N Vietnam 2012 - Day 2, Part 2 - Halong Bay: Bamboo Boat Ride

"If you think something is boring, try doing it for two minutes. If you still think it's boring, try it for four. If you still think it's boring, try it for eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two, and so on and so forth. Soon enough you'll find that it's really not boring at all." - John Cage

Maybe if I go to Vietnam enough times, I'll stop being pissed off at being ripped off, for the same reason: cognitive dissonance

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N Vietnam 2012
Day 2 - 25th May - Halong Bay: Bamboo Boat Ride (Part 2)

All of us then either went kayaking or rode on bamboo boats. I chose the latter option because, hey, someone would be rowing me. Besides which after how much I'd walked on the first day my thighs were aching (and would continue to ache until Day 4 when I flew back) - if I kayaked my whole body would ache.


Setting off




Fishing village from sampan


Approaching cave leading to inlet


Fishermen


Passing through cave


Limestone (?) man




The old woman rowing us. We later tipped her 50,000 VND


In the inlet


Inlet




Canoeing into the inlet


Poor canoeists


The canoeing Australian couple




Passing back through the passage










Boys fishing


Another passage






The black ladies. The one using her iPad had lost her iPhone in a cab in KL, and later when contacted the driver claimed that he hadn't seen anything.




Textured rock


We then passed between Scylla and Charybdis


Perilous passage


Back at the fishing village


The big boat looks like it's stone

Most of the boats in the village had Vietnamese flags. How patriotic. Or maybe the police rounded up those who didn't display them.


Observe the cable in the water tethering the boat to the island


School
There was also a casino, a boat with some lights on the outside, but I didn't manage to capture it




Bamboo pipe they smoke opium tobacco from

I realised that I hadn't seen any dogs or cats in Hanoi the previous day. Maybe they'd all been killed for meat.

We then sailed to a cave.




To the left of the white boat you can see the "Fighting Cocks" rock formation (I named the files wrongly before consulting my notes)


Closeup

For some reason anthropomorphism was popular in Halong Bay.


Gorilla Island




Gorilla Island

For some reason, there was a lot of Mandarin in the boat.


Even if not as elegant as China Mandarin, this at least wasn't awkward like some of the other Vietnamese Mandarin signs I snapped.
I love the last point of the first part (meant for staff): "对游客的服务态度要讲究礼貌，客套及周到,经常教客人讲究公共卫生，爱护环境的习惯" ("When interacting with your guests, pay attention to courtesy and thoughtfulness, constantly teaching guests to respect public hygiene and protect the environment")
The last point of the second part (directed at guests) is even better: "请勿乱扔垃圾，随处大小便" ("Please do not casually toss rubbish around, or urinate and defecate anywhere")


Reasonably elegant Mandarin signs. The last says not to fish or trade in coral. Hah.