Kayaking in Caves and Junk Boat Crusing

On the second night, we would stay on a Junk boat, not the fisherman's village, so we had to pack everything up as we headed out for a day full of kayaking, in Ha Long Bay.  After a while of paddling along the mountain-rocks, Mong announced we would be heading to the Hidden Lagoons, three lagoons only accessed by caves, which are only paddle-able at low tide.

Personally, I don’t love caves, but we made it safely through the first one and into the lagoon. The water was sheltered by tall, mountain-and rocks and we sat still and quiet, trying to see the famously elusive monkeys. Since Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO site, there was no garbage in the bay and the water was nice and clear. Ha Long Bay was first recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, again in 2000, and again in 2023. The recognition has brought much pride to Vietnam, and lot's of tourists! 

 

The second cave was good as well. My dad and sister tried to scare me by pretending to be bats when we were in the dark, but I’m sooooo tough… :) The four of us chatted while we paddled around the little lagoon, but our guide quickly told us to be quiet- he had seen a monkey! We all glanced over, but I only got a glimpse before it hid in a tree.

Going into the third lagoon was tricky. The cave had a sharp turn and rocks in the middle. We tried to get through in one go, but failed miserably. It took lots of pushing, paddling, and maneuvering to get out of the tunnel. There also might have been some yelling. (I was convinced we were about to die, the tunnel was narrow, short, and dark nd we almost tipped -TWICE)

We spent the least time in the third lagoon, and I was dreading leaving through that weird tunnel again. Somehow, as we entered the cave, my dad got the brilliant idea to try and get through the tunnel backwards. We did end up getting out, but it was not easy AT ALL. We hit one wall, just to bounce off another! There was more yelling, since I thought we were going to die a second time…

After several hours of kayaking in the rocky paradise, we boarded the junk boat. It is not junky, it is just a traditional name related to the size and shape of the boat... All 5 rooms on the boat were full, but most people weren't actually on the boat, so we had the whole top deck to ourselves! We played a few games with Mong, introducing him to Yahtzee, and had loads of fun. My dad scored his first Yahtzee, but I won the game! :) Then, Mong taught us how to play Spoons, a fast card game. While we played, we talked about what Vietnamese families do for fun in the evenings. We learned about his three children, and that the play more sports than card games. Many homes are pretty small, so the culture is to spend more time outdoors.  

After our games were finished, there was a cooking demonstration on how to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. The chef had lots of toppings cut up, and you could choose what you put in your spring roll.Some toppings included: pineapple, sausage, rice noodles, carrots, lettuce, and more. We each made one and they were delicious! We will definitely be doing this at home now, they were easier than I thought. 

A little while later, we had dinner. All the guests ate at one big table, and the meal was very good. When dinner was finished, we went to the top deck and got some exercise playing a dance game, then Alex and I went to the main deck for a squid fishing demonstration. They had already caught three squid when we arrived, and we didn't catch andy, but it was still fun. Squid are funny looking animals. They have long, soft bodies, eight arms, and two flap-like tentacles. There were two clear squid and one red one, that was a little bigger. While the others were fishing, they almost caught a fourth squid, but it sprayed ink and got away. 

Then it was bedtime. We had two cabins, one with three beds and one with one bed. Me, my dad and my sister slept in one, and my mom slept in the other because she had a really bad cough. Alex and I were both excited because it was our first time sleeping on a boat.