Halong Bay World Heritage Site

In case you were wondering if this type of Immersive Experience disallows some “usual” aspects of traveling, like stopping at those Tourist Traps disguised as Bathroom Breaks…… you would happily be mistaken!

            The caveat is that we only stop at the really good (expensive!) ones!

            Take our trip to Ha Long Bay for example. Ha Long Bay is situated northeast of Hanoi, just past Hai Phong (Yes, that Haiphong, the one we used to pummel because it is such an important harbor). On our way there, located in a setting that was chosen specifically for its strategic location of BPB (Bladder Point Breaking) we found a service that we were happy to support. Inside this spotless facility we observed an organization that works with some folks over here that have many, and varied, disabilities. This is an Artist’s Colony of a different color, one that helps house those that don’t have homes to begin with, then training ensues, and when the new artist is ready, they start making these incredibly beautiful and detailed silk “paintings”. Upstairs here is a very nice restaurant, obviously catering to larger groups, but anyone can drop by either upstairs or down. The artists are of varying degrees of expertise, and their works are priced accordingly, with the amount of time to complete each one listed on the back along with other pertinent info. Luckily this type of purchase is easily transported as rolling up a fabric entity is rather easy to do!

                        Our destination was arrived at about two hours later, the seaside town of Tuan Chau. This town is the epitome of something that is very observable around here and that is the varying state(s) of construction and neglect that can be found sitting side by each, enough times to warrant a why….. boom and bust occupy the same block, with economics obviously the key factors here. One would think that a project would get finished before another one started but not here! I guess that having some government intervention in these projects is not helping their situation.

When we arrived here, we greeted by an empty harbor/marina as all of the other boats (which, we as yet, did not know that they existed) had already departed for the same location that would be ours, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay. This archipelago is located directly off of the coast here and can be reached in under an hour, even in a plodding-along type “junk” that would be our overnight home here. The etymology of the word “junk” is long, Portuguese, and has absolutely nothing to do with the seaworthiness of said vessel!

                        One of the things that O.A.T. does well is source places to stay that appeal to us Westerners. Let’s face it….. while we love getting to see and interact and meet with all sorts of people, we are not interested in finding various stages of clean facilities either to take a shower in or sleep for the night. I can speak for many of us, and I know for a fact that if we wanted to have a “questionable hostel” experience then we would, but we don’t!  So, having an organization that has decades of experience honed by thousands of opinions and comments from their clients, well…. that just helps to make the future travels that much more of what we are looking for. This was evidenced by the boat that was ours for the day/night. The size was perfect, just enough staterooms for a group our size, which made it private. The bathrooms on board were three times the size of what we’ve found on Cruises, and the talented Staff was versed in all of the duties that they needed to switch hats for, from basic seaman to chef/mechanic, to Cabin Steward and navigator.

                        I do have to admit that the varying stages of inclement weather has started to affect us. Some nice bright blue skies would be the perfect tonic, but that elixir will have to wait because it won’t happen on this voyage. We were surrounded by murky mist which looks kind of interesting as these monothetic shapes materialize out of the distance, but it does not come close to what we could have experienced if the weather had been nicer!

                        Now for what you’ve all been waiting for…. This trips edition of Tectonic Effects We Have Known… aka, Oh No! Not that again!

No worries, this one’s easy!

                                    Critters Croak.

                                    Fall to the bottom.

                                    Solidify.

                                    Make limestone.

                                    Water levels rise and fall.

                                    Erode.

                                    Humans come in the future to gawk at the results!

            Now, that wasn’t so bad now was it? 😊

I will need to resort to my pinch-hitting ally, the Internet, in order to supply you with what this place looks like normally, but you will still get the mysteriously inviting pics that represent what we experienced also.

Back in port the next day at noon and then off to head to the airport and the central Vietnam city of Hue where more adventures await! Don’t forget to check in and get your Boarding Pass as the next few days promise better weather down there!