halong bay

one of the places i didn't get to go the last time i was in vietnam is also one of the most well-known areas in vietnam, halong bay...i ate breakfast, checked out of my hotel, and was picked up by the tour bus, near the start of all the pickups...i got a seat near the front of the bus, which is always important to me, given my tendency to end up with motion sickness...

boarding the boat:)

it's a four hour drive from hanoi to get to the port where everyone gets on a boat...not surprisingly, there was a stop about halfway through, at a (huge) place where we could buy snacks and souvenirs...tons and tons of tour buses stopped at this place, there was nothing else anywhere close...i always wonder how many people actually buy stuff (other than food i mean) at these places...during the bus ride i figured out where most of the others were from, it was fun to listen to the conversations...there were two other american girls sitting in the back, and i learned that they were also teaching in korea...they didn't stop talking the entire bus ride, and their voices carried...i was once told that i'm the loudest person a certain someone knows, so now, everytime i hear people who are louder, i laugh and wonder what that original person would think...(does that make sense to anyone but me?)...also on the bus were three dutch, a spaniard, and i've forgotten who else...the american girls dominated the conversation...the guide tried to teach us a few things to say, but the only one i remembered was "thank you"...it sounded like 'gom eun' to me...
at the port, our guide collected our passports, and went to get our boat tickets...there were a lot of people milling around, so the whole area was rather confusing...when he came back with the tickets, he handed those out, as well as our passports...this was when he told us that our tour included everything but drinks, and that there would be drinks available for purchase on the boat...he also told us that if we brought drinks on the boat from other sources that we'd have to pay a service fee...i HATE when those sorts of things are told to the guests when it's too late to do anything about it...that's not what i signed up for, and i wasn't inclined to "obey"...

we got on the boat, and he gave a longer speech, telling us the schedule for the rest of the day...he also introduced the captain, and gave us a few details about the boat...(where it was built, how much it cost, etc)...after the speech we were checked into our rooms, i ended up sharing with one of the dutch girls...then lunch was served...5 or 6 courses? it was great food, i enjoyed every bite...and ate way too much, of course...i was sitting at a table with the three dutch folks, so the conversation was in both languages...

after lunch was over everyone went outside and relaxed, enjoying the scenery...it was sooo nice to lay in the sun and just watch the world go by...who doesn't like this kind of scenery? it wasn't as stunning as i expected, but still absolutely lovely...two hours after leaving the dock, the boat arrived at a cave...

i've forgotten the name of it, which can probably be found in my guidebook...not surprisingly, our boat arrived about the same time as every other boat, which meant the area was uber crowded...yuck...howeva, i knew going in that halong bay would be busy, and that i wasn't going somewhere secret...our guide bought our tickets, we got off the boat and walked up the stairs...the cave isn't at water level, you have to walk up about 50 stairs (give or take) to get to the entrance...and it's not a spelunking kind of cave...the caverns were HUGE, there were pathways through the whole thing...

 our guide told the group various facts about the cave, like how old it is, how big it is, how many people see the cave, etc...at least, i assume he did, i wasn't paying much attention to him...many areas were lit with coloured lights, i tried to get a few good photos...i kept getting distracted by photo opportunities, and ended up behind most of the group, but oh well...i reasoned to myself that i wasn't missing much...i've seen a fair number of caves, and i've never heard anything super different from "this cave has been around for a long time"...hee hee...

eventually we all got out and gathered together to get back on a smaller boat...(this smaller boat took us from the big boat to the cave earlier)...the smaller boat then took us to an area where we could go kayaking...think recreational kayaking, like you did at summer camp years ago...not kayaking on whitewater rapids where you need a skirt...i ended up in a boat with an aussie girl, we had fun paddling around for 45 minutes...when we brought our kayak back to the kayak place we were losing light, fast...

halong bay isn't mountainous exactly, but when the sun goes behind one of the karsts, you don't see much anymore...the american girls were 15 minutes late bringing back their kayak, and since it was chilly by that point, people weren't happy...they apologized, saying they didn't know what time they were supposed to come back...the little boat took us all back to our big boat...just after getting back on the big boat, ladies rowing boats filled with snacks and drinks rowed up to the big boat and tried to get us to buy stuff...

