I don’t know where the term Junk boat came from, but that didn’t stop me from boarding one to cruise Halong Bay for three glorious days( a'Junk boat' is a type of Chinese sail boat).
I’ve never been on a cruise, mainly based on a fear of being trapped in sub-standard living conditions, so booking this cruise took a big leap of faith. As it turns out, cruising is the best way to see the nearly 2,000 islands in this bay. And, despite my worry the boat is beautiful and in the traditional Chinese style..all shiny wood and bamboo; the food is decent and we’ve met some really interesting people on board. We have a tiny veranda outside our room in case we want the sea breeze blowing through our hair and a giant window in front of the bed for those lazy times when you want Mother Nature delivered to you.
Mother Nature took a fashionista approach to Halong Bay. The jade green waters of the bay perfectly set off the islands/rock formations made of dark limestone. Covered with lush vegetation, the islands are home to some birds and the golden-haired lemur monkey. Sadly, we didn’t have any monkey sightings. We did crawl through caves and kayak through natural stone archways that lead to hidden lagoons. All very beautiful until you look closely at the water which seems to have a fair-share of pollutants.
I’m loving life at sea. In case I decide to stay I’ll be in good company. There are over 100 families who live full-time in floating villages (house boats) and over 1,000 boats where people live part-time. The houses are built atop Styrofoam to make them sea-worthy (or in this case, bay-worthy).
The families in the floating villages make their living by fishing. Though life on the sea still seems to be fairly hard, the introduction of motor boats and free-range farm fishing has made life a bit easier. Many houseboats have large netted cages under their houseboats where fish are raised and then sold at market. I’m not keen on eating farmed fish anyways, but when I considered the proximity of the fish cages and the likely output of sewage from the floating villages I was downright convinced to stick with the tofu. I was even happier with my vegetarian selection when one of the staff from the boat asked if I had ever tried dog meat. He said it tastes really good, better than chicken.
Here are some pictures of the caves. The stalactite sparkled (I think due to the salt water) and the ceiling looked to be covered in diamonds (it was really just drips of water). An enchanting effect that alas my camera could not capture.
Also pictured are Terence and Serene our fabulous new friends from Singapore whom we met on the ship. Terence has an enviable collection of camera lenses and Serene wowed me with her wedding photos (her dad AND her dogs walked her down the aisle). You can see why we are excited to visit them in Singapore on our way home.
Comments [0]