Halong Bay: The Movie

Hello again, my lovelies!  Greetings from Halong Bay (even though I am writing this on the train from Sapa to Hanoi on my way to Hue—in other words, between my 4^th and 5^th blog posts)!

Disclaimer: We actually went to Bai Tu Long Bay, which is just to the north of Halong Bay.  More on that below.

First, some (benevolent dictator of fun) facts about Halong Bay/Bai Tu Long Bay:  Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay are both located off the northern coast of Vietnam, both are offshoots of the Gulf of Tonkin.  In the map below, only Halong Bay has been identified.  Bai Tu Long Bay is just to the east and a tad north of Halong Bay.

If you were awake in history class, the Gulf of Tonkin may sound familiar to you because events that happened there in 1964 paved the way for the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War.  If you weren’t awake in history class, the Gulf of Tonkin may still sound familiar to you because of its world-renowned yacht club.

     

Both Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay are known for their sweeping seascapes of towering, craggy limestone rocks, called karsts, which can be big or small and number in the thousands. 

  

“Ha Long” means “dragon descending” and “Bai Tu Long” means “little dragon descending.”  (Isn’t that also the name of an Ang Lee movie? #rimshot)  According to legend, the bays formed when a dragon plunged into the sea, whipping its tail from side to side in a frenzy that carved the region into the archipelago that it is today.  (Archipelago: noun, a group of islands located in close proximity to one another.)  According to science, the karsts of Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay formed 230 to 280 million years ago, as rainwater and the ocean’s rising and falling tides eroded the landscape.      

Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay are home to numerous fisherman, who live in fishing villages in floating houses.  We visited one such village, Vung Vieng (population: 178), where the fisherman fish for snapper, grouper, and shrimp.  After catching the fish, the fisherman keep them alive, letting them grow larger for several months before selling them at the market.  #businesssavvy #yourehired

According to our research, it seemed that an overnight trip would allow us enough time to get away from all the other boats and really enjoy the views.  We had also read that a smaller boat was better since it could go to places that the larger cruise ships could not.  This lead us to Indochina Junk, a cruise operator, and the Dragon's Pearl, our junk.  (Junk: noun, an ancient Chinese sailing ship still in use today.)  Here are some pictures of our junk and of our captain, who likes to sail barefoot:

Indochina Junk only does tours of Bai Tu Long Bay and it is also the only operator allowed to cruise through Bai Tu Long Bay.  This is probably because they pay a lot of money to the government in return for permission to operate there.  #moneytalks However, it seems that they are also doing a lot to help the bay and its inhabitants.  #walkthewalk For example, Indochina Junk founded For A Green Halong Bay in 2007, a project that provides jobs to residents, as well as promotes environmental issues in Halong Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. #youscratchmyback #illscratchyours #winwin

Whereas Halong Bay is crowded with boats and tourists, Bai Tu Long Bay is virtually empty of tourists!  Other than the fishing boats, the only other boats we saw were the other Indochina Junk boats, and we never saw more than two at a time.  I know this sounds cheesy (#cheeselover) but I really felt like we were in a fantasy world of blue skies, jade green waters and craggy towering rocks.  I’m talking movie-quality stuff here.  #castaway2  #returntothebluelagoonagain #thebeach…towel

I really think we lucked out by choosing Indochina Junk.  #unsolicitedplug 

Consider:

Now imagine all of the pictures above with an ugly cruise ship in the foreground.  #ew  Thanks, Indochina Junk. 

To add to the fantastical nature of the seascape, we met several interesting people—and by “interesting,” I actually mean “inspiration for a romantic comedy.”  Since the Dragon’s Pearl only has 11 cabins, there were 19 guests.  And since we were all together for 3 days, we got to know some people.

Potential Oscar Winner Screenplay 1: Steve and Alison

Steve and Alison are from London.  They have been married for 38 years and have one son, James, who is 22 and works for PricewaterhouseCoopers (#nerdalert).  Steve is a tall Englishman, slightly bumbling, who works in IT.  Alison is a short, Malaysian-born Chinese woman, slightly shrewish but was probably sassy in her youth.  (Working title:  Pretty Woman 2.)  Steve and Alison met when Alison, a nurse, was taking care of Steve’s grandfather, who was in the hospital.  (Working title: Tender Loving Care.)  Steve witnessed Alison chew out a youth, over a foot taller than her, for blaring his stereo in the ward while patients were sleeping and he (Steve) was smitten.  (Working title: Tender Loving Sass.)  He later overheard her talking to the other nurses about moving flats that weekend and offered his services.  (Working title: Moving You is Loving You.)  They were engaged three months later and married two months after that.  (Working title:  Loving You is Throwing Out Our Calendars OR Three Months is A Drop in the Eternity Bucket.) 

There are a lot more things I could tell you about Steve and Alison.  They were definitely characters and probably the most interesting people on the boat.  Perhaps in a sequel another blog post.

Potential Oscar Winner Screenplay 2: Debbie and Loris

Debbie and Loris are from Belgium, though they are originally from Italy.  They are sister and brother.  (Working title: National Lampoon’s Vietnamese Vacation.)  Debbie is a designer of…unfortunately, I didn’t catch this part, let’s just say espresso machines, and Loris works for Volvo.  (Working title: 9 to 5 2-1/2.)  Debbie recently quit her espresso machine design job, Loris collects vintage cars and abhors Starbucks.  (Working title:  Trust Fund Jetsetters.)  ALL LIES.  (Working title: True Lies Redux.)  Christine and I are pretty convinced that Loris and Debbie (if those are even their real names) are a prince and princess posing as commoners trying to find a wife and husband, respectively.  (Working title: Coming to Vietnam.)  There was another gentleman on board that was definitely their bodyguard.  Ok, maybe he was a valet/tour guide/crew-member-that-took-a-special-interest-in-them.  I think the bodyguard had a crush on Debbie.  (Working title: The Other Bodyguard.)  Also, I think Christine had a crush on Loris (read: plot twist).  (Working title: Win A Date With Loris Hamilton.)