Life in a movie: Halong Bay

There are a few places in this world that I have been that are so unbelievable that all personal and rational thought seems to freeze and everything exists in an unbelievable state of aw.  Zurmatt Switzerland, Morano Glacier Argentina, and the Grand Canyon are a few that jump to mind for me personally.  I add Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island to that list.  This was one of the places I was most looking forward to seeing before this trip and it didn't disappoint in the slightest.

In trying to keep our tours to a minimum we decided to book our transportation to Cat Ba Town only and plan everything else out once we arrived.  Very good idea.  The leeching tour companies around this area seemed particularly shady and up to no good.  We didn't hear anything but bad things from everyone we talked to on the island.  Unfortunately, mom got sick right as we got to Cat Ba island.  Terrible timing but it was definitely one of the more comfortable places we have been to get sick.


What this did mean was I was virtually on my own for the four days we were in Halong Bay.  I decided to try to fill my time with an equal amount of invigorating physical activity and wonderfully mellow beach time.


First on the list was a wonderful fun bike ride across the island and up the coast.  My legs have felt so antsy on this trip, getting tons of work from walking everywhere but never really getting the chance to get opened up.  Getting on a bike felt fantastic.  The landscape was something out of a fairy tale story of a an island jungle.  Rolling hills of green vegetation, massive palms fanning everywhere and oddly enough loads of pine trees mixed in.  The type of scenery that made it hard to pay attention to where you are going.  Always  keeping your head up to watch the world change as you whoosh by.  It was great.  I found that the favorite past time for local children around here is chasing the bikers up the hill as they struggle to peddle.

Another day I rented a sea kayak for three bucks and set out to explore the Halong Bay money maker, the ocean.  Unbelievable seascapes I could never imagine before I saw them.  Things that you only think exist in movies or pictures.  The Karst rocks jutted up from the blue ocean as if the earth was confused what should be there, water or mountain.  Add music and you could have something out of Fantasia.  Fighting with the current I found the act of kayaking a lot harder then I had planned but it did not worry me.  I found myself being visited by random butterflies in the middle of the ocean and I leaned back and smiled.  I am in love with life.

I literally found my own private island!  A patch of sand that was maybe fifty feet long on a little mountain of rock in the ocean.  Not a person in sight.  It was truly mine.  I took the opportunity to practice my free hand labyrinth building techniques!

Halong was a place that defied logic.  As far as I am concerned it could literally be the dictionary picture for geological beauty.  I loved it.

I miss everyone deeply and I hope you are all well.

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To keep things in prospective:
I watched this fisherman for over 40 minutes slowly throwing out a single line and hook into the water and pulling it back in.  We did not seem to catch anything as I watched but never once broke his peaceful rhythm.  He seemed older in years then most and for all the knowledge I have does this every day of his life... Things could be very different.