Monkey Island – The Kinetic Canuck

Ha Long – How Beautiful

The first leg of our holiday is coming to an end. At 5:20pm today we fly to Vientiane; the capital of Laos. I must say, I’ve fallen deeply in love with Northern Vietnam. I just finished the best bowl of soup of my life; Chicken Pho to rival grandma’s best noodle soup. The rice noodles are light and delicious, and the fresh lime sits at the top of the soup, too light to sink, and coats every noodle in delicious fresh flavour. Now, I’m ordering my second Vietnamese coffee for the day. Dave pointed out just now that it tastes like Baileys, without the alcohol. He’s right. Motorbikes are zooming past us, and we’re eating on a balcony on some little side street of Hanoi’s old quarter. Life is good.

Halong Bay – History and Modern Uses

Last night we returned from 3 days in Halong Bay. Translated, it means ‘Descending Dragon Bay’, and it’s located in Northern Vietnam, about a 3.5 hour drive from Hanoi City. It’s famous due to its karst limestone landscape, 2000 islands and its many fishing villages.

Historically, Ha Long Bay is significant. People have been living in the area for more than 20,000 years. The bay has also saved Vietnam from Chinese and Mongolian Invasion on more than one occasion. Now, it’s known for its beauty and tourists flock to Northern Vietnam to experience its gorgeous views.

Halong Bay Cruises

The primary way people choose to see the bay is through cruises. There are hundreds of choices to make when taking a Halong Bay cruise, we decided to go with a mid-range, 2 night trip with a night on Cat Ba Island. There are also day trips, 1 night trips and some people choose to spend the night on Monkey Island or other places in the area. 1 night on the boat was enough for me. I don’t know if it was because I was reading Life of Pi, or if the boat noises kept me up, but either way, I didn’t get much sleep during our night on that Vietnamese Junk.

Some of the other boats in the bay

A recently added regulation in the bay forces all boats to be painted white, to lessen the chance of accidents. As a result, some of the individuality of these tours has been lost

Our boat was comfortable enough. We had a comfortable bed and a nice little bathroom to ourselves. The cabin was small, but space isn’t something I expect in Asia, so that was no surprise. We had a fan that worked and an air conditioner that didn’t, and all in all, it was a cool way to spend a night in Halong Bay!

Activities During The Cruise

I feel like we spent all 3 days getting on and off boats for different activities. There were a variety of things to do, including kayaking, exploring a cave, visiting a Pearl farm, visiting Monkey Island and floating past a fishing village. All were interesting in their own way.

The little boat we took to each excursion

Kayaking was probably the most beautiful of all our stops, but the weather made it less enjoyable than it could have been, but still…being on the water was very nice. This activity made me very happy that I still have a water-proof camera 🙂

We visited a huge cave shortly after kayaking as well. It was beautiful and had some pretty spectacular views.

Vietnamese uses the Roman Alphabet. The little symbols above letters indicate tones

Dave and I just outside of the cave

We took this little bridge back to our boat

Day 2 began at a Pearl Farm, where locals have found ways to get oysters making pearls in a sustainable way. It was an educational stop! We learned how pearls are artificially implanted to produce real pearls. This is much better for oyster populations, because before this process was discovered, oysters were found in the wild, opened up and killed just on the off-chance they were carrying pearls.

Oysters are kept in these cage thingys

They are opened up carefully, and 2 things are put inside

This is a piece of donor oyster that helps create the pearl

This is a bead that the pearls will grow around

2 years later, a pearl is ready for harvest!

Monkey Island was our last stop before Cat Ba Island. There’s no surprise regarding what we found there…Dave also went hiking up a steep mountain. He didn’t take any pictures (because, of course he didn’t :p), but he did scrape up his leg on the jagged rocks. Vietnam doesn’t baby its tourists the way Thailand and Cuba does. They let you decide for yourself if you can do something. As a result, Dave saw 60+ year old grandparents hiking up the mountain on his way down.