their prices were way cheaper than the big boat...they were pretty persistent, but i didn't want anything, so i was good at ignoring them...a few folks did buy from rowboat ladies, and that's when one of the big boat waiters came out and handed them a laminated paper that said how much they had to pay as the service fee: $8 for a bottle of wine, $1 for soft drinks and cans of beer!!! how ridiculous is that? i said it was ridiculous, AND that we hadn't been told about this 'service fee' before the tour started, and he told me to be quiet...i told him that i would not, and that he shouldn't tell me to be quiet, because i'm the customer...he said the boat had drinks, so we didn't need to buy from the rowboat ladies...i told him the big boat drink prices were ridiculous ($1 for a small bottle of water on the big boat, vs less than 50 cents for a big bottle of water in hanoi) so it wasn't a service to the customers at all...i don't think anyone paid the service fee, because it was such a ridiculous amount, and we all felt the whole thing to be underhanded...first, in not telling any of the guests that the fee existed, and second in not telling how much it was until after people bought stuff off the rowboat ladies...
anywho, after that was dinner, another 5 or 6 course meal...YUM...when we all finished  eating and the plates/food had been cleared, our guide turned on the karaoke machine...he seemed oblivious to the massive feedback, though the rest of us were covering our ears...one of the american chickies seemed keen to sing all night long, the rest of us didn't care...i stayed for a little while, then went to my cabin and read for a while before sleeping...the chick i shared with came in not too much later, having stayed up drinking with her friends...about an hour later, she puked...whoops!! fortunately, nothing other than her sheets got dirty...i'm sure the housekeepers enjoyed the smell...whoops...

the next morning my cabin partner slept and slept and slept, i woke up early (0600 local time) and changed quietly, the went out to the deck to wait for breakfast to be served...in keeping with what had happened at every previous meal, it was served later than the time they told us...oh well...also in keeping with every previous meal, there was a lot of food, and it was good...i continued to overeat...hee hee...we weren't able to get into the dining room at all early, because that's where the boat staff slept...after breakfast everyone checked out of the rooms...the boat then 'drove' through more of the bay, which was again nice and relaxing...after another hour or so, all of us on the 3 day/2 night tour got off the big boat and switched onto a smaller boat...those on the 2 day/1 night tour stayed on the big boat, which then made it's way back to the original port...the smaller boat then went for an hour to cat ba island...it's an island in the bay that has a national park...we got off the boat, and got on bicycles that were conveniently waiting for us...i remembered to check my tires and my brakes before taking off, thank goodness...

the ride went around part of cat ba island, which has it's own national park...the bikes were one speed cruisers, not exactly built for speed...one of the ladies in the group is really into triathlons, and does a lot of riding at home in/around london (she's an aussie) so this bike wasn't exactly up to par...hee hee...there were a few hills, which were probably only challenging because the bikes weren't exactly speedy...our guide paused several times, so no one ever got too out of breath...

 the ride took us through a couple really small villages...surprisingly, as we rode through, no one tried to sell us anything...at least, not that i was aware...that was a nice difference from the rest of the country...who can resist taking a photo of one of the super cute kids we saw? she didn't talk at all, she just looked...

after riding one way, everyone took a break...well, sorta...i didn't feel the need to buy a drink or any food, so i went walking...the ladies i walked with were both aussie, including the one i mentioned previously...this trip was a catch up for them, they hadn't seen each other for three years, though they had both previously worked together at a hospital...they're physio therapists...they get to work out while at work, how awesome is that? the triathlete and i kept getting into discussions about gadgets and races and training in general...

