Yay for relaxation! A couple days ago we boarded a minibus and were crammed in as tightly as the clothes in my backpack. The 4 hour drive was about as comfortable as some of the beds we've had to endure out here, but Halong Bay is amazing so it was totally worth it! Halong Bay is a picturesque part of Vietnam that boasts beautiful rock formations and islands. It is simply gorgeous and peaceful.
We boarded a boat that exceeded our expectations. I mean, we expect little here in the form of accommodations and bathrooms and even food. Spending a night on a boat was a sketchy prospect, but it's all in the name of experience, right?
The boat was so nice I almost expected Captain Jack Sparrow himself to greet us. There were about 15 of us whities- from Aussies to South Africans to fellow Canadians-- and we settled in on top of the boat very easily and lazed in the sun, read, talked, laughed, and shared travel horror stories (they were all enamoured with our "Road Trip from Hell" story). I have to admit that it was nice to connect with some people who were fluent in English and shared our culture. Lunch was delicious (Vietnamese know how to do Spring Rolls best, hand's down) and we got off at one point to trek through a cave, which was cool. The rest of the evening was spent eating, laughing, drinking local beer, and playing cards with our new friends, all on the boat. I must have been distracted by the doctor and lawyer I was playing cards with, both of whom were young and cute, because I lost. Hmph.
The rooms on the boat were great by Vietnamese standards, and I slept like I was dead. All in all, it was a great mix of fun and relaxation. (So mom, let your fears that I am not relaxing enough be alleviated!)
The next day they boated us to Cat Ba island for more relaxation and scenery. They organized a little "trek" as they called it, through the jungles. We determined it was what we would call a hike. It was lovely walking past banana trees with ripening bunches of bananas and mandarin orange trees.
But when we started to "trek"...good grief! It was more like mountain climbing! Up and up we went, steeper and steeper. In our parts of the world, you would have had to sign a disclaimer. You would have had to sworn near perfect health and not been permitted to go if you were 5lbs overweight, pregnant, or if your great great grandmother had a weak heart condition that could be deemed hereditary.
No such warnings in Asia! Just grab onto a bamboo tree and hoist yourself up over the steep rocks.
We arrived at the peak and the view was glorious. The "trek" was definitely worth it. There was this old dilapitated rusty apparatus that had stairs and stairs leading to a squeaky platform about a hundred feet up. The best part is that there was a sign at the bottom that warned, "5 persons only." The back of this sign said, "20 people only." Our tour guide said we should stick with the 5. "Or 6, or maybe 7," he added after the briefest of pauses. We climbed this danger mine and marvelled at the view and how rusty it was and obviously survived to talk about it.
Today was a lazy day again- a boat ride back to Halong Bay and another crammed bus ride back to Hanoi where I've concluded that near death experiences are now just a way of life when walking through this city.
Tonight we take an overnight train to Sapa. Travelling overnight is efficient- you preserve a day and don't need accommodations for the night. But the trade-off is steep: a poor night of sleep. If only getting from point A to B was not such a challenge for us humans!
But once again, we're still having a wonderful time, still getting along marvelously, and creating fantastic memories and meeting wonderful people whom we will probably never see again.
It's hard to believe my time away is more than 1/2 over.
5 comments:
Once again, there is always something that you write about that makes me lol. This time it was the sign that said max 5 on one side, and max 20 on the other. And then I got to thinking how max 5 Asians, is quite different than 5 white people who look like giants beside the little Asians (eg. the first pic posted on today's blog - you girls and the little Asian woman). I realize that she is probably standing on the lowest slope, but the difference in size is still comical. Now I totally understand your stories of how the Asians stare at you. Maybe in American we are just too safety conscious, but I think that in Asia, they don't value life too much when I hear your stories. After reading some of your stories, I said to Lynae, as she was holding Hayden in her arms, "Now do you understand how a mom kinda worries a wee bit?", to which she replied, that this definitely puts a new understanding to a mother's worries. Please be careful. I truly think that some of the things you have been doing, sound a bit dangerous- especially your treks through the mountains on motorbikes in the pitch dark. Love you lots and miss you all, but especially you, Denise and Meaghan. I am starting to mentally gear up for yet another Christmas without you here. It's a good thing that we had such a memorable Christmas 2 years ago - funny how I still hang on to that.
I love that first pic with that hats! And what beautiful scenery! What a gorgeous place. You guys look great-very relaxed and sun-kissed.
The picture of the little islands in the water reminded me of Phi Phi Island. I wish I was there! Love you guys and miss you!
Nice picture of you girls. Makes you dad proud.
love Dad
Okay, first things first here....the sign you read probably should have been translated to, "20 small Asian people" or "5 large Dutch people." It's very mathematical. I think Blaise Pascal figured out the equation. 20 Asians = 5 Dutch people. It's a law of nature, like gravity and drinking draino. Both will kill you. I'm glad you survived that rusty trellis of death! Can't wait to see you home in one peice.
P.S. I looked at that picture again Janet and Meaghan and Dana are actually standing on the same level as that woman. The dutch people are truly giants to them. Even our North American midgets would be bigger! I'm telling you all ( and mark my words...someday ) if I could send a terminator back in history to wreek havoc, it would be to get him to send the Dutch/ Vikings to Asia. They would have taken over the world and kicked ass! It would have been like playing the game Risk with your cat. They would have steam rolled over everything!
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