We were at Halong Bay at my last post. This is part 2. :)
The Amazing Cave is not amazing at all.
My goodness. It was such a waste of time. I could have been swimming or kayaking or something more fun than going through the crowded paths within the cave with only the eerily lit walls as a view. Boring.
After the boring hour at the not-so-amazing cave, we set sail again for Titop Island nearby. Duc (guide) said we can climb the 400 steps to the top for a great view of the top if we wished to. It was part of the itinerary after all. Well, it hasn’t stopped raining. Every damn thing is wet. My hair, the floor, my raincoat, everyone’s feet and shoes, the 400 steps…
… and we went of course! Everyone except the 2 german girls opted out. So the group of us 6 went ahead.
Aye, tiring it was. The climbing itself was an experience, the view… well, I did say it was raining and the fog was heavy. Covering most of the islets’ tips. A damper really. But to see ALS panting like a very very very very big tired dog was worth it man. Everyone of us was panting, yes. But he, he was SERIOUSLY tired. It took more than a little while to recover too.
Hahaha. Quite funny.
Here’s a “We made it to the top” group shot.
The climb down wasn’t so bad. We dipped our toes in the cold cold water and stood around for a moment. Look, doesn’t it look like a paradise for me.
Sea, beach… I was inspired and got Roman to strike a “Cover Guy” pose.
Haha! Roman, very man lah! LOL
We were supposed to be given time to swim as well but the rain messed up our plans.
It was 5.30pm when we got back to the boat. The boat was to prepare to anchor in for the night.
Dinner was to be served at 6.45pm so with the spare time, we played cards with the 2 newly found friends from Germany.
We had another very sumptous meal of Vietnamese food – man, if this keeps up, I’m going to be fat before I even put on my swimsuit!
Duc asked if we have all showered. A bunch of us said no and he tried to explain to us that the boat heated the water for hot showers and the generator is now swtiched to powering the air conditioners.
!_!
You could literally hear alarm bells going off in all our heads! Well, hell, why didn’t he make that clear instead of sounding like he’s nagging us to shower earlier on! Our body language must have betrayed all of us – I think we all looked like we were going to rush off to our rooms to shower asap – Duc quickly told us not to and that we must have our dinner first. This guy – always about schedules eh. Fine, so we sat through dinner thinking about shower.
The Aussie couple was joking to say how we’ll all likeluy dash to the bathrooms once dinner is over. It was weird cos after I was done with dinner, I got up first and then everybody was like, “SHE’S GOING TO THE TOILET! LET’S GO TOO!”
LOL.
For the record, I didn’t get hot water. There was something wrong with the shower. My room’s shower. Wah #&$(@$&*(!! Weather was so cold and the water… omg… I quickly showered and bundled myself up warmly.
That night, the four of us hundled in a room and played Tai Tee till it was time for bed. The Hanoi Vodka was not that pleasant though it is mighty potent.
Look at the naughty raindrops that forced their way into my shot.
Halong Bay may look boring after awhile with similar looking limestone islets. But there is no denying that there is something magical about sailing slowly through the bay, have cold wind slap on your face and watch the calm green sea go by you. The air is fresh and even the constant chugging of the boat was soothing.
Halong Bay – definitely something more than meets the eye. I’ll be back.
Ahh..that very popular halong bay shots with all the junks..iconic!
hope u had hot water shower after that night lor xD
I always had wanted to go there
Evo: Ya AFTER that night I made sure the water is hot before stripping LOL
Borneo: never been there? :)