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Day 14

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Hanoi → Ha Long Bay

Day 14

No rest for weary, we were up early for the next leg of our journey. We checked out at 7:30 AM and I paid the outstanding balance on the tours to come. 

I figured we would be in rough shape after 10 or 11 days on motorcycles, living out of backpacks. I booked a 3 day, 2 night cruise on Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as a pampered, do little recovery period. You have seen Ha Long Bay in Bond movies. 

I booked a small to medium-sized cruise ship that fell in the middle of the simple to luxury scale. Booking involved wiring money from the U.S. to people I did not yet know. The fabulous Ms. Lien at the Hanoi Exclusive Hotel received the transaction on the Vietnam side and handled the bookings. I should not have worried. Ms. Lien is a spectacular professional who I now consider as extended family. 

Getting to Ha Long Bay and the cruise requires a 4 hour bus ride. As described before, Vietnam has these luxury buses that hold maybe 10 passengers. Plush seats recline and come with USB charging ports and a wifi connection to mobile internet. These typically come with a driver and a helper/runner.

Another thrilling bus ride

Our bus’s helper/runner showed up at breakfast 15 minutes before scheduled pickup time. No matter, we could do it. We quickly deposited our backpacks and motorcycle gear with the hotel staff and handed our baggage to the runner. He took off with it on what turned out to be a 5 block sprint. We had trouble keeping up. Streets in Hanoi’s Old Quarter are very narrow and difficult for even the smaller luxury buses to manuever. In addition, early in the morning, deliveries block some streets. Some streets have closure barricades for some reason. One of the jobs of the runner is to remove the replace the barricades so the bus can pass. 

Our runner got us and our luggage on the bus. We were the first passengers so we got our choice of seats (first row behind the driver so we can see the traffic terror) and the chance to quietly observe the drama. There is always drama. 

The next guests were a group of 3 from the U.K. They had been told pickup time was an hour or two later than the current time, so the runner was apparently rousting them out of bed. They were dishoveled and noisy with protest, but were doing their best to get with the accelerated program and get on the bus.

It was 8:00 AM now and we circled around Hanoi’s Old Quarter picking up other guests from their hotels. We passed our hotel at least once, leading us to wonder why there was a 5 block sprint tor us. Oh well. Vietnam. Besides, the burden fell on the runner who had to carry the bags.

We turned onto the highway to Ha Long Bay and we were (needlessly) told to fasten our seat belts. 

After an hour and a half or so, we pulled into a rest stop that was reminiscent of an I-95 reststop you might find between New York and Washington. It was touristy and expensive by Vietnam standards. I bought 2 bags of plain M&Ms. 

At 11:45 AM we arrived at the cruise terminal at Ha Long Bay. It is like the parking outside a Disney theme park. You transition from bus to cruise terminal in the manner of cattle being moved.

We were met by our tour guide who completely ignored Lauren and I and our luggage. This was a pattern that would repeat over the coming days. She did speak excellent English with an American accent and joked (I think) that the weather was lousy and we were going to be miserable, ha ha. 

After 20 or 30 minutes wait, I presume to increase business in the terminal shops, we were given and tickets and led to two tenders to transfer to our ship. These tenders held maybe 40 passengers.

Walking onto the ship was a transition from cattle to passenger service. Our luggage had been delivered to our cabins. We were directed to the dining area where a nice buffet lunch was served along with beverage service. Beverages beyond water and occasionally orange juice are in addition to the paid tour price. A major contributor to profit, the beverages and service are excellent.

We retired to our room 206 to find the heat did not work. It was January, cold, and damp. Lauren bundled up and took a nap. I went on a search to find the guide who had said “find me if you need anything.” She was nowhere to be found.

Some time later, I heard someone call out “Lauren”. It was the guide inviting Lauren onto a tender to go ashore. As I arrived, the tenders were pulling away and I literally missed the boat. No matter, I had booked the cruise for rest and recovery.

The room was cold and miserable and there was no one to report the problem to. I went to the common area, a study adjacent to the dining area to relax. I had the ship to myself.

After a couple of hours, the tenders returned with the passengers. I finally got the attention of the tour guide about the heat problem. Those of you that know me know I am normally a quiet, low key guy who works at getting along with everyone. But with the intransigent tour guide I had to play the role of angry old guy. She tried to deflect several times suggesting that it was just me. Lauren watched and I have no idea what she thought. But I had no intention of paying for 3 days and 2 nights to freeze.  The guide eventually withdrew saying she had to make some calls.

Eventually the crew showed  up to move our things. Turns out there was one open cabin for 2 nights on the ship. It did not have the bed arrangements we preferred but it had heat … and hot tub. Apparently no one had booked the upgrade. Bonus for us.

Dinner was very nice. Food is one of the features of these cruises. It came in multiple courses: mango salad, pork salad, shrimp, seafood rolls, and dessert. Wine and drinks are extra. The service was excellent. Highly civilized and very, very different from our previous 10 days.  I give it 5 stars. 

I crashed and I slept like a baby glad to be off a motorcycle seat. I think Lauren went below to check out the nightime squid fishing. I had no idea that squid could be caught by hook and line

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