Ha Long Bay

Today we drove to Ha Long Bay for an overnight stay on a traditional junk.  Ha Long means “descending dragon,” and this archipelago sure does look like a gigantic prehistoric reptile rising from the sea.

As a side note, this bay is in the Gulf of Tonkin, where the US was drawn into the Vietnam War when the USS Maddox was supposedly torpedoed twice by North Vietnam.  These incidents were later proved to be erroneous, but it prompted Congress in 1964 to pass The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allowed Lyndon Johnson to aid any country threatened by communists.  It is a surreal experience for us to be cruising this bay.

We learned a lot about the Vietnamese economy during our three hour bus ride to the bay. Huge manufacturing facilities have been built by South Korea (Samsung), China (Foxconn), and Japan (Canon), employing thousands of Vietnamese workers. These factories build Smartphones and Laser printers. Asian Development Bank expects Vietnam’s economy to grow by 6.3% in 2017. People here accept both the Vietnamese dong and the American dollar, but need to have separate banks to deal with both types of currency. Economically Vietnam is a “rising dragon,” but it is worried about China’s aggressive moves to control the South China Sea and America’s new president. Will the US continue to use its military to enforce International Laws keeping the sea lanes open?

The rain continued to come down and the temperature was in the upper fifties, so it was quite chilly and grey on the bay.  After lunch on the boat, we hopped on a smaller motor boat to visit Ha Long Bay’s Hang Sung Sot (Surprising Cave), where fisherman have taken shelter from typhoons and Vietnamese soldiers hid during the war.

To read the captions, click on the first picture and use the arrow keys to navigate the gallery.

Even though the country is experiencing economic growth, it still has its challenges. Medical care and prescription drugs are expensive. One of the reasons that Vietnamese families pool their earnings and stress saving money is to be able to pay for any family member who falls ill.  It often takes multiple earnings to pay for it.  Moreover, doctors, nurses and drugs are in short supply, so under-the-table money is often necessary to speed up services.

We also learned about language and Vietnamese terminology. Rose, our guide, told us that growing up, she was required to learn Russian because after the Vietnam War the USSR contributed to the rebuilding of Vietnam. However, after the US lifted the embargo on the country, Russian was dropped from the curriculum and English (the language of commerce and free enterprise) became mandatory. Everyone here wants to practice their English because it is the key to getting a job that pays well.  Unfortunately, Vietnam has a serious teacher shortage. Rose also corrected some of our wording faux pas. Although John Kerry is visiting Vietnam to learn about the “Viet Cong” soldier he killed during the war, the Vietnamese frown upon this American terminology; they prefer the expression “Vietnamese soldier.” On a lighter note, If one needs to find a bathroom, it is rude to us the word “toilet.”   The locals use the expression “happy place,” for a user is happy to find it and even happier to leave it.

Before dinner on the junk, we had a Vietnamese cooking demonstration (spring rolls), followed by an international wine tasting hour.  All of us were provided with traditional Vietnamese clothes (Bao Dai dress) to wear at dinner, where we learned how to toast with rice wine.

The next morning at six, Dana and Jill participated in a Tai Chi class. Then by row boat we travel through a gorgeous lagoon to see a monkey colony.

We left North Vietnam in the afternoon and flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We will return to Vietnam in a few days when our cruise ship crosses the border on the Mekong Delta. For the next few days we will be exploring the Angkor Archeological Park to see the amazing Angkor temples.