PART 1: THREE THOUSAND SUPERLATIVES

14-15 July 2013. Days 15 & 16 of 17. 
Quevo, Uong Bhi, Bai Tho, Cailan (Port), Tuan Chou (Junk), Halong Bay, Sung Sot (Caves), Titop (Beach) & Ha Noi VIETNAM. 
Overnight on the Tuan Chou Junk (boat) & in Ha Noi. 

It is true what they say - if you haven't been to Halong Bay then you haven't been to Vietnam. The first time you lay eyes on the jagged pointy limestone peaks (or "karsts") jutting out all over a smooth green sea, you know you are in an exotic special place. There are 3,000 such peaks and islands spread out over an area of 1,500 square kilometers at the top north eastern corner of Vietnam on the border with China. You would swear that each peak is its own shape, unique, almost like a personality. More on these superlatives of beauty and exotica in a minute...

The journey from Ha Noi to the port of Bai Tho near China was 170km and almost 3.5hrs on the mini-bus. We had the mandatory "happy house" toilet break in the small town of Quevo at a huge tourist trap workshop making arts and crafts and selling huge marble statues and jewellery. The encouraging thing about this workshop and many others in the area is the employment of young adults still affected mentally or physically by Agent Orange.

Uong Bhi town is particularly interesting - it is famous for its cats and dogs retaurants - we stopped outside one for a photo but unfortunately it was closed for lunch! We arrived at the port of Cailan around noon and were quickly ferried by launch to our 30-room "junk" or wooden boat. It is called a junk since it "looks like" the traditional twin sail vessels but the ones used nowadays are diesel hotel rooms with aircon and their own showers. There is a fully equipped kitchen and dining room. All our rooms had great views of the peaks. There are 625 junks in the bay and only 250 are allowed out at any one time with a limit of 62 mooring overnight in any one spot. Unfortunately this is too much. There were way too many boats moured near us taking away from the almost mystical nature of the great peaks.

Sailing in Halong Bay is a very recent thing - the first day-trip boat went out in 1991 and the first overnight boat went out in 2005. Tourism in the Halong Bay area is now booming and still growing with Russians and Chinese as the standout number one visitors by a long shot. Geographically, the 3,000 granite peaks of Halong Bay are an eroded extension of the Tonkinese Alps of the north into the Gulf of Tonkin. They are very similar in look to the islands of Phang Nga near Phuket in Thailand where James Bond was filmed. Only 25 are inhabited and a total of 10,000 locals live in the area and survive on fishing and oyster farming. They live on wood and corrigated iron shelters on top of floating barges anchored close to the bottom faces of the larger peaks. Cat Ba is by far the biggest island (15 by 10km) and is a national park of endangered white-headed monkeys (Vooc), lush forest and mountains for rock climbing.

We enjoyed an amazing seafood lunch on our 2hr cruise to our mouring point - fresh prawns, pipis with lemongrass and chilli, soft shell crab, BBQ calamari and a whole baked "Xku" or gropper fish, cooked with a myriad of herbs and presented vertically. We were stuffed. All the food we had on the boat came from Halong Bay.There were another 10 people on our junk visiting from Russia. After a short break it was off on the launch to a big nearby cave system (Sung Sot) that formed naturally inside one of the larger limestone peaks.

There were a total of 393 steps and 2km of path through the caves, taking us 45min. There were lots of stalagmites but not many stalagtites and many shapes. The central chamber was huge. By the time we emerged we looked like we had gone for a swim - we were soaked with sweat. No wonder since the cave was packed with tourists, some stinking to high heaven! It was a relief to be back on the launch with breeze in our face. After a quick change on the boat it was back on the launch for the short shuttle to Titop beach. This was the number 1 disappointment of Halong Bay. It was extremely overcrowded and diesel slicks graced the water because of the sheer number of launches coming in and out. We told our guide and included in our written review the suggestion that many more beaches need to be found, the boat mouring spread out over a much much wider area and diesel engines upgraded to prevent spills. 

We decided to leave the beach immediately and head back to the junk where 4 kayaks were organised for us. The other disappointment of Halong Bay is the prohibition of swimming from the moored boats. Given the lack of clean beaches, how is someone meant to enjoy a top notch swim? That is the key reason we hired the kayaks to enable us to paddle off to a secluded, clean place and swim on our own!

It worked. I headed out on my own because I wanted to swim 2km around one of the island peaks. I paddled for 30min and landed my kayak on rocks at my chosen island. My 2km swim was simply unreal. Warm, calm, low-salt, 27C water and simply spectacular cliff walls dripping with green lush vegetation. It was finally great to be all alone in such an exotic place. Last time I swam alone like this was around Pipi Lai Island off the coast of Phuket in Thailand in 2008.

It was an adrenalin rush not knowing if I could make it back to the kayak since I really did not know how big the island was but being the "gooba" that I am, I was determined to swim AROUND one of these 3,000 amazing peaks. To my relief it was slightly smaller so I overshot to make up the 2km.

At this point it was 30min from sunset and i was keen to get back to the boat to film it. The dying light was another exciting feature of swimming and paddling alone. Once again it is your wits against nature and it is a great feeling being "one" with all of it without machines, other people or help. Sunset from the boat was terrific. Too much cloud but nevertheless enjoyable.

The other kayaks also arrived just before last light and most of our kids thought that it was the best activity they did on the trip. Dinner was another huge seafood feast with fresh crab, baked mackeral and even beef noodles. Probably the most relaxing and awe inspiring moment of our trip came just 15min after dinner as we sipped on wine and nibbled on olives and nuts on banana chairs on the top deck of our junk under a crescent moon. The night was still warm and muggy so the wine was quickly consumed to the distant sounds of cacophonic kareoke on neighbouring boats.

We were perched against the edge of the junk pack so enjoyed views of several huge peaks next to us bathed in the moonlight. I completed this awesome day and the rest of my red wine by watching a couple of episodes of the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I cannot remember falling asleep but I certainly remember waking up to the sound of thunder and pouring rain outside my cabin windows. The rain made no difference since we planned to get wet again from 6am on the kayaks before lifting anchor at 9am to head back to Ha Noi. Kayaking in pouring rain with thunder overhead and alone is something to experience. I loved it. I decided to paddle to more islands rather than one for another 2km swim.

Good choice since I discovered a tunnel through one of the peaks leading to a lagoon on the other side. Along the way I did land the kayak and went for a 500m swim to experience the sensation of swimming through pouring rain - exhilarating. I got back just in time since I could not easily see our junk amongst many others through the pouring rain. We set off at 9am and lunch was early at 10:30am - not so big this time - fish and chips and a chicken stew served with green swash. Our journey to the port was swift and the rain had stopped. The bus trip seemed to take for ever.

This time we enjoyed a strong Vietnamese coffee at our half-way stop and it was about 4:30pm when we pulled in to our favourite Ha Noi hotel - this place was now like a home away from home. We had a relaxing afternoon wining and blogging Halong before setting off to our favourite

"beer garden" style eatery surrounded by kitchens. We celebrated our last night in Ha Noi and sadly the last night of "Boo-Dah Indochina 2013 - Part 1" with papaya salad with SPARROW,  Ha Noi pancakes (very thin rice paper), salt & pepper beef, seafood noodles and plenty of beer. Bundy, G1 and G2 then enjoyed the rest of our wine stash with cheese, salami and olives in our hotel room to the riveting movie "Prometheus" on cable. What a way to end the day.