A Day on the Water in Ha Long Bay

Our first taste of Vietnam was Ha Long Bay, which has long held a mystical quality because of the rock islands that jut out all over it.

It was raining as we approached our tender point, but more serious than that was the feeling of disillusionment as we passed tens of freighters and then at the end of the bay saw Ha Long City, with its modern buildings, gondola system that crossed the river, and, worst of all, the gigantic ferris wheel on the top of a hill! We had never seen photos of that; only serene rock islands rising from the mist-covered water, with a lone fisherman rowing his bamboo boat nearby in silhouette. Nope! That certainly isn’t the Ha Long Bay of today.

Local fishing boats

There are thousands of these islands jutting out in the bay

Ha Long City in the background. Ferris wheels seem to be
the big thing throughout Southeast Asia!

Our tour was called A Day of Adventure by Junk and Kayak in Ha Long Bay. Now Larry wasn’t ever planning to get into a kayak, but the rest of the tour seemed appealing so he came along. It turned out that our tablemates, Jon and Vivian, were also on the tour and Vivian was also not a kayaker, so they planned to hang out together while the rest of us paddled.

We left shortly after breakfast, with the junk boats picking us up at the tender pier. Another expectation burst – these were not the traditional junks with the rounded sails, but good sized boats with a large passenger cabin and upper deck.

Our ride to the kayak area was almost 2 hours (now we understood why it was a 6 hour tour!) through some very picturesque islands. The tour also included lunch prepared on board, which ended up being about 6 dishes - soup, vegetables, seafood, rice - all brought out family style. The calamari and fish were delicious, as they should be, considering that one of the fishing boats pulled up alongside as we motored out for kayaking and dropped them off fresh from the sea.

We finally arrived at our kayaking destination - a tour that basically circled one large island, taking us through a floating fishing village and under a natural arch. This spot also had the distinction of being very close to a local pearl farm - never, ever lose the possibility of making a few dollars off the tourists!!

Monica paddled with another woman who was traveling single on the tour, and as both were experienced, they gave themselves a little more time for photos and then caught up with the group.

The kayaking base. Nice spot!

The local fishermen had both dogs and
cats living with them on their boathouses.

Ready to go!

The fishing village, hidden away in a small cove. The world could
possibly end, and these people would never know it!

Large boats use lanterns and strong lights for night
fishing. The light attracts squid and some other
sealife to make it easier to catch.

And somebody did actually have a real traditional junk!

The natural bridge formed through this island.

...and from the other side

Paddling back past some more fishing boats

The kayaking turned out to be a lot of fun; some of us could probably have gone around one more time in another hour or two, but there were a couple of other stops on the agenda. First - shopping!!!

On the way to the pearl farm

Nothing near as fancy as the shopping malls in Hong Kong!

Showing how the oysters are farmed in baskets
at varying depths of water.

How their expert inserts the pearl seed into an
oyster.

We looked at the demonstrations and wandered dutifully through the shop, but didn't buy anything. Good thing, as one of our fellow guests who knows about pearls told us afterward that, although the pearls were real in that they were grown inside an oyster, the seed pearls that they used were far too large to give the pearls any real value. There are very few people in the world who really know how to insert a pearl seed, the size of a grain of sand, into an oyster, and it takes far longer for an oyster to produce a valuable pearl than these farmers were giving them.

After the pearl farm, our boat crew had some trouble finding a particular island that has a cave and a natural lookout. Since it took so long to find, once we got there (and we didn't climb the uneven rock stairs so we missed the cave), that all the other tour boats in the area were close behind. By the time we left, there were about 6 junks tied to the steps and it seemed like the island was overflowing with people. Time to go!!!

Another tour boat, this one a cross between the traditional
and the modern junk. Are those sails used or merely
decorative?

Fishing nets placed near the islands.

A fun day, but it really brought home the level of modernization that has been taking place in Vietnam since the war, which they call the Civil War, ended in the mid-70s. And it also showed that people who retain the traditional lifestyles are able to coexist with the new economy.