THE WEEKEND

At last we have caught up with Ken and Liz who had a good time in Bangkok. We departed the hotel at 8.30am and travelled the next 2 hours through the city and out into the countryside before having a coffee stop at an ABC store. Outside were some lovely pieces of marble sculpture with shipping prices displayed above the bicycle shelter. 110$ to Hull. Having picked out a modern piece we were informed the total cost would be 1,000$. Thank you but no and walked inside the store to see the young people embroidering the pictures of local scenes. Some of the village people were disabled and worked an 8 hour day, 7 days a week. As we looked at the numerous crafts for sale the manager approached us and said he would do a good deal for us, 1,200$!

We continued our journey passing through the mountainous region where open cast mining takes place so the villages were all covered in coal dust. The road leading up to the mine was very thick in coal dust that the main road in the immediate area was being washed down. Hao told us the rich mine owners were now investing in Junks and that when we reached Halong Bay City port we would see hundreds of them.

We reached our destination just before lunchtime and with a group of 25 we needed 2 boats, one with 5 bedrooms the other with 8. We would eat on the 5 bedroomed, which meant a lot of coming and going between the boats when they tied up together for the night. The standard of accommodation was far more than we expected. It was a little cramped with our two large suitcases and no where to store them, and with dark stained wood it was rather hard to read our books at night. We also had en suite facilities, although the bathroom was a wet room and the water did not flow away easily. 2 pairs of flip flops had been provided and I found these came in very happy for pushing the water in the direction of the drainage hole! The food was excellent at least 4 star in quality and presentation especially as it was prepared in such a small kitchen, and the crew very attentive and friendly.

We transferred to small boats to be rowed around the area passing through holes in the rock and visiting a large cave. 6 of the group even went kayaking which we later wished we had done. The weather deteriorated with fine rain for the entire trip but it didn't dampen our spirits. Dai, one of the stewards kept asking Keith questions when he discovered he had been to sea. He too had got his seagoing certificate but did not want to leave his family for such long periods. We said he had a wonderful job sailing round the 3,000 islands of Halong Bay anyway.

We paid a visit to a fishing village where the houses were built on large blocks of polythene covered polystyrene. Hao had said we should give the woman a little money as we left her one roomed building. It was noted she had no kitchen and we were told she did the cooking next door at her mother's home. Her husband was out drinking! We had split into 2 groups and already the lady was concerned we were sinking her home so the others were directed to another house further along. Young children in small boats tried to sell us mother of pearl shells, snacks, beer and cigarettes whilst the older women laden down with fresh produce ignored us. We were entertained by a flying display of large black kites and rooks swooping into the sea around us at times.

Back on the boat we observed 2 fishing families having an argument. The women were screeching across to each other, and when we thought it was all over it flared up again. We suspected it was to do with the money we had given to the house owner but Hao said it was not - he did not say what it was about.

On Monday we had another trip into a lagoon where we had hoped to see some monkeys. We could hear lots of noises but with the dense greenery there was very little chance of seeing smaller birds or any wildlife. After our last lunch we said goodbye to our Captains and crew and boarded the bus for Hanoi airport and our evening flight to Da Nang to begin the next stage of our tour.