TRAVELMAN in VIETNAM: A Two Day Cruise in Halong Bay (Part Two- Kayaking and floating village)

We took in some more sights before arriving at a floating fisherman’s dock. It was overcast and raining lightly so the pics aren’t as spectacular as I’d like them to be, not to mention, I need a real zoom lens instead of a digital iPad zoom. ...The sayings “not to mention” and “it goes without saying” are ridiculous when you think about them. They set you up to be a liar, because you’re going to “say” and you’re going to “mention.” I just thought I’d mention it because it needs to be said.

It was here that we got into two person kayaks and went on an hour long trip in the bay.

The fishermen’s docks had numerous large square holes in which they held their captives in underwater nets. One of the fishermen beckoned us to watch him feed a fish. He dangled a six inch fish into the water. We didn’t immediately see anything down there. After a few seconds, what seemed like a giant, four foot by two foot, black guppie shot it’s head out of the water and swallowed the fish in an instant and disappeared. It startled the bejeezus out of all of us. Well, it startled the tourist, not the guides and fisherman. This pic is of a more harmless looking fish.

We kayaked through short caves that were like natural underpasses at the base of islands, we saw a couple monkeys high above in the trees on the side of the karsts, and we raced back to the dock (winner got a free beer).

One of the short caves led to a hidden, enclosed bay. That’s where the monkeys were usually found, but on this day they were on the outside of it.

My kayaking partner was three kidney girl. She was a sweet and kind, young woman, but she had absolutely no clue how to kayak! It got to the point that I wanted to suggest that she just stop rowing, it’d be less work for me. She rocked the boat back and forth wildly and continued to pull us to the left, and she rowed on the wrong side to correct course. ...Sigh.

This is Cam from Portland, Oregon and the Swedish med student...

We did not win the race for a free beer.

After kayaking we boated to another area of the bay to go swimming. Flower chucked a beer into the water and had us jump off the third story of the boat in pairs and swim after it. First one to it gets the free beer. We also had the option of swimming a quarter of a kilometer to a tiny beach on a tiny island.

Fishermen’s village near the swimming spot...

The swimming area was near something like a floating fishing village. We passed. Numerous floating docks that had little huts and multiple wooden squares with nets under them to hold the fish they’d caught. There was even a small floating store and dogs on some of the docks.

Everyone was cold when we finished swimming, it was overcast, drizzling, and chilly. We put on sweatshirts and set course for the private island.

I had hopes that the private Island was similar to one that a James Bond super villain would choose, with a giant limestone door that opens to a secret cave and boat dock. Those dreams did not come true. However it was reminiscent of arriving on Fantasy Island, minus a little person in a white tuxedo and the plane ...the plane!

I made a reference to Fantasy Island and Tattoo to a couple people who were near me while exiting the boat onto the island. Nobody got the reference, I felt like an old American.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Travelman in Halong Bay! Will Travelman eat dinner? Will he win at Ping Pong? Will he climb the highest peak on Catba island? Tune in next time to find out!

!steemitworldmap 20.9760 lat 107.0500 long Halong Bay part TWO- kayaking and swimming , Vietnam, d3scr