Riina set her alarm incorrectly by accident and we woke at 4:58, her taxi was to arrive at 5am. Neither of us got much sleep that night. She was ready in a snap though and off within 10 minutes. I tried to go back to sleep for 1,5 hours but could not manage to fall asleep again. Instead I watched some news from the TV and learned of a tropical storm on the coast of China moving towards Japan. The tour transportation picked me up from my hotel a bit earlier than agreed - at 7:20 only to be taken to some office to wait for another 45 minutes. At least they had internet there so I could check my mail and post an entry.
Finally the correct bus arrived. After about an hour of driving we all new each other and there were lively discussions going on, there was about 15 people in the bus, great bunch of people. Next to me sat a guy doing his doctorate in physics, he was studying light and was explaining in great detail and in enough simple turns of what it means to study light and how the studies could evolve and change the world in the future. We also touched the subject of nano computers - really great talk :) He had a dream to start a company that would specialize in research and also deliver enhanced technological products at some point. He dreamt of a revolutionizing the world through light - what a great dream.
Once we arrived to Halong City I was guided to join another group and then yet another. On top of all this my new tour guide almost forgot me at the port, I caught in on the last moment, before he was to step on a boat and reminded of myself. I ended up being on a boat with a bunch of unhappy tourists, most of them being Asian and talking in a language I did not comprehend. I was sad to be separated from the first group :( But anyhoo, the environment made all the problems disappear :D
The boat we boarded was a 3 level river boat with cabins on the bottom level, dining area on the middle level and top level for open platform with beach chairs and benches. First we had lunch, this was right after leaving the harbour. Then we were simply cruising around in Halong Bay. Travel guide talks about Halong Bay as pure art that can not be described in words - that is exactly how it is. Locals say that the islands are dragons turned into stone and are there to protect the country from invaders - apparently a bit different than what the travel guide says :D There are more than 3000 small islands or huge cliffs/rocks rising out of green-blue waters - it is gorgeous. At some point there were many boat cruising by us but after a while we were all by ourselves between those silent high rocks sticking out of the water. The day was beautiful and there was slight breeze to make it all even more enjoyable. I found myself thinking: "so that is what paradise looks like". I closed my thoughts and just stared at the beauty around me. There was sun, the islands, water, slight breeze and the boat engine silently humming on the background - just absolute bliss.
After about 45 minutes we stopped at a Sung Sot cave. This cave was discovered just recently - 1993. By now it is all set and ready for tourists - all lit up and walkways prepared. Cave was impressive though :) After looking around a bit back to the boats we went.
First night was to be spent on the boat so it was stopped between some islands around 5pm. Then we got to take a ride on kayaks for a while. We kayaked through a cave and entered into what seemed like a big lake, but was really part of the sea but surrounded with rocks all around us - we were in the middle of an island with the kayak :D So time for a swim, there was a BUT though - there are jellyfish everywhere :( There are 2 types of them - the big ones and small ones with long tail type things. Big ones are not that dangerous as their stinging is very mild. The small ones are dangerous though - their sting hurts really bad and the rash stays for at least a week :( So I hesitated about jumping in the water. Our guide said that he'd look our for the jellys as they are always on top of the water and he'd let me know where can I move. So I just did a small circle around the kayaks. Oh the water was warm, really really warm, like a bath water. It was strange and unusual for me as it did not bring any relief from the heat.
We got back with the kayaks just in time as it was starting to get dark outside. To get lost between those islands was nothing we were willing to do :) Dinner was served around 7pm and afterwards I just laid on the upper deck and studied the skies with a full moon and stars - it was beautiful. I felt so tired. Lack of sleep was getting to me. So I just went and got my sleeping bag and decided to spend the night on the upper deck :) That was great! Sleeping under the stars, between those beautiful islands, on a rocking river boat - what else can a soul hope for?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment