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DAY FOUR
Today had promise...escaping the incredible intensity of Hanoi and it's constant chorus of motorbike horns to cruise the world heritage site that is Halong Bay ( seen on Top gear-Vietnam special, where they have to modify their motorbikes into sea faring craft and navigate to a remote floating fishing village).
A luxury mini van arrived to transport Jasmin and i on a 4 hour drive to Halong city. Luxury indeed.... I have never seen so many features on a minivan!
A refrigirator enclosed by a secret suede covered cupboard, a decanta and tumblers, champagne glasses, televisions, air conditioning and leather, bucket seats....the list goes on! The only slight complication to this exuberant minivan luxury, was that there was no liquids to go with the various crystal chalices!
Opening a bottle of high quality h20, i took in the sights as we moved further away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, greeted by endless patty fields and river systems. Somehow Jasmin managed to sleep the whole way through all of this once in a lifetime regal experience- doesn't know what she missed out on! Ha Ha
Arrival at Indochina Junk Headquarters, we were ushered into a sitting room with 18 other unwitting tourists, instructions being excitedly thrown at us.
The group were all unsure of what was being said to us. I don't think the Indochina Junk representatives are aware that not everyone is fluent in Vietnamese....
After some time, we were ushered to the harbour steps, onto a small wooden outboard.. all this in a torrential downpour which potentially may have put a dampener on this much anticpated cruise of Halong Bay.
Stepping foot on the Dragon's Pearl 2, the immediate thoughts were 'SWEEEEEETTT! The boat was shaped in the style of a Junk ( which is a traditional vessel, made of wood, with large oriental sails). The Dragons Pearl 2 was an impressively constructed vessel, all fixtures and fittings finished by highly skilled builders, equipped with a reasnobaly well stocked bar ( 2 U.S Dollars a beer), sunloungers, a restaurant, air conditioning in every room, and possibly the largest shower head in our shower- roughly the size of an adolescent galapagos turtle.
The Dragons Pearl 2 slowly gained momentum on the glassy waters of Halong Bay whilst the sun started to slowly burn through, much to the delight of Jasmin.
Halong Bay is large body of water featuring a constant presence of limestone structures covered in thick plantation.
After checking into our 'Deluxe' double room, we were summoned to lunch. This lastest around 2 hours, and there was twelve courses of what was some of tastiest food that both of us have ever consumed. Delicate pork buns with a vietnamese chilli sauce, spring rolls ( not just any spring rolls- seawood woven into the spring roll crust, with a core of succulent pork having been basted in a combination of ginger, garlic, sweet soy, coriander and vegetables), sweet and sour king prawns and so on.
As we finished consuming this grand tour of northern vietnamese culinery delights, we were advise that in half an hour, the afternoon activities of swimming, kayaking and caving would take place. Could be interesting after 2 hours of eating!
The anchor was dropped 50 meters from a secluded white sand beach, with about 7 other boats. The lead tour operator was very active in telling the group how good his company is and that everything we would see and do, was for Indochina Junk passengers only. What he failed to say is that they have a monopoly on the tours operating in and around Halong Bay!
The water must have been mid twenty degrees- absolulety divine. No swimming yet though- had to go caving first. Now i want those reading this to first imgine what they percieve a vietnamese man looks like, and stereotypically you would come up with Alex tha-toh, our tour guide. Now imagine the words of ' Today, we do the caving, we do the kayaking and the caving ladies and gentlemen please'. Now, say them in your best 'Borat' impersonation, and thats what he sounded like. I am guessing he learnt his english from an Eastern Block European person. What a grand fellow though, loved his job, and full of information that was delivered at the most opportune times- even it did sound like Borat was talking to me!
The afternoon of the caving ( huge natural limestone cave), the kayaking and the swimming was slightly marred by Jasmin's coming together with some underwater and extremely immovable coral. I think it may have hurt, so i was nice Alex and Carol, and refrained from telling her that pain is weakness leaving the body. Two swiss girls offered some spurious ointment ( as i think they didn't read the signs ' Beware of the coral' either, earlier in their travels) which did the trick.
Dinner again consisted of 437 courses, again of an extremely delectable variety of dishes, leaving the 20 onboard feeling for their belts to loosen by a few notches!
Jasmin suggested we take two frosty Halidas ( local beer) to the top deck, and take in the nights atmosphere, expected a few more people may be thinking the similiar.
Evidently, at 8.30 on a saturday night tourists now go to bed! Out of the eighteen others, only two had valid excuses- a couple from San Fransisco who had only flown in the night before and had a severe case of red eye, tried their best, but their bodies just said no! We stayed out witha few tinnies, as to be fair, it wasn't the worst place in the world to drink a beer!
- comments
Graham Mate, awesome! If the coral wound doesn't clear up in "normal" time go see a Dr. as they can leave some naughty bacteria in there. I've got a nasty scare from letting a coral scratch fester for too long. Damn you beautiful coral!
brucie fresh water and some swiss ointment.. good as gold mate!!!!
Carol Bit of ointment - works wonders!