one of several of Gustave Eiffels works of architecture – in this case a metal bridge. Apparently there are only 3 in tact works of his left in Vietnam that have been spared from bombings.
On our way we passed several rice fields and water buffalos wading through the water and the fields. Quite scenic!
When our guide said that even the word highway in Vietnam doesnt equal a straight and comfortable road – he meant it. It was a very bumpy ride and sitting in the last row didnt help much, seeing as there was no suspension in the back seats leaving us to jump with the bus everytime.
As we were supposed to get a couple of snacks for our journey, I decided to buy a vietnamese snack – a seaweed roll. It was surprisingly tasty! For all you sushi lovers out there, they tasted like Unagi Eal Sushi rolls. Delicios!
On the way there we passed a little town producing special vietnamese pottery.
We were shown the complete cycle of the production, starting with the more comercial way by adding the clay into a mold, letting it set and dry, and then adding it to large furnaces to burn.
After it has been burned, it is painted with typical patterns. We were lucky to see one woman apply these patterns in a very speedy fashion leaving us in awe.
We then headed towards the obligatory souvenir shop, but thankfully I didnt buy anything. It is always a hassel to get pottery or any kind of glas back safely, especially when you know that you still have a bit to go on your trip.
We continued towards Halong harbour and when we finally made it, passed a small bridge to an island like harbour where the buildings changed from narrow houses to larger hotel complexes all still under construction.
On the side of the road you could see the oyster farms during low tide and in the distance you could see the limestone formation.
There were so many boats in the harbour, all slightly different to what I had imagined them to be. We were quick to board our ship via a smaller boat but were yet again surprised by the luxury that awaited us. Full on beds in our cabins, a fully functioning bathroom in each cabin, a wonderful dining room, a sunning deck and most importantly lunch.
While we were leaving the harbour however I spotted a boat called „Carina“ – I just had to take a photo!
Back to lunch – we even had our own bartender, so I started off with a frozen lemon daquiri – delicious!
Lunch entailed the most amazing prawns, which were gone before I got photograph them.
Then we had several salads with beautifully carved tomatoes.
We also had a pork stir fry.
A calamari salad stir fry.
And some fruit to top it off. We were in heaven!
After the filling meal we headed up towards the sun deck. From here we could enjoy the absolutely stunning view of the bay. Breathtaking! There are 1969 limestone rock formations all stretching out along the bay. They are said to have been formed by a large dragon from the heavens coming down and laying on the water. This was at a time when the Chinese were coming by boat to fight the Vietnamese, and so the dragon came to protect the people by firing all the treasures he had in his belly at the enemy. Everywhere aparently where he struck, a new formation was built. I have yet to check with this is historically accurate :). Oh yeah, and recently Halong Bay has been named one of the seven wonders of nature and is part of the UNESCO world nature heritage.
After our lovely lunch and snooze on the deck, it was time to get ready to explore a nearby cave, or better said a combination of three caves. They were absolutely gorgeous and a lot larger than I had imagined them to be. Absolutely worth the visit!
After our little hike through the caves we returned to the boat to collect the others and head to the beach. You cant really swim around the other boats – the water is quite dirty and the boats all swim around quite regularly so you would always be in danger of getting run over.
Considering the motto work hard, play hard, some of us decided to head up to a view point before enjoying the cooling waters. (I thought the treck was worth it!!)
The water and beach afterwards was just what we needed, and even though we shared the beach with what felt like the rest of the bay, the cooling effect was worth it.
Back to the boat, and waiting for dinner to commence. It was starting to get dark and all the boats were turning on their lights. The sight was stunning!
We were called down for dinner and certainly not dissappointed!
We started off with a corn, carrot and coriander soup.
We had grilled prawns decorated with beautifully carved vegetables.
We had a marinated papaya, carrot and peanut salat.
We had pork on lemon gras skewers. – Delicious!!
We had some pink snapper, farmed in the Bay itself under a net made out of carrot!
We nearly tried out the whole cocktail menu while we were at it – you have to appreciate the fact that you have a bartender available to you!
Afterwards we decided to relax on the deck, listening to music from the boats loadspeakers and later on play a nice little game of snap. Cards are dealt into the middle onto a stack, and as soon as a pair appears, you place your hand as fast as you can onto the pile and claim it as your own. The person who has all the cards in the end wins.
We went up to the deck one more time, or numbers dwindeling now and observed the „party boats“ around us. Not too many thankfully.
When we left to go to our cabins, we found all the boats staff sleeping in the dining room. They must have been happy to see us leave and go to bed eventually!
