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Published: October 15th 2007
Caves in Halong Bay
((c) http://www.sxc.hu/)So, alarm clock off at 6.50am - ouch! Up, shower, breakfast (was some bacon this time, but no wholemeal), then set out to see if can find a pharmacy, but none are open so back in time to pack away for an 8am start, and dashed off to collect clothes from the laundry (she'd run after Lise in the evening to say that she'd forgotten that she opens at 8am not 7am on a Sunday) - stone marks haven't come out of my shorts - oh well! Quick pack, leave main bags in a locked room, onto the bus and OH NO, it's the same
bus driver. We wave off Amanda, John & Noleen (Lise said she wouldn't be up!)... And John gives me some more painkillers and then we're off into another cacophony of horns.
After about 1.5 hours, the bus driver amazingly stops where Kym asked him to - a disabled workers place where there are Mars Bars, Snickers and Pringles, but it's about $4 for Pringles and $2 for a Mars and I'm really not that bothered so get some crackers to keep going and back on the bus... When Kym says she's been emailing some of the other GAP leaders who have had similar troubles with their drivers on the long drive (hence why GAP are changing that drive to a flight in 2 trips time) - and one did stop properly at the 'truckers stop' where they were served bad food, overcharged and leched at so glad Kym got us outta there! We continue and continue... Actually it's not that long, we're no longer really noticing the horns blaring, and the view is village/paddy field/village, etc...
We start noticing signs for Halong and we're nearly there... It's clear it's a pretty touristy place and in fact we're taken
to 'Tourist Pier' so no disguising what this is! After a half-hour wait, collecting more water and finally giving into some Sour Cream & Onion Pringles ($2 here), we walk along to the boat... Oh, that's not our boat, we're just walking through it and now we're there, and, beautiful, a frozen flannel! Rooms allocated and this really is a floating hotel: comfy beds, air con, fans, nice bathroom with toiletries... Back up on deck for a few photos (rocks and boats I think may be the theme!) then we get dinner... And no one had mentioned that this was going to be seafood! 4 people were just 'we don't do seafood', but me 'I don't do seafood but I'll give it a try', so: prawns (yes, I peeled my own), mini clams/cockles (not my thing, I tried one), crab (our guide cracked them open, too much effort for too little return), squid (surprisingly nice), fried sweet potato (can we have some ketchup please?), and some fried fish with rice, with some fruit for pudding... Oh, and a free glass of wine. Vittorio then decided to try the $15 Vietnamese White Wine... declared it to be 'drain cleaner'.. But kept
drinking! We were offered the same 'free' wine for $22 but not for lunch thanks.
After another hour or so cruising through beautiful rocks/hazy waters, etc we pulled back into the rush-hour at 'Surprise Caves'.. Off the boat, climb a few steps then into - wow - cool caves... Formed out of limestone. We go through 3 caves, each getting progressively bigger (all very humid), each pretty awe-inspiring (despite the penguin bins!), with some notoriously dodgy shaped sculptures (if you've been there you know what I mean). Back up a final set of steps where there's, wow, an option to buy water and ice cream and such beautiful souvenirs and high-quality t-shirts... hmm!
Back on the boat, another frozen towel, a small water (which suddenly costs $1 - wow!), and we cast off again, stop to pick up some kayaks and cruise a little more.The boat comes to a stop in a bay, drops anchor, and the kayakers set off... Whilst we try to ignore the very persistent boat-women trying to sell their wares. We follow shortly after in the small boat, through a tunnel, into an enclosed bay, drift around a bit and head back onto the
boat where quick change into swim-stuff and into the water... Which is pretty salty but a beautiful temperature! Oliver and Nick start jumping off the top of the boat, so I decide to too (maybe 5-6 metres?)... Seems high enough. Nick has my disposable waterproof camera so we'll see later whether he managed to catch me jumping off, arms windmilling... Think sprained my left shoulder as landed but kept paddling around, then after about half-hour all back in for a shower, a chill on the roff of the boat, and ready for dinner @ 7.
Dinner was 'Same Same But Different' as it says on so many (cheap) t-shirts in Asia. The same seafood ingredients as lunch but cooked differently. Less scared of it this time and thought was a much tastier menu - especially the crab which had been mixed with something spicy. We took photos of all courses as so nicely arranged! Cassandra and I were also sharing a bottle of the $22 wine - nice, but quite strong when not drunk so much recently. We had a great laugh on our table, Chris, Helen, Cassandra & I, then moved up to the deckchairs on the top
of the boat to chill and chat, finally getting to sleep in comfy beds around midnight!
