Hello from Halong Bay!
Trip Start
Dec 04, 2007
1
31
56
Trip End
Feb 26, 2008
Where I stayed
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Sunday, January 13, 2008
We arrived at the very busy harbor at Hai phong to see a large number of ships coming and going. This place must really move people in the high season. We were midweek and the weather, unfortunately, had gotten worse. Overcast skies and cold temps limited our stay outside the cabin the first night on the water. I would recommend this trip to any coming to Vietnam. The scenery is fabulous. The ship was clean and the food was great. The best thing about the cruise was the great bunch of fellow travelers who were also aboard. We met folks from Sweden, France, Germany, and Australia. We chatted about each others trips. Some were on long term adventures, others were taking a 3 - 5 week break from their jobs elsewhere.
The scenery here is specacular. The limestone pillars rise straight up from the sea. The ancient Viet people believed the rock formations were the work of a great dragon. It is great to sit topside and watch the formations move past.
We visited a cave on one of the islands, a fishing village that also functioned as a fish farm, and went sea kayaking through some natural tunnels in the rock outcrops. After the first night, the weather warmed a little, we disembarked on Cat Ba Island. While Barbara and the rest of the group climbed up a mountain peak on Cat Ba, I rented a motorcycle and drove like a demon for two hours to see as much of this beautiful Island as I could before the group climbed down from the mountaintop. I drove from one end of the island to the other, through villages, and farmland, over mountains and along the coast. The road was full of hills and curves. Goats, puppies, chickens and cows were regular obstacles. I had a ball before re connecting with the group.
After w checked into the hotel, we visited an island which had monkeys. There was a sign that said, "Take care with the monkeys, They may bite you.". We were on the island for two hours while some of us kayaked the bay and others swam or just hung out. Another group of tourists appeared and were wandering around the area and trying to photograph these animals. The group had walked up under a bunch of trees near where the monkey' s were hanging out. Sure enough, a monkey dropped from above and landed on a young woman's head and began scratching and screaming at her hair. While the young woman began screaming as well, and trying to remove the beast, another monkey came at her from below. It ran up to her in an instant, and bit her on the lower rear calf. There were two definite puncture wounds from the canine teeth and the skin was pulled together in the center of the wound which was the size of a silver dollar. There were numerous scratches as well. During the attack, which took place in a matter of seconds, her boyfriend pushed her out from under the trees and out onto the beach. The entire squad of tourists came flying out from under the trees in a heartbeat. They applied some cleanser, and a bandage to the wounds. I suggested she consider a quick to Hanoi (nearly impossible from here) to visit the hospital and consider the rabies series. She said she would be in Bangkok in three days, I thought that would not be quick enough.
I had unwittingly been back there in that area earlier looking for a place to urinate. The signs I saw there were all in Vietnamese, so I had not seen them. Good thing I choose to relieve myself around the back of an old abandoned building!
We spent the night at a nice hotel. I wondered how many tourists had been bitten by these animals. This could not have been the first, yet the tour companies keep touting "Monkey Island, Come see monkey Island!" The next morning we cruised back across the bay of islands to Haiphong, then were bused it back to Hanoi.
I'd recommend the trip to Ha long Bay to anyone coming to Vietnam. If you had more time, I think staying in Cat Ba town and renting cycles would be spectacular.
Comments
pictures
Tom,
These pics were great. I especially like the one of the sailboats surrounded by the beautiful rock formations. Don't read the brevity of my comments to your postings as a lack of interest on my part. I know its better to keep them short and sweet. We can discuss things when you return.
Don