eventually this boat took us to our hotel on cat ba island...i had the choice of staying in a bungalow, which sounded rustic, and during this trip, i was over that...as we dropped off those who had chosen the bungalows, i was glad i had gone for the hotel...the bungalow was on a nice beach, but it was small, and there was no where else to go...the benefit i would've had if i had stayed there would've been a lot more area in which to swim...there wasn't a decent swimming area in cat ba town, which is where my hotel was located...a bay filled with boats...the triathlete did find a small swimming area, but was creeped out by the locals watching her swim, so she was only in the water for 15 minutes...i walked around cat ba town with the other aussie...we strolled through a local market (which was definitely for locals, as no one tried to sell us anything, and we were just stared at more than anything) and of course i spotted a bakery...i think there is some part of my genetic makeup that never misses a bakery...lol...we both bought treats, she shared with the triathlete...i was thinking only of myself, and of course bought more than i should've...lol...

 after the walk/bakery stop/swimming the three of us rested up before dinner...also choosing the hotel were two aussie boys, but they'd spent most of the tour drinking, so we weren't expecting them to be on time...as it turned out, they didn't show up for dinner at all...which was a mistake on their part, as the food was the best of the entire tour...the same 5 or 6 course meal as usual, all of it great food...breakfast the next morning was lovely as well...a buffet with LOTS of options...fruit, rice, porridge, fried eggs, soup, etc...i ate...too much...again...the boys did make it to breakfast:)
after breakfast we checked out, and got back on the boat...just before boarding i bought blueberry ice cream flavoured oreos...i'd seen them around, and just because i thought the flavour sounded interesting, i figured i should try them...oreos aren't something i crave very often, and i wasn't craving them at this point either, but i wanted to try the flavour...they were good...from there, the boat went by to pick up the folks at the bungalows (the three dutch and the two loud americans)...from there we rode about an hour, then transferred to a bigger boat, just like the one we'd been on earlier in the tour...that boat took us back to the original port in halong bay...and from there, we all got back on the bus, and "enjoyed" the ride back to hanoi...over all, i enjoyed the tour, and i'm glad i did it...but halong bay didn't stun me like i expected...i'm probably just jaded...the best part of it all was being on the "roof" of the boat, and just relaxing as it cruised through the bay...soooo nice:)

gangcheon (강촌)

a few weeks ahead of time, a chick i met through rugby, penny, mentioned a weekend getaway she was planning, and encouraged me to go..it sounded fun, so i clicked "I'm attending" on the facebook page..

