Cruising Zen-like Ha Long Bay after touring hectic Hanoi is like switching the radio from heavy metal to classical. The pulse slows, the mind relaxes, and space expands.
On the way to the bay – it’s around two-and-a-half-hours from Hanoi – we stopped at a pearl farm for a fascinating demonstration of how cultured pearls are produced. With surgical skill, young women pried open the oysters and inserted a small round ball of nacre (hence the name “mother of pearl”) into the ovary.
Other women opened pearl-containing oysters and sorted the pearls into those of jewelry quality and inferior ones, which are ground up for use in cosmetics. A large, adjacent showroom helped several of our party lighten their wallets.
Ha Long Bay – the name means Descending Dragon, an apt description for the chains of steep triangular islands dotting the water – is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Though strewn with sightseeing boats, the Bay radiates stillness and peace.
We enjoyed an overnight sojourn on the Orchid II, a vessel with a warmly attentive crew and spacious accommodations. Ha Long Bay is a visual feast. In serried ranks, the islands’ jagged backbones vanish into the mist. Shadows seem to dive into the placid, emerald-green water. At night, the lights from boats sparkle and dance.
The largest island in the bay, Cát Bà (the name means “island of women”), contains a large national park and a beautiful cave, Ðông Trung Trang. Reaching the cave requires a climb of 150 steps, but the climb isn’t particularly steep and there are handrails along each flight.
(In contrast, the descent of roughly 40 steps has no handrails and was a bit slippery.) The inside is well-lit and generally spacious, though there are a few passages where even my vertically-challenged self had to duck-walk uncomfortably for ten meters or so.
The path through the cave extends around 300 meters, meandering past fantastical stalactites and stalagmites. If you’re on a bay cruise it’s worth seeing, but there are similar caves around the world, so don’t expect anything unique.
Aboard the ship we enjoyed several decent meals, and the alcohol flowed freely, if not always without charge. The chef gave a spring roll-making demonstration, and passengers could enjoy kayaking, early morning tai chi (quite enjoyable and relaxing), and nighttime squid fishing.
Orchid gave us a memorable experience. If you’re interested in visiting Ha Long Bay, I’d encourage you to contact them.
Our flight to Ho Chi Minh City departed from Haiphong Airport, around an hour from Ha Long Bay. Haiphong isn’t a particularly striking city; much of it was destroyed during the Vietnam War, so French colonial buildings aren’t nearly so common as in Hanoi. (I have clear memories of watching Walter Cronkite gravely delivering news of the bombing of Haiphong harbor.) Nonetheless, Haiphong does have its attractions, including a long boulevard with a park in the middle and a flower market.
Our journey to the north of Vietnam is now over. We landed in Ho Chi Minh City around dinnertime and were bused through dense Sunday-night rush hour traffic – Ho Chi Minh City has three rush hours each day, seven days a week – to our hotel, The Reverie. I’ll have more to say about this so-far-over-the-top-you-don’t-even-remember-where-the-top-is establishment in my next post.
PuffinlessTravel 