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Monday, Jan 03, 2011
7:15am -- somewhere in the open waters of Ha Long Bay
We arose early to enjoy coffee before breakfast. Over time, a few others came in, and breakfast came out at 8:30am. We were served pho, which was quite tasty. This meal was followed by a long talk about the fishing village we would be visiting later in the day. I found it hard to sit still since outside the cabin were amazing sheer cliffs which I badly wanted to photograph.
In time, we reached the finishing village. The motor boat took us out to meet the villagers.
They live on floating houses moored to the cliffs. Each morning, most arise and leave before dawn to fish for food which is later sold on the mainland. This is life for them. It's not fancy, not glamorous, but the people seem genuinely happy. And that's more than I can say for many surrounded with wealth and possessions.
We were given a briefing by one of them, and this took place in their small schoolhouse. Some customs were explained and then we were shown how some of them lived. The homes were about 18x18ft squared and extremely Spartan. However, the chief's home had a little DVD player and television (okay, perhaps some possessions are always nice to have). I imagine a generator somewhere offered some power as these were floating villages. Antennas were also common and I'm told that they do have a cell phone, but only to receive warnings in case of typhoons approaching. It's nice to know that they're being looked out for.
They then had us board tiny wicker and tar boats to be paddled around for a short while. I spotted a small child rowing around one of the same boats, which was a peculiar site in itself. Once we returned to the platforms, we took more photos and offered some donations. The villagers seemed more than happy to pose for pictures and expressed great delight and seeing the results on the LCD displays afterwards. To sum it up, every smile seemed sincere.
Afterwards, we returned to the motor boat and headed back to the Pearl. Our final vision was of the children playing gleefully and running around the floating platforms, awaiting the next group of visitors.
It did feel a little odd coming there and taking pictures, almost as an invasion of privacy. Yet, different cultures have different views of what we term "privacy." Some just don't expect it, need it, or maybe even want it. Life is communal. Life is social. You work together for survival. Alone time and privacy just aren't facets of life.
Adding to that, some may consider the occurrences there to also be about entertaining people. Those that don't go off fishing for the day stay behind as "actors," serving their village in a different way as the donations do seem to be pretty generous, from what I observed.
All in all, it's hard to really evaluate. All I can go on is the smiles and laughs that remain with me to this present day.
The Pearl journeyed onward and an hour or two later, we were anchored near a mountain island with a small beach. Passengers were given the option for more kayaking, but it was still freezing and I had already had my fill. We elected for Option B and took the motor boat to the small beach.
On the beach were many other passengers from other tour boats. They were exploring and taking photos. Several dogs also shared the island. I imagine they weren't exactly "wild," as a steady natural food supply didn't appear to be available. We explored the island a bit and finally returned to the Pearl. After dark, we were then taken back to the same island, but in the dark.
Arriving on the beach, they led us up some stone steps on the cliff side to reach a cave entrance about halfway up. It was illuminated and we were led inside. It was a spectacular sight. After a few small tunnels and small openings, the cave became a large cavern and was lit up with candles all around. I suppose it was romantic experience for some, but this was just a photo opportunity tour for me, so it simply meant more cool pictures to share.
A long dining table and chairs were in the middle, and after a tenacious time coaxing people away from taking photos, they finally had us seated and ready to be served. A lot was done in regards to presentation as several creative displays of food art were brought out. The dinner was good as well. Since one couple was taking their honeymoon tour, they were brought a little cake to enjoy and share. I even had a sliver of a piece. Hey, it was vacation.
Dinner being finished, the guide had the boat crew and captain offer some speeches (translated from Vietnamese) and they then sang some customary songs in their native language.
I had suggested something that I guess wasn't standard operating procedure: a group photo of the passengers. Everyone gathered together and the guide snapped our picture. After that, we were soon back on the Pearl and it was time to rest.