HA LONG BAY - HOI AN

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HA LONG BAY

Monday 24^th February

It was and early start for the 3.5 hour bus trip to Ha Long Bay. Wake up call at 6am, bags out at 7am and on the road at 8am. Monday morning and the traffic was incredible! Fortunately it was far worse for those going into the city than for us. It was our first real look at the rice paddies and vegetable gardens that followed the road all the way. The weather was still foggy and damp but the temperature a mild 17-18c.

On the way we had a ‘happy room’ stop at a large complex set up to employ disadvantaged young people. They made most of the product available for sale and the quality was very good. The complex was modern and designed for the tourist market so was very clean and well maintained. We then pushed on to Ha Long where we embarked tenders to take us out to our lare Chinese style Junk. There were thirty ensuite cabins of a very good standard so everyone felt relieved to finish the bus ride and happy to be on the Junk. It was made known the next day that until a very short while before we arrived, the authorities would not allow boats out because of the foggy conditions. So fortune favoured us!

So off we sailed into the murky bay where there were countless limestone islands to navigate. The mist added to the intrigue and made it a fun trip. Our first destination was a cave complex on one of those islands. It was made up of three very large sections with very interesting rock formations including stalactites and stalagmites. The trail entailed a lot of stairs up and down the inside of the island until we exited quite high up and of course had another long staircase down. It was good to see but the stalactites and stalagmites were not as attractive as many we have seen before.



Next we cruised to a floating fishing village where they took us to a platform using the Junk tender and were then boarded onto what could best be called a basket boat rowed by one of the village people. It was very interesting to see how they lived and also farmed fish in large pods in the water made of plastic netting. It took about ¾ hour to do the tour. Afterwards the tender moved us aboard the Junk again where we settled in for a fabulous dinner. By this time we were becoming friendly with many of the people on board so the evening became very enjoyable. All too soon it was time to hit the bunks.



We are not sure of the numbers but the group is made up of Australian, English and Irish travellers. Everyone seems to be getting along really well. At this time eight of our full contingent of thirty eight were on another Junk. They were people who had previously travelled to Sapa together as an extension of our tour.



Tuesday 25^th February

Our next venture was a visit to an island dedicated by Ho Chi Minh to one of the early Soviet Cosmonauts. A lookout platform has been constructed high up on the island. With 460 steep steps to climb we were very soon puffing, panting and sweating. All managed to do the climb. Unfortunately, even though we had more than done our morning exercise, the outlook at the top was nothing special.

After a very good breakfast on board the Junk headed for port in Ha Long where we boarded two buses to ferry us to the Hanoi airport. Needless to say, there was a half hour delay in the flight! The plane was a very new Airbus 321 and the flight of just one hour to Da Nang was very smooth. On arrival we were trouped around the airport to Lucky Café 1 for lunch and a drink on APT. The food just kept coming and in the finish we had to leave some of every dish. No complaints though as it is better than not getting enough. Da Nang looked very modern and clean as we passed through on our way to Hoi An.

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