Halong Bay

To be 100% honest, I knew nothing of Halong Bay before I travelled to Vietnam. Anyone I spoke to about travel asked me if I was going to go to the bay. I always responded by muttering something noncommittal. What was the big deal? It's a bay. Woo. Hoo. Various people who previously traveled in Vietnam tried to sell me by telling me what amazing seafood you can get in the area and how you can take a boat out into the bay, catch your own fish, and then have it cooked for you right when you get back to land - and all for the amazing price of just a few American dollars! Their faces fell when I told them that I don't like seafood.

Then I traveled to Hanoi and spent a few days meeting other travelers and locals.  I saw booking agency signs advertising 1-day, 2-day, and 3-day trips to Halong Bay. I spoke with people who were very excited about leaving the next day for their overnight stay on a boat in the bay.  That all seemed a little too much for me, but I came to the realization that I'd really be missing out on something amazing if I didn't make the effort to take the day tour out to the bay and see what everyone was talking about. 

And boy and I am glad I did! For about US$50 I got to experience a 3.5 hour bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay, a tour around Halong Bay, kayaking in the bay, lunch, and the 3.5 hour bus ride back to the hotel in Hanoi.  If you looked at the mileage you'd think there's no way it takes that long to get to Halong Bay, but the trip takes such a long time because the traffic is heavy with cars, trucks, busses, and the ever-present motorbikes. Everyone weaves in and out and drives on whatever side of the road they please. So instead of following traffic rules, they ignore them complete and drive quite slow in order to watch out for each other.  The driver likely didn't break 30 mph the whole journey.

The highlight of my ride out was my incredibly urgent and strong need for a bathroom. Unfortunately, a minibus full of 12 or so travel companions I just met couldn't exactly stop at a rest stop along the highway - mostly because they don't exist the way they do in the US. It's more complicated than that. There are places to stop, but there's a stronger obligation to purchase because they are mostly mom and pop set ups that are in the front of their housing. Most don't even have bathrooms. Men in particular can be seen peeing on the side of the road all along the highway. Also, tour companies have partnerships with everyone with whom they interact. So, the mid-way pit stop along the way is not merely convenient, but the tour bus company benefits from stopping at the specific store/gas station/bathrooms. About five minutes after being told I'd have to wait another 20-30 minutes (despite already having waited 60 minutes before I asked if there was a place to stop) the driver miraculously pulled over on the side of the road and pointed at an oversized outhouse type building. I was told to run and make it snappy. I was greeted by the dreaded hole in the floor bathroom experience. I can tell you I did not hesitate to rip my pants down, squat, and pee as fast as my little bladder would let me. I then ran back to the minibus and jumped back in as it was already beginning to pull away from side of the road.

After another 1.5 hour drive and a bit of trepidation regarding being on a boat for most of the day (it had JUST hit me that I have a history of getting sea sick and this could take a wrong turn), my traveling companions and I boarded a boat in Halong Bay. And I realized how thankful I was for getting the message that I needed to visit the bay about 18 times before I finally decided to book the day outing. To say the five or so hours spent in the bay was worth the 6 hours in total travel time is an understatement. I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

I found this delightful little sign in the bathroom at the rest stop. It really helped clear up a lot of confusion I had. (On a related note: a couple nights after this trip I read an article online that detailed the benefits of squatting and how humans didn't regularly, and almost exclusively, expel their waste in the sitting position until the 1900s. Apparently there are a lot of physiological benefits of the squat.)

The fee for the day trip included lunch on our boat. The lunch on our boat did not bode well for those of us who were vegetarian or do not eat seafood. I pretty much ate rice and the onions off the dish in the center, which also has squid on it. The Korean gentlemen next to me kept eating the vegetarian dishes, despite being an omnivore, and kept insisting we all try the seafood. 

This is the Korean gentleman. I asked to take this picture because he helped fix a problem I was having with my camera by reformatting the memory card. Thankfully, I took to downloading my photos onto my computer every night, so I wasn't worried about losing photos. I later regretted being as friendly as I was with this man because he kept asking me if I was single, alone in Hanoi, where I was staying, and if I was having a good time. Even my other traveling companions noticed how aggressive he was in trying to spend time with me. He also asked to take about 8,000 pictures with me. I was polite, but eventually took to avoiding him like the plague, which is hard to do on a boat with around 12 people.  

This is me with Dave and Kerrie, and awesome Aussie couple with whom I spent most of the day. They were super fun and easy to talk with. 

I made them throw up the peace sign and embrace the Asian culture of picture taking. 

Our tour package also included kayaking in the bay. We got to go into two "secret" lakes and around the bay. It was awesome! I couldn't help but think about how much more amazing Halong Bay must have been before tourists started crowding the area. These lakes just opened up in front of my eyes and I was hit with the feeling of discovery. I can only imagine what it was like the very first time they were discovered. The beauty is absolutely breath-taking in person. 

Whoopsie, selfie fail. Let's try that again. 

Because I was a solo traveler, I asked to buddy up with a threesome of British chaps who were super nice. Tony here was a great kayaking buddy who even had a little fun teasing me about "sea snakes". 

I took a lot of selfies and I'm not ashamed of it. 

One of the things we also did was go into this AWESOME cave on one of the islands. They have it all lit up for tourists now, but it was still awesome. The second mishap of the day with my camera happened here. Because it's the rainy season and it had just rained, the inside of the cave was quite wet and slippery. Of course, right after we were warned, I slipped and fell in my white short down a flight of stairs. I was really lucky I wasn't hurt, especially since we were in a semi-remote area and because I fell down stone stairs. What took the brunt of my fall was my camera. Again, I have no idea how I fell on top of a camera, yet didn't hurt my tailbone or anything. I was super bummed because I basically dented up the whole front lens of my camera. It wouldn't zoom in or out, or show down properly. I was able to get the rest of the photos of the day from my cell phone and I was super excited to be able to get my camera fixed for only US$35 the next day in Hanoi. 

This is one of my favorite pictures from my whole trip so far.