June 19, 2016 – June 21, 2016
Bai Tu Long Bay, Vietnam
From the 19 through the 20th, I did a wonderful tour of Bai Tu Long Bay with Indochina Junk tours. The first pleasant surprise was the fancy luxury van that they used to transport us from Hanoi to Ha Long…leather seats, water, A/C, leg room, and USB ports that kinda worked. The drive was 3.5 hours and it was super comfortable. In Ha Long we were loaded on to our boat, the Dragon Legend 2. Don’t know what happened to Dragon Legend 1. Second pleasant surprise of the day…because I booked last minute I was upgraded to a double room. The room was so luxurious, with a large queen bed, a nice bathtub, and an amazing view of the bay.
We sailed past Ha Long Bay to get to Bai Tu Long Bay. We had a 5 course lunch on the deck as we glided past beautiful limestone rock formations. When we reached our destination we had a nice little kayaking/ swimming excursion. Bai Tu Long is much cleaner than Ha Long but it did still have quite a bit of trash…the only unpleasantness on this trip. We got back on the boat, got cleaned up and when we arrived at our next destination we were treated to a beautiful full moonrise. I played around with my camera and was able to get some nice shots of the moon. I laid out on the deck and did some stargazing while listening to the Rainbow Connection…truly blissful experience.
Practicing my moonshots đ
We then had an amazing 5 course dinner and a carved fruit/vegetable display. This was followed by the 3rd pleasant surprise…a performance by the boat crew! First, the crew sang us a traditional song. Then one of the team members masterfully played a traditional spring melody on the flute followed by 5 crew members playing several instruments and singing a traditional song. It was truly impressive. I captured some of the performance. Then more moon and stargazing. That night I slept with the curtains open so I could see the moon glistening on the water with the beautiful dark islands in the background.
I woke up at 4:30am the next morning to get a picture of the sunrise. 4:30 was too early, and it was pretty cloudy but I got a glimpse. Then back to bed until breakfast. After breakfast we took a little trip to a nearby cave. It didn’t look like much on the outside but was pretty large on the inside. Our guide told us that there used to be an indigenous family that had lived in the cave for many generations but then Indochina Junk made them leave. He implied that the residents were destroying the cave but I can’t see how having a bunch of tourists trampling all over the cave several times a day though several tour companies is any better. He said that the family wouldn’t leave so they finally forced them out and paid for their kids to go to school. It was an awkward explanation. The guide told us that Indochina Junk owned the cave after the family left but then other tours found out about the cave and started bringing their groups through. Very odd. Not sure how you can own a World Heritage Site. After the cave excursion, I enjoyed a few more moments of the awesome private room and shower and then joined the rest of the group for our last meal on the boat. Then back on land and the van that would take us back to Hanoi but not before one last pleasant surprise…a water puppet show! I was with a couple that had seen a water puppet show with live music that they felt was far superior but this worked for my needs. This is the second cruise I did while on this journey, the first was in the Galapagos. While the Galapagos, as a destination, are incomparable, the Indochina cruise (boat/ accommodations/ food) was far superior. I was thoroughly pleased and would highly recommend it.
The couple from the boat were on the same van as I and we had fun chatting on the ride back. It turned out we were staying pretty close to each other in Hanoi so we decided to meet up later that evening. We had a good time wandering around the Old Quarter and trying some new dishes. The thing I remember most though is how one of the grocery stores tried to rip this couple off by charging them, for a small water, two times the price I had been paying for a large bottle of water. I couldn’t just stand by, I had to intervene and negotiate for them. I was appalled. South East Asia is where I really started appreciating the benefits of being brown.
Back at the hostel, I considered going to Ban Gioc (waterfall along the Chinese border) but I was feeling the need to move on from Hanoi and Vietnam. So I looked at my options and decided on the island of Borneo. The remainder of my time in Vietnam I avoided the heat, binge watched Orange is the New Black (rough season) and hung out with an Israeli guy I met. I like the Israeli…they’re interesting and nice people. I’m excited about editing the Borneo pics!
nomadshak 
Your photos are amazing!
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Thank you Miss Tina. I hope you’re doing well! Thanks for reading my silliness đ
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