Day 181: Green Water

Post from Tim:

I woke to the sound of gentle waves breaking against the side of our boat and walked topside to watch the sunrise. The morning was beautiful. Calm water, peaceful silence, and tall cliffs surrounded our boat and for the first time in a few days, the sun made an appearance and warmed my smiling face.

We were on the second day of a boating tour through the limestone cliffs and islands of Halong Bay, an area about four hours east of Hanoi. With over 3000 islands, the area has become a popular attraction in Vietnam and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After a quick breakfast, our boat continued through the bay. The islands we passed rose high out of the blue-green water in sheer cliffs and were topped with tufts of stunted trees like green crew cuts. The abundance of shelter kept the wind at bay and the water calm, so that only the ship's engine and the occasional passing hawk broke our peace.

Halong Bay is home to many pearl farmers. Their modest homes float on blue barrels and typically have a set of docks and fish farming nets attached. Many of the homes have land-based touches like potted plants and shrubs. They all have dogs running about. With rows of nets nearby marking the pearl fields, the whole operation looks remarkably like a small farmhouse on land sitting next to rows of crops. The only thing that breaks this vision is watching the farmer row, facing forwards and standing up, through his "yard" on an oval woven basket-like boat.

We spent a few hours enjoying the ride and later climbed a mountain that offered an elevated view of the islands.

The smile that graced my face at 6 a.m. stayed for the whole day.








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