After booking our four day stay in Hanoi, we went into research mode and Chris proposed a boat trip through the bay. Loving boat trips, I was game. The three and half hour journey by mini bus was well worth it. Our guide for the day was a 24 year old guy from North Vietnam called Huan. Along the way he was on hand to inform us of Vietnamese history, traditions and customs but I would still have a chance to sit back and listen to my iPod whilst taking in the views as the bus navigated through some of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen, none more so that the fertile rice fields that Vietnam is most famous for.
Before I knew it, we were all sat aboard our boat, The White Dragon and we were on our way to the bay. The bay itself boasts an impressive 1,969 islands as well as some floating islands that are called 'villages'. We stopped at one of these villages and were encouraged by Huan to hire a bamboo boat from the locals for 100,000 Dong (about £3) each. And on the strength of his advice we all agreed to hire the boat, this proved to be the best decision we made all day.
Donning our luminous orange life jackets, Chris, Jess, Steph, Koenraad and I climbed into our little bamboo boat that came complete with a local tour guide, who as it happened would also serve as our captain and crew. We were taken amongst the floating islands that make up the village. We were given an insight into how the Ha Long Bay locals lived, shown their school, a restaurant and even a local shop. The school was particularly interesting as it was quite small, our guide told us it had two classrooms and a little office. I am not sure what ages study there but I think she added that the older kids have to get a boat to the mainland to attend high school.
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| A Playground You Can Swim In: The school for the children of the village |
A particular highlight for me was seeing a girl, perhaps 16, paddle up alongside us, her boat filled with a vast array of fruits and vegetables. A few words in Vietnamese from our guide and she was handed a big juicy orange in exchange for a few Dong. The girl then rowed away, presumably to look for other customers, a day in the life of the water green grocer.
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| One of Her Five: Our captain buys a snack from the local green grocer |
Once back on board The White Dragon we sailed by two rocks known as the 'Fighting Cocks', a name given due to the slight resemblance they have to a pair of fighting cocks squaring up to one another. It is said to be a national symbol used by Vietnam in much of their tourist promotions. I'd have preferred to have sailed a little closer by to get a good photo but for whatever reason the Captain decided there were more interesting things to show us.
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| Bamboo Boat: The five of us sat in the middle of the village, Ha Long Bay |
If that was indeed the case, then he was spot on because our next stop was to be the Heavenly Caves. Actually from looking at the brochure of the tour in our hotel, I was quite excited to see the caves. With some good photo opportunities, Chris, a die-hard Celtic fan, and I (a long time disgruntled Aston Villa fan) decided to wear our team's colours with the idea of sending the photos to our respective clubs to include in their 'fans from around the world' posts that often pop up on the official website and/or facebook page. Sadly, despite us sending the photograph to them, they were not as enthused as us because we didn't make the cut, not sure about Chris but I think I narrowly missed out to a chap called Steve, who'd had a lovely day out in Tamworth...
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| Colours: Wearing our shirts with pride |
Huan told us that the particular cave we were standing in had been discovered in 1993 by a fisherman, who'd stumbled across it whilst chasing a monkey up some rocks... Bizarre, I know. Anyway, this cave is considered the most beautiful of all the heavenly caves. It was extremely impressive to be fair, quite breathtaking and although it might sound a little tacky, it was filled with hundreds of coloured lights which in my opinion only served to add to the cave's enchanting natural beauty.
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| Heavens Above: A picture from inside the Heavenly Caves, beautiful |
We headed back to our boat, and soon enough we were on the minibus back to Hanoi. It was a great day out and an experience that I am glad I had the opportunity to enjoy. Its easy to see why Ha Long Bay is recognised as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites and considered by many travel experts to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world, it really was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
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| Huan and Only: Stood with our tour guide Huan, on our way back to Hanoi |
To be continued...
