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Floating Villager
This little boy was practicing his rowing. The kids learn to swim and use the boats very young. We picked up a great recommendation from fellow travelers for our boat trip in Halong Bay. It was a four hour bus ride to the port city of Halong before we met up with the Dragon's Pearl Junk Boat. The sites were pretty fantastic along the way. We passed workers in the fields, water buffalo, power plants, and even Vietnamese style track homes.
Once on the Pearl we settled into relaxation mode. We spent the first few hours on the sundeck nursing a couple of Tiger beers. The scenery in the bay is just like the post cards and our boat was really fantastic. Our room was great, the staff was friendly, and the food was tasty! We met a wonderful German/Swiss couple with whom we ate dinner with every night and had great conversations. On our full day on the boat we did some kayaking in the bay led by our guide, Hoa. We explored some amazing caves and hidden bays perfect for kayaking.
Halong Bay is home to many traditional floating fishing villages. It's a neat way of life and lesson number one for children is learing how to swim. The villages are made up of
floating houses that are connected together with the houses of extended family. Merchants go around selling goods by boat and often address the tourist boats with a "hello beer?". The villages are electrified via generators and many are fit with TVs. We passed the local floating school house where children were boarding the local "school row boat" to get home after their daily lessons.
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Back from Halong Bay and it's our last night in Vietnam. We mostly just took care of some errands we had to run (it's not ALL fun and games out here...). We've really enjoyed Vietnam and definitely hope to come back here in the near future.
Tam Biet Vietnam!
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MUCH LIKE HONG KONG
LIVING ON BOATS