It's Been a Long Time Since Binalong Bay

Our next adventure was a whirlwind day trip to the famous Ha Long Bay.  Our pictures can't really do this place justice.  

We started later than one might expect with a bus to the bay (about two hours) and then an immediate sit down lunch while out boat floated out into the bay making its way through the craggy rock eruptions that make the bay so scenic.  If I had to describe it through comparison (which is difficult) I would say it was like Milford Sound in NZ meeting the 12 Apostles in Victoria and yet bigger, wider and probably formed by completely different geological factors. Kat also found it similar to El Nido in the Philippines.

Ha Long Bay's craggy rocks

At this point, I surely must explain the odd title of this post.  Any time on this trip that we say "it's been a long time since...", we end up saying "It's been a long time since Binalong Bay" a place we visited when riding down the east coast of Tasmania.  That trip of course, was where we found the name for our blog, "Dolphin Sands Road!".  In this case, because Kat had been to Ha Long Bay before, I was asking "it's been a long time since you were here, what's changed?"  She didn't think a great deal was different, though she had remembered the dock being more hectic. Rather than a day-trip, last time Kat spent overnight on Cat Ba island. Though this gives you a bit more time to explore (Kat did a fun hike whilst there), we found Halong Bay was certainly was 'achievable' as a long day trip.

Dennis & Kat awaiting lunch

Our lunch companions were two Chinese salesmen, who introduced themselves as Dennis and Andy and we had a very pleasant time trying to determine what it was we were eating and whether or not all the food had finished coming out.  It transpired that they were actually from Guangzhou, our next major destination - however their only advice was that there was nothing to do there for adult tourists!

In between the scenes of "Chicken Rock" and another formation which makes for the image on some of the Vietnamese currency, we escaped the boat for a kayak through the arches of some of the limestone formations and was surprised to find a peaceful lagoon-like area with waist deep water and silence but for the occasional thump of inexperienced kayakers running into one another.

Rob showing how to sit in a
Vietnamese sized kayak
while his pants get wet

At mid-afternoon, we came to giant caves that have only been recently discovered and opened up to tourism.  Apparently, some fisherman were seeking cover from a storm, and followed a monkey into the cave (yet another Monkey Magic story!) and it was only once inside that they realised just how big they were.  While you could hardly say that they are in their natural state, the lighting and paths and garbage bins probably improve the experience because of the sheer numbers of visitors that file through.  I'm not sure I can remember an experience like it.  Those with an active imagination could spend hours discovering crocodiles, tigers, elephants, dragons and other animalisations of the rock. Kat was somewhat displeased by our guide's propensity to fix on only one animal for each rock. She felt it was a bit more subjective than that!

The return trip was lovely, if a little stressful, as we needed to be back to take our overnight train to Sa Pa. I enjoyed sitting on the roof (when I was allowed up there) watching the scenes go by, contemplating how long these formations had been here without people to explore them, all the while completing the essential task of trying to dry out my only pair of pants.

My imagination leads me to believe that this is an evil
tooth monster who couldn't afford to go to the dentist