Ha Long Bay: Part 3

At breakfast the next morning, everyone was surprised and happy to see Sami back in the fold looking healthy and ready to eat something other than bread. I, on the other hand, assumed the role of the sickly one after a night of beer, scotch and boatrock. I don't remember any of this, but Sami informed me that between one of my frequent puke trips, I belched in her direction. She kindly asked if I would turn the other way to do that and I threw a fit. It was not one of my finer moments.

After breakfast Tor, Becky, Sami and I said goodbye to our shipmates and boarded a ferry bound for Cat Ba Island. The rest of the travelers only signed up for the overnight tour whereas we were there for three days, two nights. During the additional time we would bike Cat Ba National Park, kayak around the bay and explore the town of Cat Ba.

Cat Ba Island is famous as the home of the Cat Ba Langur, an endangered monkey. There are only around 100 Cat Ba Langurs alive today and when I asked our guide if there was a possibility that we would see one of the primates during our ride, he said no chance- not because of the scarcity of the animal, but rather for the unfortunate truth that if one was spotted, it would be immediately killed by the villagers who would feast on its brains. The villagers' equal opportunity diet soon became the major theme of the day.  We once stopped to tour a home littered with scurrying puppies, kittens, baby chicks and piglets. It could have been a picture out of a nursery rhyme, but the guide told us that everything moving was raised to be slaughtered and eaten.

Dogs and cats that will be food.

 Being showed around the village was an experience we will never forget, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were intruding. The villagers did not seem bothered however, and unlike in Korea, the locals did not gawk at our bizarre Caucasian profiles. There was a small, impromptu morning market taking place outside of one of the houses and everyone scrambled for the days' fresh catches without giving us the least bit of notice.

Catch of the Day

 The villagers undoubtedly appreciate the tourism dollars that roll in which were used to build a school and hospital which we later toured. Our guide did tell us one story of corruption, where the village chief skimmed money off of a project to build a city hall. The city hall remains only half completed in the middle of the village and may stay that way for some time.

The bike riding itself was, for me, the most enjoyable part of our Ha Long Bay cruise. We have gone on a few bicycle tours in our travels the past two years, and each one has been worth it. It is a great way to get a feel for the culture and habitat of a new country. I didn't once forget that I was in Vietnam when we were biking through dirt roads and rice paddies surrounded by green and sharply angled mountains.

After our ride we headed back to the ferry where a nicely set table waited for us. We feasted on what we now came to recognize as the standard tourist meal- shrimp in their shells, whole fish with cucumber and carrots, and rice. There was one new addition that we all clamored for- simple peanuts fried with sugar. Great snack.

Next we kayaked around the bay. Sami wasn't too keen to kayaking and she informed me that I would be doing the majority of the rowing. As a result, we did not cover much ground. It was a surreal experience being out on the water alone. Other than Tor and Becky, we may have been the only tourists out. Just the night before, hundreds of party boats were out on the water. Apparently, the overnight trip is more popular than the longer tour, but all four of us agree that the three day, two night is the way to go. If we would have left after one night we would not have felt like we got our money's worth.

Ready to take off

Tor and Becky a little too close to that rock

We finished off the day in the tourist town of Cat Ba. First, we checked in to out hotel which, after compared to our economic cabins back on the ship, felt like the W. Marble floors and a bed that didn't quite break your back. After that we walked down to experience the market, all the while dodging begging would-be drivers.

The market was dark and crowded and, since we had arrived late in the afternoon, stunk of spoiling fruit and fish. On the way Tor and I spotted squished rats and cockroaches, but this did not deter us from seeking out the dragonfruit that had evaded me earlier in the vacation. I finally found a stand on the way out and bought one for what was probably a quarter or fifty cents. I had our vendor carve it up for us, and I was surprised at how soft and waxy the skin of the spiky looking fruit was. She cut it into fourths and gave it to me in a plastic bag. This is one of my big pet peeves. Everywhere we go, people want to give you plastic bags. They don't every decompose and I just know whenever I get one that it is going to end up in some whale's blowhole.

We walked outside and ate the fruit which is pink on the outside with white flesh and hundreds of tiny white seeds. We decided that it had the taste and texture of a kiwi. We ate over the dead rat and wondered why it was spared by the locals. Could it be that much worse than monkey brains?