The drive to Halong Bay was 3 hours, but we stopped at the "tourist stopping area" after 2 so our driver could eat lunch/smoke. Ryan saw a silk screen 'painting' that he really wanted, but at $150 it was a little out of our price range, so we bought a smaller one. The ladies making them were in-house, and you'll see a photo below. We also stopped at a pearl farm to see how pearls and made/extracted, and is as surprised to learn that although pearls are found naturally in nature, the natural pearls are rarely used for jewellery due to their imperfections. The pearl farmers actually manipulate the oysters, placing a tiny piece of shell and membrane from another healthy oyster into the one that they want to make the pearl, but even THEN there's no guarantee that the oyster will accept the foreign bodies, and even if everything is accepted, there's no guarantee that the pearl produced will be the correct size/colour/transparency/etc. It's a big gamble that can take up to several years to pay off (depending on the pearl: Akoya pearl can take 10 to 14 months to cultivate, Tahiti pearls can take 18-24 months, and South Sea pearls can take 2-3 years!). Obviously the staff are looking to make a sale, but pearls aren't really my thing and the only necklace that I liked was in our price range of $70, so they didn't get me THAT day.
We are SO glad that we did the 3-day, 2-night program on the Jasmine Junk in Halong Bay; the scenery was simply fantastic, and our cabin had a private balcony!!!! It actually stopped raining the second day, so we could enjoy the top deck of the boat :)
There are 1,969 islands that comprise Halong Bay, but I don't know who actually counts them....must be counted from a helicopter, cuz it would be too tedious on a boat ;)
We visited Tien Ong Cave and Cua Van fishing village on our first day, and unfortunately that's when Ryan's fancy camera decided to stop working. Was it because of the constant drizzle, or because he's had it for a few years and it was a hand-me-down from his sister? We're guessing the latter. RIP friend - you provided us with great memories (especially in Australia!!!) and we will miss you.
That evening we learned how to make deep-fried spring rolls, but had to leave early before tasting our work because we had booked massages. My therapist did not lock the door, and someone walked in during my massage. What's worse is that Ryan's therapist (and I use the term loosely - these were just two women that gave massages on a boat. They were NOT professionally trained) answered a text DURING his massage! And she did not massage his quads, which any therapist will agree is the largest muscle on the human body. Double fail, although Ryan is too nice to mention anything on his comment card other than "nice massage, relaxing", whereas I ran out of room on my comment card LOL.
We opted to skip the early morning Tai Chi lesson on the sun deck the next morning, but I enjoyed the view from our balcony with my morning coffee. We were rushed off the boat directly after breakfast, boarded our day boat, and set sail for Surprise Cave. Absolutely gorgeous! We then had the option of kayaking through Luon Cave, but I didn't want my first time kayaking to be in frigid waters, knowing my luck with anything (LOL), so we were rowed around by one of the local villagers, who rely on tips for their (very hard!!) work. After lunch, we visited the pearl farm (the actual farm where the previously visited one gets their stock - all the same owner/company) and I bought a perfectly oval, purple Tahiti pearl necklace for $70 - you got me, pearl farmers!!! I love it because it's not perfect - just like me :)
On the last day we opted not to take the hike up to the viewpoint of Halong Bay, so we slept in a little bit and packed. The ship manager talked to us about our comment card, and provided us with several apologis and some unnecessary parting gifts, including the cold that Ryan got (2 days incubation period, followed by six days of straight fever and a scratchy throat that broke the night before we went to the elephant park in Chiang Mai).
We also bought that silk screen that Ryan had seen in the first tourist shop, when we stopped at the tourist shop while LEAVING Halong Bay - we worked her down to $125 (originally $170).
Next up: Laos and the Shompoo Cruise upstream on the Mekong!
Geneviève gave us quite a lore,
ReplyDeleteOf pearls,caves and other sights.
1969 islands - in a leap year count one more,
On the Jasmine Junk, one of the trip's highlights.
Do you get per chance a small rebate
when one hand is used and 2 are a must?
She was probably texting for a date
while Ryan's quads went untouched.
Say bye bye to Ryan's camera
Geneviève will pick up the slack.
The pictures for all of us in Canada
Madame so far has been up to the task.
Happy anniversary and stay safe xxoo