Only off by a few degrees

As we stepped off the plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, I couldn’t focus on my first smell as I had in Thailand and Cambodia. Instead, I was forced to focus on how cold it was. The pilot had announced as we were landing that it was 18 degrees outside, and while I still haven’t mastered the metric system I knew that 23 degrees was room temperature (and the lowest temperature I’d felt to date on the trip). Five degrees isn’t that bad in Fahrenheit, but in Celsius it’s significant—and it only got cooler, as a billboard posted 15 degrees on the drive to town. I knew Vietnam was a long, skinny country, but clearly was oblivious to how far north we were. I’d later learn Hanoi is 200 km of the China border, and Halong Bay only 100 km.

My lack of preparation for this part of the trip became chillingly obvious. Thankfully I had trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, and a light jacket that I’d only expected to use them on the plane. The whole point of this trip was to escape the cold, and here I was traveling right back into it. Mind you, it wasn’t that cold, but when you’re coming from tropical heat and expecting more of the same, temperatures in the low 60’s feel downright frigid. I was a little crestfallen at this turn of events, as my plans of swimming and basking in the heat on the boat slowly dissolved. I couldn’t help but reflect on the mural I’d just seen at Angkor Wat, that one depicting the people shivering in hell. What was I doing (besides miring in self-pity)? The drive to our hotel was mostly pitch-black and I was exhausted from another sunrise, but we did see a motorbike carrying hundreds of roses to market.

The next morning we finally booked our Halong Bay cruise, and had firsthand experience with the phrase “same same” that we’d heard so often on this trip. They’ll say it to convince you that while they’re giving you something other than what you’d wanted, it’s equivalent—and it’s often not. We drove to the Bay with another company’s groups and heard about all the great things they were doing and were really impressed with their guide. Unfortunately, this set the bar a little too high for our group, but thankfully Halong Bay is too spectacular for any company to spoil. I’d first heard about Halong Bay in a geology class. Once again, after seeing a picture I was determined to visit it. No matter that it required another visa for another country, another plane ticket, and that we could only stay for a few days. Thank goodness Cori was willing to go along with it, because it was just as stunning as I’d hoped!

Our day was spent cruising in the Bay with a visit to a beautiful cave, which they “enhanced” with their colorful lighting.

Then we cruised further and further into the Bay, lost in a maze of karst typography until we docked near other boats for the night. Luckily the other passengers were friendly, and we unanimously requested to turn off the Vietnamese karaoke so we could have a quiet night and an early bedtime for once. Cori and I lucked out with a suite at the back of the boat, so we each had a window overlooking the landscape (bayscape?).