Instinctively or intentionally, the giant creature known as the 'creator of all things' strewed countless poppy and sunflower seeds over a bowl of water. With a puzzled look on their faces, his guests wondered if these were meant for the hot bread served on the table. Before someone could raise a question, dozens of graceful belly dancers entered the room bringing free-flowing wine, and soon the purpose of the poppy and sunflower seeds was forgotten. Over time—like thousands of years later—the scattered seeds evolved into thousands of limestone karsts spread over more than 1,500 square kilometers of Ha Long Bay.
Ha Long Bay: from the Pages of NatGeo to Real Life
I first saw images of Ha Long Bay in the pages of National Geographic magazines and later, on countless travel books and documentaries. I also got wind about its UNESCO World Heritage Site distinction some time back. Just a few years prior, I still saw Vietnam as a world beyond reach for myself. Because at that time, I strongly felt the need to explore the Philippines first before I set out to see other places abroad. Still, I made a mental list of spots I wanted to see in the near future. And yes, this included seeing Ha Long Bay outside of the fine prints of a glossy magazine page.
Fast forward to December of the previous year, I found myself in the cold streets of Hanoi shivering in temperatures hovering around eight to ten degrees Celsius. It was so cold I had to wear two layers of cool t-shirts I bought just before I left and a thick jacket. A few friends told me that winter was not the best time to see Ha Long Bay. The thick fog enveloping the bay during the first minutes of our sail along the bay proved their advice to be right on the money. However, there was that scintillating feeling of being chilled by the cold wind as I stared at the many distant limestone karsts.
The Winter Junk Boat Experience
One of my 'junk' mates, a Canadian who seemed to notice my uneasiness at the cold, told me, "I traveled halfway around the world to escape from the cold, didn't know it was this cold here." He followed it up with an assurance that it did not hold a candle to the coldest day he experienced in Canada. "I remember I was at school when the coldest day on Earth happened; it was negative forty degrees." While I doubted his 'coldest day' claim, I was glad I did not live in that part of the Earth.
Our junk boat might have looked like beaten crap dating back to the Vietnam War on the outside, but inside it was elegantly designed with dark brown wooden interiors and fine Victorian chairs and tables, all complementing simple Oriental architecture. Since I was the only one not forming a couple (there was a Spanish couple, an English couple, a Malaysian couple—whom the Western travelers kept referring to as "the Chinese couple"—and a gay couple from Canada and Denmark), I was assigned to a twin cabin room by myself.
The room was surprisingly not as tiny as I had expected. It had two single beds separated by a small table and a cramped-up shower room with hot water. The package I got for that Ha Long Bay tour cost around $72.00 and was prepared by my Vietnamese friend Hoang, who worked at a Sihn Cafe Tourist branch. I knew one might say that it was a bit expensive for a two-day shindig. But considering the place, all the meals, the tour guide fee, the bus transfer from Hanoi and back, and the overnight accommodation aboard the iconic 'junk boats' of Ha Long, I found the tour fee just and fair.
Scaling Titov Island
Our tour guide, whose name I forgot but I would address there as Nguyen, was very friendly and spoke better English than I did. When he found out that I was going to Sapa next, he showed me images from the internet of the snow that had fallen on Sapa the day before. "You're lucky you are going there with snow right now." As our junk boat sailed a line toward the inner congregation of crowded limestone karsts, we stopped at Titov Island to climb hundreds of steps to a view deck that afforded us a magnificent scenery of Ha Long Bay.
A kick-ass 360-degree scenery that reminded me of the Matinloc Shrine in El Nido greeted my huffing and puffing self at the top. Winter or not, I figured there was not a day that visiting Halong Bay was a bad idea. I was reminded of those moments when I just read and saw Ha Long Bay on television and in magazines. At that moment, I finally tore the photographs of that place out of my memory and replaced them with moving images, complete with the sensation of the stinging cold.
The Caverns of Dau Go
Our last stopover was an incursion inside Dau Go Cave, and during the night we played card games and exchanged travel stories. Being one of the most well-traveled persons in my clan, my travel experiences paled in comparison to my 'junk' mates'. I listened intently, absorbing inspirations from their tales of being on the road. As we bade each other goodnight, half-drunk courtesy of the free wine offered to us by our tour guide Nguyen, we toasted and celebrated with wide smiles on our faces. Heading back to my cabin, I felt extra gratitude for the good karma that gave me the chance to see Ha Long Bay up close.