Cat Ba Island

As I mentioned earlier, our second night of the tour was not spent on a Junk. Instead, we went to one of the only islands in Halong Bay where people live: Cat Ba Island. Cat Ba island is home to about 13,000 residents, and its main purpose is hosting Ha Long Bay tourists.

Docking at Cat Ba Island

It’s a lovely little town

Like everywhere in Vietnam, Motorbikes are the primary means of transportation

As we came into the area, we passed a floating village, home to about 1000 people. These villages are an incredible sight, even when you’ve seen them before. We were able to see a floating village in Cambodia during the dry season. It was very cool seeing one completely afloat!

Fishing villages like this are found all over south east Asia. The most famous ones are Vietnamese

They have everything a normal little town would have; including pets!

Once we checked into our hotel, we rented a motorbike and headed for Cat Ba’s most famous sight: Cat Ba National Park.

The road to the park was stunning

It was about a 30 minute drive, and it was gorgeous the whole way!

Of course, we passed overloaded motorbikes along the way!

The park itself is quite nice. We didn’t see much for wild life, but I made some canine friends! Mostly, we were just happy to be out in the wilderness, enjoying the fresh air and the peace and quiet. The hike up was hard work, but it felt so good to get some good exercise in! I’ve been too busy this year to get to the gym, and my body was definitely not happy with me on the way up, but it was well worth the trip!

The steps were pretty slippery at times. We had to be careful not to fall

A friend of the canine variety

Some random deer we saw fenced in on our way to the mountain

Near the peak we saw this sign. We didn’t go any further because we couldn’t find the way, and when we did finally figure it out, it was time to leave (so we wouldn’t have to drive home in the dark!)

My handsome husband, enjoying the hike!

We stopped at a little shop at the end of the hike and ordered some iced coffees. We figured they’d probably be instant, given the location of the cafe, but this lovely Vietnamese woman made us fabulous Vietnamese iced coffee with fresh grinds and sweetened condensed milk!

We spent the evening walking around and enjoying the town. I think my favourite part of this whole tour was Cat Ba island. I never really feel like I’m on a holiday with Dave until we’ve rented a motorbike! It was also nice not to have a guide following us around. We both enjoyed the freedom to explore the things we were interested in, at the pace we wanted.

One of Cat Ba’s beaches

Dave insisted we take this picture. My helmet hair isn’t as bad as I thought it was!! haha!

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and before long, we were on our way back to Hanoi. We met some very nice people on the way back and it was great chatting with them and hearing their stories. We also learned how to make spring-rolls, which was fun.

Spring Rolls are a traditional Vietnamese food. In the north, they enjoy deep fried spring rolls and in the south, fresh.

This was our guide for the second half of the trip. I kind of hated him…he was always angry!

It was a lovely trip and I’m very glad we made it! Halong bay is definitely a must-see for anyone travelling through south East Asia.

Next, I’ll be writing about our time in Vientiane, Laos! Exciting things are yet to come!!

laothingtodo2 — Photo from vientienbackpackershostel.com

Cheers!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Snorkeling Tours in Thailand (Part 1)

Happy Time-Change for my international friends! All of China is on the same time zone, and there is no time change here, but we are still happy for Day Light Savings to begin, because it means we are one hour closer to our friends and family back home 🙂 It can be difficult arranging Skype calls at a time that is both early enough for us, but not so early that our families need to get out of bed at an ungodly hour. Until today, we were 14 hours ahead of our families back in Manitoba, and that one hour difference means we can go to bed at midnight again, instead of 1am.

A lot of the world doesn't even do the whole Daylight Savings Time 'thing' anymore. — A lot of the world doesn’t even do the whole Daylight Savings Time ‘thing’ anymore.

An old Aboriginal Man said it best: "Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom of the blanket, and then believe that they have a longer blanket" — An old Aboriginal Man said it best:
“Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom of the blanket, and then believe that they have a longer blanket”

There was plenty to celebrate in Guiyang this week as well…Spring Festival officially came to a close with The Lantern Festival last Thursday. This festival was actually the most beautiful celebration I experienced when I lived in Xiamen, but unfortunately, Guiyang does not put on the lantern show that is commonplace on the East Coast. Instead, the citizens of Guiyang set off fire works….for hours!! Our neighborhood was so smoked out by the time they were done, there was a haze in the air that was probably quite unsafe to inhale!!

