Into the Dragon's Den

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November 22nd - 25th:

They say you haven’t been to Vietnam until you’ve been to Halong Bay. After 2 weeks in Hanoi I was ready to see the ocean again and spend some time on the beach. I took a 3 hr. bus to Ha Long City and boarded a junk boat that would sail through magnificent Halong Bay for 3 hours as the sun set dropping me off on Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay is a Unesco World Heritage site and one of Vietnam’s marvels with more than 3,000 islands of bizarrely shaped craggy limestone cliffs dotted with numerous grottos rising from the clear, emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin.

The junk boat slowly navigated the silent channels providing dramatic scenery as we drifted over the glassy emerald green waters. We stopped at Hang Thien Cung cave whose 20m high chambers have a textbook display of stalactites and stalagmites. Unfortunately it’s been turned into a tourist trap and the cave is lit with fluorescent lights of all colors robbing it of its natural beauty and awe. We pulled into a shallow lagoon where one of the many floating villages lies within a protected cover of vertical limestone walls. The people here live on their boats or small pontoon shacks and make their living fishing and selling fruits and vegetables to the passing tour boats.

Pulling out of the lagoon you are introduced to the dragon-back mountain ranges that mass on the horizon and make up Halong Bay. The scenery is truly beautiful, majestic and peaceful. Legend says a great dragon that lived in the mountains created the islands and as it ran towards the coast its tail gouged out valleys and crevasses as it plunged into the sea.

I spent the next several lazy days lying on the beaches of Cat Ba Island. My Thanksgiving dinner consisted of a bland pizza with chicken, garlic, basil and pineapple - the closest thing I could find to a turkey dinner. After my first night on the island I became ill - most likely catching a virus that was going around Peace House back in Ha Noi. Stricken with fever, chills, sweats and body aches; stripped of all my energy I couldn’t do much and had to cancel my plans for kayaking and rock climbing. One of my friends from Peace House, Christiana, came to Cat Ba for the weekend and I was poor company. Luckily her independent spirit didn’t prevent her from exploring Cat Ba and the plentiful outdoor activities the island provides its visitors.

And my camera lense jammed and is stuck at 17mm (very far away). So I can shoot at 17mm with one lense or 55mm with another lense. It could be worse!!

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Photos

Mobile Produce
Women and children in antiquated rowboats selling fresh fruit and vegetables at grossly inflated price surrounded our junk boat. $2 for 2 Mangos? Absurd!!!!

Halong Bay Floating Village
One of the many floating villages - a simpler way of life we cannot comprehend fills the air of this remote lagoon.

Junk Boat
My cruiser through Ha Long Bay. I know there has to be a sound reason they call them "junk boats" besides the way they are made and loosely held together.

Home. Home on The Range
Lovely view to be looking at off your floating front porch 24/7/365.

Slave Labor
The girl rowing couldn't be more than five years old and the girl trying to sell me a pineapple seven. She drove a hard bargain!

Not Made by the Hands of Man
Sun begins to set behind Halong Bay's dragon back mountain ranges.

Sunset. Sunset.
The afternoon comes and goes throwing its cover down on our junk as we cruise through Halong Bay.

Sunset Spotlight
The sunset's magic has me in its spell as we enter the harbor to Cat Ba Island. A local fishing boat is caught in the sun's warm orange spotlight.

Solace as the Sun Descends
My favorite time of the day - the world seems to slow and slip into a momentary slumber as the ocean's tide ceases and smoothes to glass.

Peace in Cat Ba Harbor
The sunset view from my guest house room balcony.

Cat Ba Kids
After a dinner on a floating restaurant where you select your seafood from pens in the water my friend Christiana and I play with the children in the town's center square. Notice I'm still hip to the "V".

These Streets Have Too Many Halogens for Me
It's been almost 2 months since I've seen a regular light bulb. The town's streets are lined with vendors selling jewelry. I hate halogen lights almost as much as I hate the lack of cushions. :)

Comments

[TinNiE]

beautiful photos!
this one is really nice --> Mobile Produce