2/10–Ha Long Bay day 2

After a great night’s sleep, we wander upstairs to grab some coffee before breakfast.  We’ve slept too late to participate in the Tai Chi this morning – well actually, we were awake, but I decided to be lazy. After our showers, we head back to the feed trough for the buffet breakfast – which everything you could imagine – along with made to order eggs and Pho.  Again – no one is going hungry on this boat!

Today we are visiting one of the oldest remaining floating villages, Vung Vieng.  There were originally 7 villages in Ha Long Bay, but now only 4 remain. The largest is Cua Van, which we have visited on our previous trip. Vung Vieng is much smaller, and further out into the bay.  It is a very small community, so small in fact that the school has been closed because there aren’t enough children in the village to make having a teacher practical.  It’s a cold and drizzly day today – and I gladly accept a poncho from Long as we make our way onto the tender to go to the village.  (The poncho is purple, how can I resist?)

Once at the dock/”Reception” area, Long gives us an overview of the village and the route we will take to to get there, then we are transferred from the dock to small rowing boats (we’re not rowing, thank heavens – we’re passengers this time) where women row us around the karsts and to the actual village.  It’s cold, but peaceful, and we love snapping pictures of the scenery – and of Diana and Hector in the boat next to us wearing conical hats (I’m not putting those things on my head, thank you very much!).

We start seeing houses pretty quickly. Mostly in clusters, but there is on single home floating all alone in the bay.  What a sense of isolation, and at night, it’s got to be downright spooky out here with not electricity and no “neighbors,” so to speak.

Soon, we can see the main village in the distance, steadily coming into view as our “chauffer” rows us nearer. Here there are larger net fishing boats, an assortment of houses, some with the obligatory dogs – which just seems counter-intuitive out here on the water, but, what do we know?

The houses are actually tied to the karsts, and not attached through anchors.  They are more easily moved this way, should someone decide they wanted – or needed – another home site location. Most homes are now kept afloat by plastic barrels, but originally they were using Styrofoam which degrades and pollutes the waters.  Indochina Junk (the company that owns the ship we are on) is committed to sustainability and has created a “For a Green Ha Long Bay” program, in which they support various environmental and cultural projects.  One of the projects they have implemented is the replacement of the foam floats with plastic floats – currently replacing close to 5300 floats in this village alone.  They have a host of other projects – such as mangrove planting, clean fish farming and the aquaculture fishing initiative that has placed 10 cages in Vung Vieng, and will place more after they determine viability. 

We alight at the main village to walk around the connected board walk and visit the now defunct school, as well as the aqua cages, and to have Long take some photos of us with the Junks and the cave we will eventually row through in the the background.

There are tons of the aqua cages here, filled with everything from sea bass to grouper to cobia to snapper.  The fisherman are in the process of harvesting the fish because it is Tet and there is a big demand for their product ashore.  Most people here, while they dream of owning a home on the land, make 1.5 to 2 times the money they could on land.  The trade off is that they have to buy everything besides the fish. There is no fresh water, no vegetables, etc. And they only have electricity occasionally when they run their generators (like when the tourists come).

Back in our row boats, we sail past the junks anchored in the makeshift harbor, and make our way to the “cave” that has been cut out of the karst at the end of this little bay.

In and out of the cave we go, then it is off to our final destination:  the pearl factory.  Of course, tourism comes with a cost!  But, it’s how the villagers make extra money to support their lives, so you really can’t blame them – or Indochina Junk – for the pandering. We’re met by a lovely lady, who explains all the different types of oyster farmed here. 

Then its a walk through the pearl jewelry shop – where prices are definitely eye popping – and out onto the dock to await our tender back to the boat.