Monday 15th Another early start - breakfast is at 7 so I get up 6.40am - Cassandra's already just done and I can hear people outside... Up for breakfast and turns out Nick and Oliver have already been jumping off the boat... Although they said they realised the water was quite diesel-ly this morning (we're by no means the only boat moored in this bay!), seemed like a great wa to start the day. Breakfast was 'same same but different'... Bread, mini danish, bacon-type meat, Laughing Cow cheese, New Zealand butter... Finally, the boat started to move again, and 5 minutes later we've docked at another island (with a sand-boat also docked, so that beach is natural!), and start to climb MANY steps... About 400 I think. Good views on the way up and the top view is pretty good too... Although it's hazy it's pretty spectacular and we're just amazed it only rained through breakfast so we've been able to enjoy the whole boat. Some fun photography later - back down again. At the base, Nick realises he's left his camera case
at the top so runs back up - pretty quick turnaround! Meanwhile we get back on the boat and are asked to wash the sand off our shoes... No frozen flannel this time though which is a bit disappointing!
The boat kicks back off and we chill down, catching the breeze... And a few more photos, then up on the top deck to lie back and watch Halong Town come back into view. 1030 we go for lunch... Bit early but OK... As the prawns come out as the first course we're thinking not again, but everything else was noodles, vegetables and other meat... Plus crinkle cut chips! All pretty nice actually, so by 1130 we're docked back in and make our way off the boat back to our delightful bus driver! Back to the horns.. Just don't look - it's not worth it!
Another pretty long journey - trying to take pictures of the rice harvest in progress just isn't working! We stop again at another disabled sales place. Lots of stonework here - and summed up some of this country outside with the Buddha and the Virgin Mary side-by-side. Inside plenty of people at work and
lots of options to buy. I find a postcard of Halong Bay I like, and a copy of Memoirs of a Geisha for $7 which is cheaper than the books I bought in Bangkok so I get that. Back onto the 'motorway' - well, a toll road anywhere - very strange tolls - you come up to the first person, get a ticket, drive about 100 metres and someone else takes the ticket, sometimes 2-3 people are taking the ticket. Kym said yesterday that in a country with such an employment surplus they pretty much invent jobs - e.g. At the border about 5 people dealt with our passports (one to open, one to look, one to stamp, etc...)! Around 230 we reach the outskirts of Hanoi where we'll have another 7 hours before boarding the night train to Hue. I've nearly finished writing part of my tavelblog onto my phone - glad I bought it!
By the way, in case anyone is wondering - I don't seem to be able to text/call out on my phone (even if I could afford it) - not sure if going to be able to sort the issue with T-Mobile! Back into
Hanoi, chuck all our stuff in a Day Room - we order a load of towels so we can all come back for showers. Head out into the street - walk over to a busy looking one, hail a cab, ask for meter, but he's not playing, so we bargain 30,000 which we know is too much, but it's 50 cents each! We make our way to the Hanoi Prison, which was used to house Vietnamese prisoners under the French and then American pilots in the Vietnam War. Pretty well done exhibits, and quite chilling, but my brain is going "propaganda, propaganda"... After that, Chris and I walk to the Temple of Literature (since 1076 a temple of learning in the Confucian (sp?) style) and have a look round there. Each of this is costing about 30p. Quite interesting and some good photo ops (they're coming), and then we find
Craft Link, where I buy a silk scarf for $6 (fair trade, I think), then find a pharmacy and get some more pain killers for my throat! We carry on walking, and find a bakery to find some food for the 13-14 hour train journey we've got coming up. A danish
pastry and an apple cake (well, it's got some fruit in it!). Carry on walknig, crossing many more roads, find a "silk street" but I don't want anything else here. Find the restaurant we're heading for at 7.30pm, so keep to this area, and I find an internet cafe. Currently shrinking my pictures so I can upload some, but probably most will be somewhere else.. and I've not got back to the hotel for my shower but I'll be sleeping on the train anyway! Great to get a bunch of messages frmo people - thinks from home are great!
We go to Little Hanoi for dinner - good hybrid menu. I have croque Bacon with garlic bread and a big bottle of water - nice, then jump on a Moto (11 Dong this time!) and head back to the hotel for a shower (cold), repack the bag (looking full), and then we're in the lobby for 10pm to get the bus to the train station. We didn't tip the driver much 'cos it was the one we had on the scary drive who didn't think he needed to stop! Then we arrive at the train, board, and man, it's
not nice - the sheets are not clean, there's hair on the walls. Fortunately I brought wet wipes, so we all clean down our areas, get out the silk sleep sheets, read a bit of Hello and settle down to sleep - trying not to drink too much water so we don't have to use the washrooms, although they're better than on the previous train! I get to sleep about midnight, wake about 1.30 for the washroom and then that's it until the coffee call comes round in the morning!
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