It’s a Hard Knock Life
The wake up call comes pretty early this morning, so much so that I contemplate ordering a coffee at breakfast (and I never drink coffee). While this is mostly because I am having trouble keeping my eyelids open, I have also read that the Vietnamese make a mean coffee. I manage to make it through without though, and am even on time for our bus pick up. Unable to think of many things better than being in a van full of people I don’t know, I am looking forward to the next four and a half hours.
It is the slow season right now at Halong Bay, but even so, the harbor is full of boats, all built to look like Chinese junks. We know that none of the people we rode up with are on our boat, but we are very surprised when we board to find out that we are the only passengers. In seems the travel gods are one again out to spite me, as this will only make it more difficult in the future to get Ang on a regular boat.
The White Dolphin is about 80 feet long, with a crew of 5. 
They say that the boat is new, but in practice I think that just means some new cabins built on an old hull. Either way, it is still pretty luxe accommodation for what we paid (about $120 each for two days, four meals, transportation, and entry to the two islands we will stop off on). The room is air conditioned, with its own bathroom (not that it really matters in retrospect since there is no one else here), hot water shower and two-person jacuzzi tub. It’s as over the top as anything we have experienced (total boondoggle), and its hard not to reflect a bit on just how lucky we are in life.
We have lunch (a five course affair) on the way to our first stop, which is a huge cave carved out of one of the limestone islands that populate the bay 
(the thousands of small islands are what Halong Bay is famous for and the scenery is unlike anything we have ever seen). The air in the harbor is pretty smoggy, but gets clearer the further we get into the bay. Even so, visibility is never great, and we feel like we are missing some of the experience that you would get on a clear day. We have taken dozens of pictures, knowing that when we get home and look through them we’ll wonder why since they won’t possibly do them justice.
The cave is fairly interesting, in large part because it is so massive. There are all kinds of stalactites and stalagmites, which have been enhanced with the placement of different colored spotlights (it sounds pretty cheesy, but in practice seems to work). The guide points out all kinds of formations they have named for things they resemble like dragons and buddhas, and this adds a bit of extra flavor, but the experience would be just just as impressive without them.
We make a second stop on a nearby island where you can climb to the top for a view that on a clear day would be spectacular. It’s still pretty good today so another dozen or so photos get added to the collection. Afterwards, the boat sets anchor and we swim around a bit in the ocean while the cook prepares dinner (six courses this time, with much of the food bought fresh from the armada of small rowboats circling the bay selling all manner of things).
As night falls, the sea gets very calm and we can see the lights of all the nearby boats. It is a very relaxing setting, and its hard not to just melt into a deck chair and watch the world go by.