penny's boyfriend paul is korean..and he's awesome..i don't know if either of them had been to gangcheon before, but that doesn't matter..paul knew a guy there who owned a pension, so we were able to hire the whole thing..(which was a good thing, because there were about 20 of us in the group)..a pension is basically a guesthouse, but here in korea they are slightly different from europe..a pension here usually involves one or two big rooms, with very little in them, but a tv, and an air conditioner..in a closet on one side are usually lots of blankets and pillows, and mats..you can usually fit 20 people in each room!! it's awesome..anywho, they reserved the pension for the weekend we were all going, and also reserved train tickets for all of us..the koreans who watched us all get on the train probably weren't thrilled to see all the foreign faces..but we weren't nearly as loud as we could've been..we did howeva make a game of counting how many times maria got shushed..she's just loud..all the time..
also in advance penny had given us options for activities to do..paintball, donut boats, butterfly boats, quad bikes, etc..everyone except one girl signed up for paintball..(i never did figure out why she didn't do a single activity, when i talked to her that night, she seemed very unhappy, and it was unclear why she had come on the trip in the first place)..i signed up for three activities, including paintball..
the train arrived, and someone picked us up and took us to the pension..i don't know whether the guy worked for the pension, or what..anywho, it was an OLD bus, and there weren't quite enough seats, but who cares..one of the people who came brought her dog, jory (sp?) who was super cute, and super friendly..when we got to the pension it was clean, or something like that, so we piled our stuff on the picnic tables outside, and amused ourselves..someone had brought a soccer ball, so a few people kicked that around..i gave a few massages..mostly, people just chatted and got to know each other..i knew all the rugby kids, but that was only about half the group..when the pension finally got sorted, everyone changed to get ready for paintball..there was a lot of confusion as to what we should be wearing, i changed a couple times..eventually, the guy in charge of paintball showed up, and brought the uniforms we'd be wearing..they looked like regular US army clothes!! (who knows where they came from)..after choosing teams (with lots of trash talk) we all put on our uniforms, and hopped in the bus again..paintball ended up being not far away, thank goodness..having those uniforms on top of our other clothes, inside the bus was HOT..after arriving at the paintball area, the guy explained everything, we chose which colour vests (blue or black, i was on the black team) we'd wear, as well as getting kitted out..we all got paintball guns, and helmets as well..the helmets didn't fit anyone properly, and didn't make it easy to see anything..the teams split, we shot at each other, and eventually the blue team smoked the black team, three games to none!! eeek..during the entire thing the guy running it all was pointing out who was "dead" and encouraging us to move move move..(apparently koreans are much more active when paintballing)..
he took us back to the pension, a few of us changed again, and the people signed up for quad bikes got back on the bus..only 9 of us decided to go on the bikes..it was completely tame, and didn't really involve any mud or going off road, but it was fun anywho..butters kept trying to pass the leader guy (not the same as the paintball guy) and he was constantly annoyed at her..humourous for the rest of us..we got back, and most of that group stayed put in the bus, as we had signed up for a third activity, on the waters of a nearby river..
well, we thought it was nearby..it turned out to be 25 minutes away..i spent most of the ride with my head tucked into my knees, as i was feeling horribly carsick, and the driver seemed determined to make me throw up at some point..sheila wasn't feeling so hot either..almost as soon as we arrived, we dove in..there was a houseboat of sorts and it provided a great jumping in point..the water was a great temperature for floating around..we swam around a little, then put on life jackets and got ready to go in our boats...emily, penny and jenna had signed up for the donut boat, which was kinda like a BIG innertube that held all three of them and pulled them behind a really fast boat..they had fun, and we had fun watching them..at one point penny lost her grip on the tube, and fell in..soooo funny, especially later, when maria was going through her photos and realized she had captured penny falling in on film...hee hee..sheila and i were next on something called a butterfly boat..the tube was GIANT and yellow..it was pulled behind the fast boat as well, and from time to time, caught the wind and went up on end..i can't describe it well, but sheila and i had a great time..mel got to go on the butterfly boat by herself, and she spent a whole lot more time with it up on end..next time i go, i want to go by myself:)..those of us who spent time on the river loved it, and were super glad..even maria, who didn't get in the water, but came along to take photos and just be social, had a good time..we ended up getting back to the pension later than expected, and people were a little grumpy, as they had to wait for us to get dinner started..
dinner was samgipsal (sp?)..normally a cut of pork on a grill that i really really don't like..i don't like it most of the time because it can be really fatty, and i don't like large pieces of fat to eat..most koreans love it, something i just don't understands..this stuff was good though, very little fat...soooo good..with all the normal side dishes being served, i was a fat and happy camper..after dinner some people started playing beer pong, others just stood around and were social..i went to parties while in uni and all, but this was still the first time i'd ever seen beer pong..(i don't intend ever to admit that out loud)..
that night there were a couple world cup games on the schedule..starting at 2300 and 0330 or so..i was surprised at the number of people in our group who had remembered about the games, and were wearing red devil shirts..the US just doesn't get this kind of patriotism..i tried, i really did, to stay awake through the game involving korea..but it didn't happen..i made it just past halftime, dozing a bit through the first half as well..then i was done for the evening..i moved into the smaller room, and was out cold for the rest of the night..
the next morning i woke up to find four more people in the room with me, and it was raining lightly outside..just enough to make you aware it's raining, but not enough to really get wet..our train back to seoul wasn't scheduled until 1600 or so, and we didn't want to stay inside all day, so mel, sheila and i went for a walk..we thought we'd walk to the GS25, which was just up the road..or so we thought..it ended up being a 50 minute walk each way!! still in the little bitty rain..the walk was good, even though way longer than expected..when we finally returned, we found out that most everyone was planning to catch an earlier train back to seoul, as the rain didn't look to be letting up, and no one wanted to be stuck inside all day..so we packed up relatively quickly, and everyone got back on the bus that had brought us to the pension..all of us ended up with standing room tickets for the next train, but it was less than 2 hours, so that wasn't a big deal..
i wish i had had my camera during all our activities, but i didn't..so i've only got a few photos of the trip..