Our journey started in Hanoi, where our tour group came to pick us up from our hotel. I really wanted sugar cane juice, but after we embarked on our journey for sugar cane juice, we found out that the shop does not open for another hour. And then I wanted pillow cake, which when we found it, the shop was just opening and the frying oil is not even hot.
So with some disappointment, we met Menh, our guide. We got on with the rest of tour group in a mini bus and took the 4 hour journey from Hanoi to Halong harbor. The drive was actually quite pleasant and I napped the entire way save for the 20 minute stop at this super touristy shop...
A friendly reminder that they are responsible for either the loss of belongings after we leave or loss while on the bus...
After being shuffled into the "waiting pen" at the harbor, an area where tourists get herded to while waiting for the guides to do whatever they need, I tried to get some photos, though most of them were of the ships. There were some very small ships, which I lowered my already low expectations for our accommodations (I though we were going to be sleeping in bunk beds and sharing bathrooms...).
When our guide returned with our very fake looking tickets, we got on a small boat, which then took us to our larger cruise ship further away.
Our cruise ship was better than I expected. We were given some instructions and then left to explore and photograph on our own. Unfortunately, the first day was quite cloudy. This led to some cloudy pictures as well. I did my best here to squeeze in some colors, though most things were a big white blur.
Somehow, the numerous islands really reminded me of FF8, where you run around the strips of sand to find the Chocobo forest, but apparently that's just me...
This is the "welcome drink". This seems to be popular at a lot of places, tours, hotels, messages etc. Really though, it just taste like tang with raspberry syrup on the bottom.
Our lunch was as I expected, some flashy tourist affair. It was not bad, just not the bun or pho that I have been craving. Even cheap Banh Mi sandwiches would have been better in my book.
(Pic of Ti Top Island to come)
After lunch. we stopped at Ti Top island. This is clearly a tourist destination and you need a ticket to see the island! Not that you can get here anyways without a tour boat, so I am uncertain of why a ticket is even necessary. Oh, and the bamboo seats set out on the beach? 8000 VND/hr/chair. The stone ones are free though.
Our guide led us up these ridiculous stairs to reach the pagoda at the top. Needless to say, we stopped a ton of times and completely lost our tour group. I was able to snap some beautiful photos of the bay. To come when I get home and can actually process and upload said beautiful photos of halong bay.
The view up top was definitely worth the climb, though it was also full of tourists. I couldn't resist having a picture snapped just to document that yes, I made it up top!
We stayed for about 1 hour at this island. It was full of tourists, and some people went to swim in the water, though I could caution against that as the water smelled and there were tons of trash floating by. But as always, sitting on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and smelling the salty flavor of the sea will always be a good experience.
After returning to the boat, we set out on a part of the adventure that I was semi-dreading... Seawater Kayaking! The thought of possibly flipping over and falling into the water was absolutely terrifying. Also, since I have never kayaked before, we were ridiculously slow and lost track of our tour group while in the bay... This led to a mental breakdown on my part where I played Robinson Cruise for the next hour while we wandered around the rocky islands...
Alright, I'll admit it... I was actually having fun. It was also fun to pretend that we are adrift at sea without food or water.... :P
The sun was also setting at this time, though it was difficult to see through the clouds, but it was beautiful.
There were these caves at the side of the islands that may or may not be entered, though I certainly did not see any person entering. Lots of boats kayaking near it though.
(Pic of floating houses to come)
There were also these floating houses that one can consider calling village. We did not receive any explanation from our guide, but I suspect these houses belongs to the ladies who go around to the different cruise boats to sell snacks, water, drinks and alcohol. I did not see any signs of fishing activity, therefore my suspicion is that these sprung up due to tourism.
By the time we have returned to our ship, it was close to being dark. I must emphasize one thing though, it appears that all the cruise ships just sails to the area next to Ti Top island, and then just settle there until the next morning when they all depart to return to the harbor. The actual ship only travels from the harbor to this area and back. So my pictures are really mostly of the other cruise ships rather than any beautiful bay scenes as we barely moved anywhere.
The cruise ships in the distance, all settled for the night.
Pardon the not so artistic picture. This was the cooking class, aka "here are some stuff and why don't you DIY your own spring rolls so you can be preoccupied"... Yep, one line instruction and that's it. Never mind the fact that I used to sell spring rolls with VSA...
I was worried that the DIY spring rolls were going to be our dinner, but thankfully we had another touristy dinner. Once again, the food is decent, but not delicious like bun or pho...
After dinner, there was squid fishing, which really just means throw a sinker into the bay on fishing rod, and hope for the best. No real bait, no additional attraction for squids. I am pretty sure squids are actually quite intelligent creatures and won't fall for a lame trap without any enticing incentives. The squids were clearly insulted, and the men who went fishing just got drunk...
Alright, enough for one day. Part two to come.
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