Adventures By Design

In which the travelers succumb to fumigation

Gin woke up to a headache, compliments of our night of diesel fumigation. We barely made it upstairs to the boat’s dining deck before the official end of breakfast. Our boat raised its anchors and we motored to Cat Ba Island. As we sat and ate our breakfast, we chatted with some of the other tour group members. We learned that all of the tour boats to Ha Long Bay were required to follow the same path and stop in one of two coves for the night. Due to such a high concentration of boats in one area, it was disgusting to see how much garbage was floating on the water. It was common to see plastic bags, bottles, and food waste floating by, in what is otherwise a pristine environment.

We are quite enjoying the company of our tour group, and the atmosphere is jovial and inclusive. Teresa is a quick-witted woman who earned a special place in Ric’s heart for her youthful attitude and open-mindedness. Even though she has kids who are about our age, she still travels the world and challenges herself to live deeply. Natalie and Shanyn were a wonderful pair of Aussie girls who were partying their way through Vietnam and Laos. With their approachability and teasing, they were like our sisters. There were several Australian couples in the group. Janne and Marc, school principle and teacher, respectively, and Lori and Mike, a teacher and a graphic designer (whom Lori said could print a company’s logo on practically anything). Tracy, also a teacher, was a self-described extrovert and fake Prada hunter, while her husband Scott was a locksmith and top-end knock-off watch enthusiast. Tracy and Scott were traveling with their friends, Kev and Kerry: quiet, mustachioed, and beer-loving, for years this pair have traveled together all over the world. We also met Kim, an international teacher currently working at a school in Saigon. She had been in PYP schools for years, and was now trying her hand at the British curriculum. Finally, Sinead from Ireland is a holistic therapist who also does baby massage and yoga.

We landed at the pier on Cat Ba, and immediately boarded a bus, and then anther boat to reach another amazing limestone cave. This one was without the masses of tourists, and although it had been known to the locals for a long time, it was only in 1996 that they decided to invite any tourists to visit. Whereas the Surprising Cave, with its souvenir vendors and penguin and dolphin-shaped garbage cans, was obviously a tourist destination, the Cat Ba cave was remote, generally unmanicured, and accessible only via boating through a mangrove forest and shrimp farm.

Leaving the cave, we rode the boat back to the bus, sitting on the roof and chatting with Nathan, Amy, Teresa, and Mike. Apparently down below the boat’s captain was feeling adventurous so he let a few of our fellow travelers try their hand at steering the boat. Luckily we made it back alive, but the boat was definitely tipping to the side while they were driving!

Back in Cat Ba town we went for lunch to a great restaurant called Green Mango. It was included in the tour, so unfortunately we didn’t get to choose our food, but it was delicious nonetheless. After lunch we finally headed to our hotel to check in and freshen up. The tour then continued on to a beach on Monkey Island, but Gin’s headache was getting worse again so she decided to stay at the hotel and take a nap. She missed a chance at the beach, but felt much better later. Ric went with Nathan, Amy, and the rest of the tour group.

Monkey Island wasn’t all that impressive, and Gin didn’t miss anything. Although there were signs warning tourists not to feed, touch, or harass, the monkeys, we didn’t see any actual monkeys. Probably they were doing the sensible thing for the middle of the day: chilling in some tree. We went for a swim on the beach, and both Ric and Nathan injured themselves on the rocks that lurked beneath the water. Although it was a fun diversion, Ric, Nathan, and Amy agreed that for the hour we spent on the beach, and the hour we spent driving there, it wasn’t really worth it.

In the evening we were left to our own devices so we decided to take a break from the group environment, and just the four of us headed out for dinner. The big group is composed of great people, but we also want a chance to catch up with Nathan and Amy. We had a nice dinner, then bought some snacks at a mini mart and headed to Nathan and Amy’s room to hang out and chat.

We were having a great time and a wonderful conversation when suddenly Amy realized that a bunch of the clothing she had hung on the balcony to dry had now blow off and disappeared somewhere nine floors below! After a quick inventory we found that Amy had lost a skirt and a tank top, and Nathan had lost his swimming trunks… blast!! All four of us headed down to ground level to try to find the stuff, but it was really dark and hard to see. The hotel guards saw us looking in bushes and on top of cars and quickly figured out what we were up to. Apparently Nathan’s trunks had blown down right on top of them earlier so they returned those to us. One piece found, two still missing and we gave up for the night. We tried to explain to the hotel receptionist what had happened but she just smiled, nodded, and laughed at our charades. In the end, we gave up and headed to bed with the hopes that we can see better and find Amy’s stuff in the morning.