Happy New Year, Ha Long Bay!

For New Year's we headed north to Ha Long Bay.

I had been worried about not booking the tour before we arrived in Vietnam, but the hostel we stayed in doubled as a travel agency, and was able to easily book tickets for us once we got there.

We checked out early on the morning of the 31st, had breakfast at the hostel, and were picked up by our tour guide, along with a few other people going on the same trip. As is traditional in Southeast Asia, we were left mostly in the dark regarding the details of our journey. After leaving the hostel, we were dropped off in a parking lot along the highway in front of a bank, and the next thing I knew, our guide and the van had disappeared. We discovered about 30 minutes later when he came back that he had gone to pick up another group of people, and then he left to get more.

Finally, after at least an hour, our bus pulled up, and we were able to board. I was relieved that it was actually a bus, because in Cambodia and Thailand when you book a "bus", you generally end up with some sort of van jam-packed with people.

Every time we asked how long the bus ride would be, we got different answers. The hostel told us 2 1/2 hours, the internet told us 3, the guide told us 3 1/2 until we hit traffic, and then he told us 4. It did eventually end up taking around 4 hours to arrive, but we had stopped along the way at a big warehouse full of junky souvenirs for about 30 minutes. It was annoying being taken to a place like that, but at least it was a place to stretch, and the people there didn't bother us to buy stuff too much.

Shuttle boat

When we arrived, we were taken to a small shuttle boat that took us out into the Bay where our actual boat was anchored. I was a bit disappointed, because the weather didn't seem to be cooperating- the sky was overcast and the Bay was quite hazy. However, I was happy to finally be there, and I crossed my fingers that once we were out cruising around I'd be able to see everything.

Our boat in the background.

We boarded the boat and everybody gathered in the dining room for a sort of introduction. Afterwards, we got our room keys and went to our rooms to put our stuff away and get settled before lunch. At lunch, James and I were seated with a really nice South African couple and a girl from Sweden we had met at the hostel. As we ate, we watched rocky islands appear through the mist and get closer and closer.

The picture-taking marathon had begun.

For every photo you see, there are at least 10 more on my camera, and countless ones I talked myself out of taking. 

Every few minutes, someone would lean out the window, snap a picture, eat some more lunch, out the window, another picture, more food, and so on for the rest of the trip, basically. Even though visibility wasn't ideal, everything was beautiful and I wanted to capture every minute of it.

Our major stop for the day was at Sung Sot, or Surprising (also translated as "Amazing") Cave. We got off the boat and walked up a long, steep flight of stairs to entrance to the cave. As expected, it was quite amazing and/or surprising.

View from the entrance of the cave.

Some monkeys! The only reason I saw them was because there
were some dogs standing on the walkway below them barking like crazy. 

So, as part of my visit to the cave, I feel the need to tell you a story that may border on TMI, but I feel is essential to rounding out the tale of my visit to Vietnam:

While in the cave, I had to go to the bathroom. We were at the top of a mountain, and inside a cave, and there were no dark corners or bushes to go behind. And the cave went on forever. and ever. and ever. It was huge, and there was this path we had to follow that wound around and just generally took its time, and of course I wanted to take pictures and actually enjoy myself since I had really wanted to see this cave for such a long time, and by the time we got out of there, I had to GO.

We finally reached the exit to the cave, and filed into the line headed down the stairs. Down, down, down, it was a long way down. At last, I saw the sign that was a beacon of hope. "Restrooms this way", it said. I got to the bottom and ran inside.

And then I stopped.

Two toilets, with no partitions and no toilet paper, in a room with no door next to a sink that didn't work.

"Oh, dear God, no."

Just then, I noticed a stall in the corner. Thank goodness, I thought.

Too soon.

I walked in, closed the door, used my foot to prop a trashcan against the door since it was broken and there was no lock, and made general preparations for use of the facilities. As a last minute thought, I tested the flush button.

Nothing.

"Nooooooooooooo!  Why?! WhyWhyWhyWhyWHYYY?!?!"

I kicked aside the trashcan and ran outside to James and asked him to check the men's room to see if it was any better (I was desperate), and he informed me that I really did not want to know what he saw in there. I thought frantically about my options. At this point, I was doing the potty dance and had no choice.

"Can you stand guard?" I asked him.
"Can I what?"
"Just... don't let anybody come in!"
"What do I do if a woman tries to get in?"
"Tell her 'no'!" And I ran back in the women's room, leaving James standing awkwardly at the non-door.

I looked at the free-standing toilets in the middle of the room, gathered my last bit of courage, crossed my fingers that no one would come in, and prayed that James and I would eventually be able to forget about this particular moment in our relationship.

Luckily, living in Japan has taught me to carry tissues at all times, and I was able to at least dodge the no-toilet-paper bullet. The one redeeming moment in that entire experience. The rest of the moments were just straight out of one of those nightmares where you show up at school and realize you forgot to put clothes on. I'm so happy I come from a country where toilets don't need to be squatted over (lookin' at you, Japan) and are generally contained in private stalls.

I emerged shell-shocked and thoroughly traumatized, and headed back to the shuttle boat, which took us to a small dock where we could rent a kayak for about an hour before we had to go back to the big boat for dinner. Out of everyone in our group, only James and I and one other couple opted for kayaking. We were so happy we did, because aside from it being a nice way to forget the events of the past few minutes, it was just really, really, really, really pretty and relaxing. We were allowed to paddle anywhere, as long as we were close enough to come back in time, and we went around all the little islands in our vicinity, of course stopping to take pictures every minute or so.

Cool vegetable arrangement from dinner.

We got back to the boat and had some time to kill before dinner, during which there was free wine. Yum. After dinner, we started the wait for midnight. They tried to do karaoke, but no one was really interested, and once it got dark, there was squid fishing, which is just as exciting as it sounds. We did have some minor excitement because we could see the squid circling the boat, but we could never actually get one. We even tried baiting them with bits of cracker and some beer, but to no avail. We did have fun catching the moths that were attracted to the light and then accidentally got stuck in the water.

Squid fishing! Look excited!

Midnight finally arrived, and we all had one last toast and took some pictures to memorialize the moment, and then, like the old people we are, everyone headed off to bed. To be fair, we had to get up early the next morning, so we had an excuse.

Dusk on Ha Long Bay

I debated about putting this one on my blog. I mean, it's just plain awful. But it's my 2011/2012 picture at midnight, and it was so dark that I opened my eyes wide so I could see, but then the flash went off, and then the picture turned out awful. But happy new year. 

Our boat-riding friends.

The next day, we had to clear out of our rooms. After breakfast, those who were continuing on the 2-night tour were moved to another boat, while those of us who only booked the 1-night headed back to shore. It was a short trip, and I would have loved to stay longer, but I was really happy that I at least got to see everything. The fact that it was overcast the whole time just gives me an excuse to go back when it's sunny.