A vacation from the bikes

So...I spent almost a month in Vietnam (last month mind you) and I am just now managing to sit down and write about it. I'm lazy. The first two weeks were a vacation within a vacation, no time on the bike and a lot of time on various beaches in southern Vietnam.

The first few days in Hanoi we spent recovering from our red-eye flight from Bangalore, and the general joys of international travel with bicycles in tow, while waiting for the arrival of Paris' mom from the states. From Hanoi we took off to Hoi An, the clothing capital of Vietnam, down on the southern coast. As a result of my time there, I am now the proud owner of a bright orange tailor made suit, with a purple shirt and lilac vest to accompany it. Some may question the purchase, but I say money well spent.

After a week in Hoi An it was back to Hanoi for one night, and then north for a one night cruise amidst the limestone karsts on Halong Bay. An early morning (at least for me) and a long van ride, led us to the tranquil and stunning beauty of Halong Bay. The harbor entrace is a jigsaw puzzle of tourist buses and private cars, constantly shifting to accomodate the evergrowing number of pieces. We all streamed out of our respective vans and made our way through the maze of vehicles to the sea of white faces, appropriately gathering beneath the large "Tourist Harbor Entrance" sign. It felt a bit like a field trip from middle school, all the different groups bunched up around the entrance waiting for a guide to tell them where to go or what to do. Not necessarily a scene of beauty, but a moment to remember.

Halong bay extended beyond what I ever imagined from the pictures. The limestone karsts stretched endlessly into the mist that enshrouded our ship the first day of the cruise. Gray cliffs, draped in green, jutting out of the turquoise water. Rounded ridges and spines of limestone scattered about the bay, creating a seemingly impenetrable maze of islands. We took all of this in from the plush recliners scattered about the roof of our junk boat, relaxing and taking in the dreamscape, as our boat glided through the water and tiny ripples lapped up against the hull.

Included in the cruise was a tour through one of the floating villages of fisherman that live out on the bay amongst the towering karsts. We toured through the village on what appeared to be a floating bowl, rowed around with four people in it by somebody half my size. The village was set in a bay of placid turquoise water surrounded by three hundred foot cliffs of limestone. As we bobbed through the village in our floating bowl watching the villagers go about their daily tasks of organizing fishing equipment and living their lives, it was impossible not to feel an overwhelming sense of calm seep into your body. We finished up the cruise the following day with a visit to a labyrinth of caverns worn in to the limestone karsts, which were cast in artificial neon light, giving the whole excursion a club like atmosphere...odd but beautiful all the same. Hopefully my pictures do a better job to capture the experience than my words.

A peaceful glide back to the dock and a two hour bus ride later we were back in Hanoi, and getting ready to catch a train to Lao Cai and hop back on the bikes for the 35 climb into the northern highlands of Vietnam.