Halong Bay

From Sa Pa back to Hanoi we splashed out and took the funky 'wooden train'. Or more realistically, the normal train that had some wood panelled cabins. Once in Hanoi we again made straight for Handspan Tours and went through the now obligatory bargaining to get ourselves a reduced price for a tour to Halong Bay. It couldn't have worked out better if we'd tried. Because we were wanting to go within the hour they put us on a huge Chinese style 'Junk' by ourselves.
Just the four of us on this highly posh boat with two members of crew for each one of us. It was brilliant. We felt like lords & ladies of the sea. The boat itself was something straight out an Agatha Christie novel, all dark wood and rattan seats. The crew served up an impressive lunch while we gulped down glasses of chilled white wine and sat on the roof marvelling at our luck and gaping in wonder at the truly mesmerising karsts that sit like silent sentinels in the perfectly still blue water. I can safely say that it was one of the true highlights of our trip.







En route we stopped at a cave, (a popular tourist stop), which we all entered a little begrudgingly as we wanted to spend as much time as possible on the boat. We soon changed our minds however once we'd entered the monstrous cavern illuminated by coloured lights. It was vast. There's a real humbling sense of scale that washes over you when cnfronted by such huge natural things like this. You feel so tiny and insignificant. This cave had lain undiscovered for an eternity, how many more like it exist beneath our feet. It looked for all the World like a set from a 'James Bond' film or 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth'. I half expected to see Doug Maclure being chased around by a highly unconvincing giant lizard, or stage hands wheeling fake boulders or complicated bits of machinery back and forth. We've become so used to seeing these vistas in films through CGI or constructed as sets by highly talented designers but it's only when you see them first hand and created completely naturally that you really pause to draw breath.



Back on the boat we decided to dress for dinner, (naked dining is always so off putting), and crack open another bottle of white. This turned into another, then another and then another as we buggered about teaching Huong, (our guide), the finer points of cheating at 'UNO'.
The following day we left our big boat behind and headed off on a smaller vessel to try a spot of kayaking. Sophie & Simon had one up on us as they had given it a go in New Zealand so they were raraing to go. Beth & I were nervous, (it's not exactly something we were desperate to try), and just a little hesitant when it came to actually getting in the kayak, (especially given Beth's unswerving ability to fall into water at any given moment), but once we got going we had a whale of a time. There were a few gripes along the lines of, "Why aren't you paddling Ben?", "No. Left then right Beth. Left THEN right.", "Steer Ben, there's a huge boat coming!", but after a brief stop to re-adjust my position and fiddle about with the rudder we cracked it and stormed off into the afternoon. We kayaked through the most beautifully peaceful and still waters looking at the coral and azure blue fish just beneath us. We popped into small bays under archways worn away by the sea and we paddled leisurely through floating villages whilst dogs barked at us. It was great. We wanted to do it more but sadly our day came to an abrupt close.
Unfortunately that night we weren't able to stay on the boat and ended up at a rather huge and utterly souless hotel on Cat-Ba Island. It really was plop. Nice rooms and everything but after the majesty of our own private boat...
Dinner again was good as was the decider in our 'UNO' championship but it was rather sad to think that it was our last night with Sophie & Simon. They had another two days kayaking planned whilst we had to head back to Hanoi for our onward trip to Hong Kong.
They joined us for brekkie the following morning and we said our goodbyes. Beth & I had our wonderful boat all to ourselves on the way back, we felt like Lord & Lady Bumrush to quote a friend, but it fely strangely empty without our travel buddies.