The fireworks started going off at 7pm and kept going until after midnight — Some fireworks going off near our apartment.

Imagine, if you will, the sort of smoke cloud 5 hours of fireworks will generate... — The show began at 7pm and kept going until well after midnight. Imagine, if you will, the sort of smoke cloud 5 hours of fireworks will generate…

18th Zigong International Lantern Festival — This is what the lantern festival was like in Xiamen. I was very disappointed to discover that Guiyang doesn’t do anything like this.

Things have settled down now, and as Spring Festival came to a close, Spring itself began to creep in. The trees are blooming and the temperature is on the rise. We are less cold at night as well, which is a relief because our good space heater started shooting out sparks and smoke upon our return from Thailand! Luckily, we shouldn’t have to go to bed in layers of clothing for much longer!

The tree outside our old apartment building is blooming.

Speaking of Thailand…

We went on 4 day tours while we were in Phuket, and 3 out of 4 of them were for snorkeling. I’ve been on several tours like this in the Caribbean, but I’d never experienced any in Asia, so some aspects of the tours were surprising to me. I’m going to write about 3 of them now and save our best tour for its own post (because believe me…it deserves its own post!!)

The Phi Phi Islands (The Good)

The Phi Phi Islands are world-known for both their beautiful cliffs and crystal clear water. We booked this trip for our last day in Phuket because it was suppose to be the most beautiful sight to see in that part of the country, and that turned out to be quite true. After a long bus ride to the pier, we were happy to meet our tour guide and set off to our first stop, Maya Bay (where Leonardo Dicaprio’s movie “The Beach” was filmed).

cabbd03c1b4b19330de2cd6953b11d53_3ce9cb7d — Like I said…beautiful place!

After a bumpy ride to the island (that left my back very sore for our trip to Bangkok the next day), we arrived at our destination. Our guide told us we had 50 minutes to explore the island and take pictures and then we would be setting off for Monkey Island. We stepped off of the boat and were greeted with Maya Bay and all its beauty…

There was no beach (or crystal clear water) to enjoy. The entire shore was lined with speed boats and tour guides blowing their whistles, trying to gather their groups back onto their respective boats... — There was no beach (or crystal clear water) to enjoy. The entire shore was lined with speed boats and tour guides blowing their whistles, summoning back the tourists in their groups

Still…I’m not one to waste a photo op, so I set off on a mission. I was determined to get photographs of the island that showed its beauty, because regardless of the fact that its become such a popular tourist destination, it really is a beautiful place. Under all the swimsuits, umbrellas and beach blankets, there is soft white sand and gorgeous mountains surrounding the beach.

I couldn’t get all the heads out of the shot, but I wanted to get a shot of this particular cliff. The colours are just beautiful

There were many areas like this where the ocean had carved away at the cliff, creating little mini caves.

I got this shot in one of those caves. This boat had just docked on the beach across from ours. It’s most likely a private beach, given that it isn’t covered in people

Once back in the boat, we head off to an area where we were supposed to snorkel, but the tide was out and the speedboat couldn’t get into the bay where the snorkeling was good. I settled for getting some more beautiful shots as we cruised around this fabulous area of islands.

The bay where we were suppose to go snorkeling. You can see many speed boats in there already. Ours was too heavy and big to go in with the tide so low

The nicest shot I got (aside from the banana boat photo, which I took at Maya Bay). I just kept taking the picture as we passed this cliff, trying to get one without another boat in it. I think I took about 15 in total, but this is the only one that turned out! I still can’t believe just how many other people there were at the Phi Phi islands that day!

