Officially day one of our G Adventures tour of Vietnam, first thing after breakfast, we boarded our 20+ seat bus and set off for Ha Long Bay, the start of our intended overnight junk boat cruise. If you don't visit Ha Long Bay, have you really been to North Vietnam?
As a precaution, I took some diarrhoea tablets in the morning, you know, just in case. I didn't have a clue what was coming. Quick stop at a roadside supermarket that sells everything and had clean western style toilets.
After a 3+ hour drive took us to the coastal town of Ha Long where we boarded a small boat that would ultimately take us to a larger one wee minutes away. This 3 floor vessel with a restaurant and about 10 double rooms with en-suite was going to be our accommodation for the next two days. I shared a twin room with John with our own ensuite on the bottom floor, with a port hole about a meter from the water surface.
We headed out for about 2 hrs among the rocky islands that the bay is known for, heading south out of Ha Long Bay we dropped the anchor and then boarded our little satellite boat.
10 mins to a rocky island nearby gave us the opportunity to climb 400 steps for a spectacular view of the bay. The steps were uneven, randomly spaces and it was incredibly humid. Afterwards there was the opportunity to swim in a net protected beach.
We then returned to base and after lunch started our afternoon activity, kayaking. A completely different experience to kayaking in Montenegro, where waves and strong winds made the activity harder, this time we paddled in a small lake accessible by cave, protected by winds by the sharp cliffs all around us, with waters subsequently very calm. There were rumours of monkeys but unfortunately we didn't catch sight of any. 40-odd minutes later and we were back on the boat for dinner.
Photo taken by friend Ashling, because I didn't take any at all! Just corrected the horizon.
That evening, my body descended into chaos. Having eaten some prohibited food I'm guessing, I spent a lot of time I should have been sleeping, removing my insides and vomiting them into the toilet. My face literally exploded all over the bathroom. I recollect a similar experience years ago after eating oyster, and after trying them again I was suspicious it may have been the culprit. Looks like oysters are permanently off the menu. For a few days my face was certainly showing the effects of the food, looking like I had been on the loosing side of a bar fight.
I was determined, after round two in the bathroom, not to let it ruin my holiday. Plus I was stuck on a boat, so what else was I going to do except carry on?
Before the chaos though, I managed to take a number of photos as the sun set, which even on a boat constantly moving came out pretty good.
