Gulf of Tonkin, Halong Bay

Matt and I took an overnight trip to Halong Bay on a guided tour. I've never been on a tour bus or a mini-cruise, and that in itself was an anthropological experience. We splurged on the trip and ended up with mostly middle-aged folks from all over the world on a fancy pants tourist boat. Of course, one person from Seattle. From Ballard. Who recognized Matt from the farmer's market. A part-time Shaw Islander. Seriously, you can't get away from these people.

The boats are beautiful junks, made of a reddish wood, maybe cherry? The water has carved into the limestone and made many of the rocks look like animals, people, figures, and has carved out caves. It was formed with a dragon who lived into the mountains gouged into the earth on his way to the ocean, along with some geological processes no one seemed to care much about. We went kayaking in the evening on the calm bay, very much reminded me of the San Juans except for the monkeys.

Highlight of the trip for me was our visit to a floating fishing village this morning. Families live in floating houses and fish and sell to the tourists who come for the day. Dogs and cats and kids running around the docks, a solar panel for electricity, fish swimming around in nets that are attached to the docks.

Back to Hanoi now, I will miss this city. It's beautiful at night with lights all over for the New Year. Time to head to the overnight train to get to Hoi An.