Our next stop was Monkey Beach. I was particularly excited for this portion of our trip, although a little bit nervous. As I mentioned when I first started blogging (back in October), no matter how much I love monkeys, I don’t trust them. Monkeys can be little jerks!!! They’re too smart for their own good and they aren’t afraid of people in Thailand, which makes them dangerous. Still, I couldn’t resist getting off the boat (even after being warned that if we get bitten, rabies shots are a must) and we met this little cute guy, who was eating some peanuts left behind by another tourist.

The monkeys didn’t seem at all concerned that there were nearly a hundred people surrounding them and taking pictures, and they came right up to us, hoping for an easy meal.

This guy was super chill...just hanging out... — This guy was super chill…just hanging out…

Of course, I didn’t exactly leave that island unscathed….

About 2 seconds after taking the picture above, I was still squatting and watching the monkeys, when an adult jumped onto my back for a piggy back ride! All I could think of were the rabies shots, so I very slowly stood up, hoping that straightening my back would discourage him from using me for a free ride around the island. It didn’t….instead, he grabbed onto my hair and used it as a vine to swing from! He eventually jumped down but in the meantime I was pretty darn terrified!!! I think it was probably the most fun he’d had all week!!

I can't say I blame the monkeys for messing with the tourists. They're being fed junk food and energy drinks...they're probably buzzing from the sugar!!! — I can’t say I blame the monkeys for messing with the tourists. They’re being fed junk food and energy drinks…they’re probably buzzing from the sugar!!!

We continued our tour, stopping to snorkel in an unfortunate spot. They let us out of the boat where the water was very shallow, and I nearly stepped on a sea urchin more than once while I struggled to get my mask and snorkel on (something that isn’t an issue if I’m just treading water…but it wasn’t deep enough for that). After cracking my shins on the coral several times, I gave up and went back into the boat to clean up my cuts and scratches.

One of the sea urchins that was set on murdering me! I avoided them unscathed, which is a relief! Those spikes are very sharp and they break off when they stab someone...it's a very painful experience to step on one and I came within inches at one point. — One of the sea urchins that was set on murdering me! I avoided them unscathed, which is a relief! Those spikes are very sharp and they break off when they stab someone…it’s a very painful experience to step on one and I came within an inch at one point.

Lunch was served on yet another island, where we were also given some free time to enjoy the beach or go swimming. When we arrived, I’d hardly taken 10 steps off the boat and a local was placing a young monkey into my arms. This is pretty common in these tourist areas, and I strongly disagree with the practice, as it uses animals for human entertainment. Being passed from tourist to tourist (most of whom have no idea how to handle a monkey) isn’t a healthy or fulfilling life for any animal, least of all one as intelligent as a primate. This particular monkey was screeching as he was placed into my arms, but calmed down very quickly as I held him closer to me. He cuddled in and got quite comfortable with me. Probably a little too comfortable, because when I passed him back to his ‘owner’, he screeched like mad once more, breaking my heart in the process.

One thing I will say in defense of these particular people is that they seemed to be very good to the animals. It turns out that there were actually 3 guys there, with 3 different primates. The one I met when we first arrived was the only baby and two adults we saw were different types of monkeys. One of them had been trained to sit facing out and to reach up and wrap his arms around your neck (kind of like the stuffed toys they give away at carnivals). His owner came over to me and put the monkey into my arms (a popular sales tactic I suppose) and I shook my head and said ‘no thank you’ (they charge you to take pictures). The monkey leaped back into his arms and started hugging him with joy. The man hugged him back. The two seemed to have a very good relationship, and that made me extremely happy. Although I disagree with using animals in this way, it was good to see that some of the people doing this as a form of income do care about the animals they are using.

I did some searching online and discovered that the little dude who wrapped his arms around me is a Lars Gibbon. I'd much rather have seen him in the wild, but I was glad to know he was cared for in his captive life. — I did some searching online and discovered that the little dude who wrapped his arms around me is a Lars Gibbon. I’d much rather have seen him in the wild, but I was glad to know he was cared for in his captive life.

That’s it for the Phi Phi Islands. In Part 2 of this post, I’ll be writing about the other islands we visited: The Raya Islands and Coral Island. Check back soon!