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Halong of my dreams
Aug. 31st, 2002 07:46 pmWell. After giving her stomach a serious talking to ("Okay, no more of this fifteen trips to the bathroom nonsense!"), M-P made a miraculous recovery. So miraculous, in fact, that yesterday I witnessed her leaping joyfully off the roof of our boat, into the turquoise waters of Halong Bay. I now declare her stomach officially cured, though I can't say the same for her mind.
Ah, Halong Bay. I don't think it could be any more beautiful if someone had imagined it. It's like the Grand Canyon, you really have to see it yourself. What a great way to end our trip!
That was the reason we didn't write yesterday, you see. We booked a 2-day Halong Bay cruise, and sprang for the VIP version... Turns out we were the only ones, so we had our own private guide, who was very nice and interesting, a swanky hotel room, and meals served on the boat.
We left Hanoi early yesterday morning on a mini-bus and arrived in Halong City a bit before noon. Then we transfered to the boat, and Thu Yen (I don't know how to spell his name, but that's what it sounded like) told us all about Halong Bay, its history and the legends about it. When the other tour group was on the boat, we set sail (with sails furled, much to my disappointment; you can't buy a postcard of Halong Bay that doesn't feature a junk, but I didn't see a single one while we were there) and were served a very nice meal.
The afternoon was spent cruising around those gorgeous little islands, admiring the scenery and rejoicing that the sun had finally come out. We stopped for a swim, and I'm pleased to report that in salt water, I'm not quite as pathetic a swimmer as I usually am! M-P had fun diving off the boat and jumping off the roof, though today she said that was sore because of it.
We spent the night on Cat Ba island, at the Prince Hotel, in a very nice room that had, best of all, a Chinese tv station showing a period drama! And imagine my pride when I realised that I could actually understand some of it!
Supper was in the restaurant, and afterwards, to continue with the VIP trend, Thu Yen and another guide took us for a private starlit stroll through town and down to the beach, where we laughed at M-P when she got splashed by a wave.
This morning, we had a funny little incident. When we got to the pier, our guide told us to follow another group, so we did, back onto the same boat we'd been on the day before. A few minutes later, someone came and told us we were on the wrong boat, so we followed him to another one. Then, after our boat was cruising along into the bay, we realised that Thu Yen was not on it... Were we on the right boat, or not?!
A little bit later, as I was sitting against the figure head, relaxing in the sun, the motor of our boat stopped. Another tourist boat was coming up behind us, and getting very close. That's when I noticed someone standing on the second floor of the other boat, someone who looked an awful lot like our guide... There was another guy beside him, who started yelling to a guy on our boat. Our guide was making movements as though he wanted to jump onto our boat, so finally the other boat got close enough for him to come join us. Turns out he'd forgotten his cell-phone at the hotel, so he had to run back and get it and that's why he wasn't on the same boat as us. During supper, M-P and I split our sides laughing, imagining Thu Yen leaping from boat to boat, his little suitcase in one hand and his cell-phone in the other.
We got back to Hanoi at about 4, went back to our hotel, then ventured out for some last-minute shopping. And I was reminded once again about how indecisive M-P can be at times. But that's all right, we bought lots of pretty things.
Tomorrow morning we fly back to HCMC, so we have to pack tonight. Our trip is pretty much over, now, which is sad; I know I'll feel totally out of place back home for at least a week.
Ah, Halong Bay. I don't think it could be any more beautiful if someone had imagined it. It's like the Grand Canyon, you really have to see it yourself. What a great way to end our trip!
That was the reason we didn't write yesterday, you see. We booked a 2-day Halong Bay cruise, and sprang for the VIP version... Turns out we were the only ones, so we had our own private guide, who was very nice and interesting, a swanky hotel room, and meals served on the boat.
We left Hanoi early yesterday morning on a mini-bus and arrived in Halong City a bit before noon. Then we transfered to the boat, and Thu Yen (I don't know how to spell his name, but that's what it sounded like) told us all about Halong Bay, its history and the legends about it. When the other tour group was on the boat, we set sail (with sails furled, much to my disappointment; you can't buy a postcard of Halong Bay that doesn't feature a junk, but I didn't see a single one while we were there) and were served a very nice meal.
The afternoon was spent cruising around those gorgeous little islands, admiring the scenery and rejoicing that the sun had finally come out. We stopped for a swim, and I'm pleased to report that in salt water, I'm not quite as pathetic a swimmer as I usually am! M-P had fun diving off the boat and jumping off the roof, though today she said that was sore because of it.
We spent the night on Cat Ba island, at the Prince Hotel, in a very nice room that had, best of all, a Chinese tv station showing a period drama! And imagine my pride when I realised that I could actually understand some of it!
Supper was in the restaurant, and afterwards, to continue with the VIP trend, Thu Yen and another guide took us for a private starlit stroll through town and down to the beach, where we laughed at M-P when she got splashed by a wave.
This morning, we had a funny little incident. When we got to the pier, our guide told us to follow another group, so we did, back onto the same boat we'd been on the day before. A few minutes later, someone came and told us we were on the wrong boat, so we followed him to another one. Then, after our boat was cruising along into the bay, we realised that Thu Yen was not on it... Were we on the right boat, or not?!
A little bit later, as I was sitting against the figure head, relaxing in the sun, the motor of our boat stopped. Another tourist boat was coming up behind us, and getting very close. That's when I noticed someone standing on the second floor of the other boat, someone who looked an awful lot like our guide... There was another guy beside him, who started yelling to a guy on our boat. Our guide was making movements as though he wanted to jump onto our boat, so finally the other boat got close enough for him to come join us. Turns out he'd forgotten his cell-phone at the hotel, so he had to run back and get it and that's why he wasn't on the same boat as us. During supper, M-P and I split our sides laughing, imagining Thu Yen leaping from boat to boat, his little suitcase in one hand and his cell-phone in the other.
We got back to Hanoi at about 4, went back to our hotel, then ventured out for some last-minute shopping. And I was reminded once again about how indecisive M-P can be at times. But that's all right, we bought lots of pretty things.
Tomorrow morning we fly back to HCMC, so we have to pack tonight. Our trip is pretty much over, now, which is sad; I know I'll feel totally out of place back home for at least a week.
