Day 222: Jam-Packed and Sweaty Day on Ha Long Bay — Tai Chi, Hiking, Kayaking, Visiting a Floating Fishing Village and a Pearl Farm
Today was jam-packed with activities and excursions.
This was the itinerary:
6:30am Tai Chi on the sundeck. Margaret and I participated, guided by the do-everything deckhand. The first of several sweat-through-our-clothes activities on this day.
Here’s a staged pic from after we were finished.
Breakfast of eggs, pancakes, fresh juice, fruit and yogurt.
Climb Ti-Top Island. We took the little excursion boat over to a very touristy island. This is about a 20-minute hike up steep stairs. The kids complained a bit but I was proud that they both made it up. Nice views from the top. We were all sweating like crazy by the time we got back to the beach level we were rewarded with a swim in the bay.
It felt nice to get wet. The water was warm and…. kinda gross. We had seen a lot of trash in the water since we got on the boat and that turned us off to swimming too long/at all. You just have this feeling that if there are plastic wrappers and bottles everywhere, then who knows what the big boats and nearby factories from Hai Phong are depositing in there. More about the litter in water later.
Kayaking to Luon Cave. We went back home had a quick snack and then got back on the excursion boat for a short ride to the kayak rental dock. We grabbed three kayaks — Willa and I in one and James and Margaret in another. We rowed about 10 minutes over to a beach and then walked through a cave to another “secret beach” which was actually filled with tourists.
Plastic on the beach included a thousand bottles and an exact-o knife.
We picked up floating litter on both legs of the trip.
We returned to the big boat for lunch, then did about an hour of school. Willa’s bad attitude about school is driving us nuts so we decided to switch it up and have her work with me. This session wasn’t long enough to tell if it will go any better. More on that in another post.
We took the excursion boat over to a floating fishing village. This was a highlight for us, perhaps because there were no other tourists there.
Jax told us that the floating fishing villages were once tourist destinations but now they’re much quieter. The newer tourists are Chinese and Vietnamese and they “don’t care about seeing this.” They just want to “enjoy their holiday” by seeing the caves, kayaking and shopping for pearls. He said only Americans, Canadians and Australians visit.
We thought it was fascinating. A local woman rowed us around and we learned how they farm fish in cages/holds that are secured beneath their decks and homes. The decks themselves are floating on empty blue barrels that act like pontoons.
The rower actually had a large net and was going out of her way to pick up even the smallest bit of floating trash as we went. Not good for business to have water pollution (both fishing and tourism business).
After returning to the boat we made our last trip of the day, once again taking the excursion boat, this time over to a pearl farm.
Jax handed us off to one of the women guides / salespeople in full length red dresses. One walked us through how pearls are made and how they are farmed.
As far as educational-slash-shopping excursions go, this one was actually pretty interesting. We actually saw them shuck an oyster, cut open the meat and pull out a pearl. Whoa!
We didn’t realize the Mikimoto wasn’t just a pearl designer but also the guy who pioneered the whole concept of cultured pearls. The science behind it is actually fascinating.
We didn’t buy anything except a couple draft beers at the end. Jax offered ice cream to the kids despite it being an hour before dinner — and there was no stopping that train. He’ll learn when he has his own kids!
We were all happy to be back on the boat for the evening. Margaret and I showered up — my 4th of the day! I took a cold rinse after every excursion.
We then took G&Ts to the sundeck and enjoyed the sunset while the kids were entertained by Jax down in the main cabin.
It’s a beautiful landscape, and we were on a private boat — but we weren’t alone. From where I was sitting I could see 24 other big cruise boats. This is obviously a really popular place but when I asked Jax why we wouldn’t sail out further or away from other boats he explained that there are regulations for each boat. If you have a Ha Long Bay cruise boat, you have to stay in Ha Long Bay.
But wait, there’s more! The activities weren’t done yet! At 6:30 we learned how to make “fresh” spring rolls (vs fried), rolling julienned cucumber and carrots, rice noodle and shrimp in rice paper and dipping in fish sauce. An easy activity and tasty appetizer.
We learned a lesson from last night’s dinner: the kids were served pasta at 6:30 while Margaret and I stayed on the deck. Then we let them watch a few shows as we enjoyed a civilized dinner with multiple courses, way too much food. We finished the bottle of white wine we started last night.
Ok so now you definitely thought the day’s activities were done, right? Nope. After dinner we went squid fishing!
This was much less involved than it sounds. You hang a big bright light on the edge of the boat, pointed at the water. We had two bamboo rods with lewars on the end that we dropped in the water, hoping that some go-getter early bird squid would think it was day time and chomp on our hook. No such luck. We only spent about 15 minutes and we didn’t catch any squid. But if you stare at the water for long enough around here you’ll see a whole bunch of trash float by.
Trash in the Water
We’ve spent a day and a half on the Bay and we’ve had a really nice time. We’ve been treated like royalty. Jax is awesome. The food is thoughtfully prepared (but far from amazing). The kids don’t want to leave in the morning.
But unfortunately our lasting memory of this place will be the number of tourists and amount of litter in the water — the former leading to the latter of course.
We asked Jax about the trash, and he was openly disappointed in it as well. He felt that it was a combination of 1) the Chinese and Vietnamese masses of tourists who openly litter and 2) a lack of regulation from the Vietnamese government.
He said he regularly sees Chinese and Vietnamese children in particular throwing their popsicle wrappers and drink bottles on the ground out here, and when he asks the parents to fix it, the parents tell him to relax, that it’s not that big of a deal.
Painful to hear that considering just how many Chinese tourists there are flooding the world’s destinations, and how many more are yet to come. Governments have to step in and regulate. Reminded us of totally-trashed Jordan.
My guess is that fewer and fewer Westerners will want to visit this area. Our understanding is that similar areas nearby are far less congested and swimming is still allowed. Perhaps more regulated? Or it’s just a matter of time till they’re ruined too? If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, I would definitely suggest heading off the beaten path to find one of these other parts of the Bay.
Jax
Can’t end this post on a rant. It was a fun and memorable day — many thanks to Jax, our host / server / handler / butler / all-around utility guy on the boat. He works really hard and has had a positive attitude every minute since we met him. The kids are obsessed — sorta reminds me of love for Ganzo in Mongolia.
Jax is only 25, four months into his job, single and admitted he’s lonely and wants a girlfriend. He joked that he’s already found out that all of the beautiful women working at the pearl farm are taken!
Margaret had a fun idea… we met this adorable waitress at a restaurant our last night in Hanoi. We messaged her on Instagram in hopes of making a Vietnamese love connection. We were already making plans to come back for the wedding… and then she responded.
Damn! OK then.
If you know any nice ladies in Vietnam let us know!
