Vietnam on Two wheels: Halong Bay

Vietnam On Two Wheels

Vietnam, New York City, Halong Bay
Sat 05 Mar - Wed 23 Mar

Today

Inn

Day 2 - Halong Bay

Halong Bay

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

We left our hotel in downtown Hanoi for the 3 hour ride to HaLong bay. Many say that this bay is perhaps the most beautiful in the world. It is part of the Gulf of Tonkin and it is characterized by the 1960 limestone karsts or iselets that rise straight out of the water. Everywhere, junks with brightly colored sails navigate the bay with their cargo of sightseers. Floating fishing villages sprinkle the calm waters of this amazing place dubbed a Unesco World Heritage Site. A tender takes us the short trip from the harbor to our junk. The 14 cabins are a laid out on the first and middle deck. There is a dinning area on the middle deck and a large open area with lounge chairs on the upper deck. No captains dinners or night clubs on this cruise. The boat, however is very well appointed and the rooms are more than comfortable. Everywhere you look the boat is finished in deep toned woods. We make our way around the bay and thread some of the tighter passes between the huge obelisks. Every now and then a sampan laden with crafts, sodas and food draws alongside our slow-moving junk. Our first stop is on one of the larger islets. We take several stone stairs up the side of the limestone wall and then enter a large cavern. We work our way around the cavern filled with stalegtites and joined pillars. This part was just the warm-up. We worked out way through a narrow passageway that opened up into another huge chamber. Easily big enough to lay out a football field, it was jotting short of impressive. A center mound rose 50 feet from the center of this chamber like a naturally formed alter. Several colored spotlights were hidden behind some of the formations and drew out the texture and relief of the cave walls and formations. We then took some kayaks and began a short paddle between some of the more impressive karsts. Small floating villages were tucked in the shadow of some of the larger islets. In each, several families raised and tended to small fish farms. Little more than bowl shaped nets set-up between the pontoons of their floating homes, squid, shrimp and several other species of the local seafood could be seen in the crowded pens. A small dog gave out a bark from one of the floating docks as we silently paddled by in the fading light. Cute, but we were reminded that these dogs were not family pets and would at some point suffer the same fate as the fish. Soon we had paddled our way to the very face of one of the larger limestone islands. It loomed 800 feet straight up above our heads. There was a clear passageway that was about 10 feet high that led Straight through the limestone and opened into small lagoon completely surrounded by the sheer walls of the karats. We approached one of the walls and as we glanced up, we could see a few of the bushes that grew out of the wall face start to shake. Soon we started to see the brown shapes of what appeared to be some type of animal apparently clinging to and moving about the flat face of the formation. The rock was so shear and so smooth,that it would seem impossible for any animal, save perhaps and insect or spider to get any kind of foothold at all. But soon enough several dozen brown monkeys clambered down the wall making their way towards our kayaks in hopes of getting a free meal. Adult monkeys, baby monkeys and young adults all worked their way quickly and deftly toward us. It was truly amazing to wash them move across and down the rock face. One false move and they could have ended up in our kayak. An offer of banana was eagerly accepted and quickly devoured. The monkeys took up positions on the few branches and stunted trees that grew out thirty feet above the water line. Once they finished they started back up the wall and headed out of sight.