Saturday 15 October 2011

Ha Long bay

SereneOn the second day of our three days two night trip. We woke up to a nice breakfast inside since it was pouring rain outside. After breakfast we visited a floating fishing village at Cao Dam. This village of 170 or so people fish for a living and each house cost around USD10,000. IndoChina Junk sponsor and teach them about tourism which is a nice touch. The village was established about 17 years ago and there are traders that come and bring in the necessary daily items.


For lunch, we had a beach BBQ.  The weather cleared and we headed toward a remote beach.  The crew took the small boat and went to set up ahead of time with tables, chairs and sun umbrella and came back to pick us up.  After dropping us off, they said they will be back in about 1 hour or so to make lunch.  We were left  to enjoy the beach and swim in the bay which was very clam.  After the storm, there was some washed up leaves and rubbish that washed in or else it would have been even more perfect
.

I think the people are learning that throwing things overboard or even at the floating villages will damage the reputation of this nice site so things are getting better with education since a large part of the economy is dependent on tourism so its a win win for everyone.

The weather improved and we went kayaking In the late afternoon after a nice nap on the sun deck. While kayaking we passed some fishing boats and stopped by bought some crab and squid to add to our dinner menu. I usually don't go shopping but my friends told me the prices we paid was very cheap compared to China. We spend a total of $40 USD and got 13 crabs and 1 large squid. At dinner, the crew prepared our food plus what they had already arranged Vietnamese hotpot. There is no better way to spend a day on the water.

We were a total of 5 with a crew of 5 plus a guide so its more than a 1:1 ratio.  Not bad huh?  The service on the boat was excellent and I am so glad we decided to charter vs taking a larger boat.

No comments:

Post a Comment