Golden Week: Vietnam! Ha Long Bay

Jonathan and I kept telling ourselves that we would one day come back to Vietnam to see Ha Long Bay, which is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful natural landmarks in south east Asia.  It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and despite conservation efforts it's an insanely popular tourist spot. The bay features thousands of limestone isles which are being beautifully eroded by the emerald waters of the Bay. The best, and really only way to experience the Bay is to take a cruise, and most commonly you sleep at least one night on the Bay.  Before we arrived we had already decided that this was not in the cards for us because of our kids, who would surely fling themselves off the boat, etc.

However, after our food tour, we were enlivened with a spirit of adventure that was previously dampened by failure fantasies about our kids being stricken ill or dyeing as a result of some terrible unanticipated danger in Vietnam.  We decided to throw caution to the wind, convinced ourselves that we wouldn't let our kids drown, and booked an overnight cruise around the Bay on a private boat staffed by a captain, a tour guide, and a cook. Woa!  I know what you are thinking...looks like caution wasn't the only thing they threw to the wind, but it was so, so cheap.  Seriously, if you can get to Vietnam on frequent flier miles or convince someone to buy your airfare, it's exactly the kind of place that traveling on a budget doesn't get you necessarily treated like a queen, but something like one.

After a two hour van ride, we jumped on some kind of express speedboat shuttle, which may be better described as a death trap on the open sea.  It was old, and looked like it had been repaired any number of times, but never by a professional. It was packed full, like sardine can packed. Since we were late getting on the boat, Jonathan didn't get a seat so they pulled out a folding chair for him to use.  Exits were blocked, obviously.  People were sweaty.  It was basically the stuff of my nightmares.  But I wore a smile, you know, for the kids.

I thought the ride would never end.  The water was choppy.  The boat was fast, like really fast. Uncomfortably, dangerously fast.  I was hot.  I had a child crawling all over me.  And I was seasick.  But just when I thought I was going to "lose my lunch," it was over!  The relief was so elating that when I look back it's not with horror but with pride that I made it through without having an all out anxiety attack/barfing. We arrived at Cat Ba, a little island off the coast of Vietnam where we would meet our cruise boat.

While most of the tour boats leave from a different town on the mainland, we left from a little island in the Bay.  Our tour company makes it a point to go off the beaten path and away from the party boats so we could experience the majesty of the Bay without the cheers of party cruises echoing in our ears.

The Bay was wondrous.  The experience was really just so wonderful for our family.  Our chef made delicious home cooked meals with fish from the bay.  We kayaked.  Visited floating villages.  Swam to secluded beaches.  Watched the sunset over the water and counted the stars as they slowly filled the night sky.  We slept to the gentle rock of the Bay's calm waters.  Woke to the sunrise and watched flocks of gorgeous stork birds fly through the morning rays. Mostly amazingly, our kids didn't drown.

Although we had to ride the crazy speed boat of death on the way home, the experience was worth it.  Jonathan painted a picture of the Bay for Sawyer and we hung it in his room.  We know Sawyer probably won't remember the Bay, but he'll probably always remember the captain letting him steer the boat.  I'll always remember Jonathan dropping brave little Lyla off the boat into my arms so I could take her to a little secluded beach a short swim away to collect sea shells.

Yay for adventures!

Here are the pictures: