Vietnam: Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is one of those places that's on everybody's itinerary who visits Hanoi.  The area has also experienced a boom in popularity since it had wide exposure in the "Vietnam Special" Top Gear episode a few years ago.  I opt to go on a two day tour arranged by the front desk of my hotel, and am picked up early in the morning for the long drive.  Along the way I get my first taste of country traffic where the general rules of thumb are:


1. Honk your horn if you are going to do anything at all 
2. Who Is Bigger Wins.

I call it a draw.

When we arrive at Ha Long Bay after the obligatory rest stop in a large nick-nack store we land in tourist hell.  There is a metaphorical ocean of tourists here at the boat dock, and the literal ocean is full of identical tourist boats.  So many new tourism operators have set up shop here over the last couple of years that the government had to step in and cap the total number of tourist boats operating in the area.

This is behind the photographer in every Ha Long Bay pic

Our boat is actually quite nice - and since it was a mid-price range tour (about $100) the meals are good and the staff are friendly and helpful enough.  We set off into the bay and get in amongst the rock formations jutting out of the water.

It's like Guilin but more wet.

In the afternoon our activities include going into the Surprising Cave (which was given it's name because it has a rock formation in it that surprisingly looks like a penis), kayaking around the boat people's houses, and jumping off of the top of the boat into the water.  Jumping off of the boat was my favorite bit until someone's evening garbage floated by.  If only it had been jellyfish....

The boat people are quite fascinating - many people grow up on the water in boat houses and live their whole lives there - only making weekly trips to the mainland to buy supplies such as car batteries to power their night lights and televisions.

The lights are to scare away the Boat Ninjas...

They even have a floating school where sometimes kids have to swim to class if their father is using the boat that morning for fishing.


Later that evening we go fishing for squid off the back of the boat.  I don't think there are any squid here.  A fellow kiwi managed to catch a hat with a crab on it though which was quite exciting.
Anyway, I don't care that there's no squid to catch - it's relaxing, peaceful and quiet - having a beer on the back of the boat exchanging stories about monkey attacks and the like.  Peaceful until the night is rounded off with a bout of karaoke.

I apologize profusely to the other people sleeping on the boat.