When I first decided where I wanted to go on my RTW tour, I used my must-sees as guideposts. One of my must-sees was Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Every week for years, I sat in the Vietnameses restaurant near my house staring at a beautiful picture of Ha Long Bay and longing to know what it would feel like to be floating amongst those pillars of rock that fill the bay. This week my dream came true.
For two peaceful idyllic days, I did just that. Floated among the pillars of rock that inhabit the bay. What a surreal experience! The boat was a large junket with 6 rooms. Eleven other people floated along with me. I was bunking in with a girl I met at the hostel in Hanoi, Kristina, who was a smart and funny girl from California. We arrived by bus and boarded the boat just before lunch. It was at once peaceful and relaxing. Everything I dreamed it would be.
After chugging through the bay for a few hours we arrived at a stalactite cave. We hiked through with at least a hundred other people from other boats. Even though there were a ton of people in the caves, it didn't feel like the bay was crowded with boats - thankfully.
Later, we docked at a small, tall island. Here, we could take a quick hike to the lookout at the top of the island or laze on the beach. I chose the latter. I was in no mood for swimming, but I thoroughly enjoyed a group of seniors basking in the cool water. They were living it up, horsing around. Showing the world it's never too late to be here, having fun. So cool.
In the evening we docked near a small cave and we were put into kayaks and we paddled through a cave into what felt like a small pond. We were surrounded by tall rock walls on all sides of this little island. The cave was really an underwater access into this little piece of paradise. Because I was on a kayak I chose not to take my phone - so no pictures of that lovely place. Only memories.
In the evening we had dinner on the boat and Kristina and I retired early, just after dark. We slept incredibly well in our cozy little cabin. And we awoke early to a beautiful, if hazy morning, on the bay.
That day we chugged out to Cat Ba island, the largest island (I think) in the bay, to a let a few passengers off who were staying a second night on the island and to collect those who had stayed the previous night. Kristina and I said goodbye to our new friend Rachel who we had met on the boat. She was from Manchester and was teaching English in Indonesia. She had traveled to Vietnam, like Kristina, for a week's vacation. So nice to have met her.
At the same time, we welcomed Luke onto the boat. We had both met Luke at the hostel in Hanoi a few days before where we were all staying. It wasn't much of a coincidence though since we had all booked our tours through the hotel, of course we all ended up with the same tour company. Luke is from Canada and has been traveling in Asia for over a year now, and is really loving it. He's also a writer of rap music and has his own blog - and did I mention he loves to talk. So many interesting people that one meets out on the road. He had some great stories to tell and was remarkably grateful to be on his RTW trip.
For the rest of the morning, we hung out on the upper deck of the boat and savored our last moments chugging back through the bay to the dock. It was quiet. Serene. Peaceful. Timeless. The light breeze, warm and humid rolling across our skin. The boat moving so slow it's almost not moving at all, and yet the beautiful rocks morph and change such that you know you must be moving. So beautiful. And so difficult to grasp that it's real.
I'll never forget Ha Long Bay. Its etched in my mind under peaceful places of the world.
And since I've made it to Ha Long Bay and back (to Hanoi), I've accomplished my must-see for Vietnam and I'm honestly so darn tired that I'm going to be camping out in Hanoi for awhile. But of course, you already know this if you read my previous post.
So after this, it's on to Ho Chi Minh City.
