February 18 - From Hanoi to Halong Bay

Today we departed on the bus for Halong Bay at 9:00 AM. The ride would take about two hours. Halong Bay is a popular place for small cruise ships due to its scenic nature – there are over 2,000 islands in the bay. We are told that our cruise ship is quite deluxe. It has only fourteen cabins, and our group will be its only passengers during our short cruise. As we traveled there, our local guide Loc provided a history lesson related to Vietnam post 1975 (after the war) – the communist era. When the war ended, the country eliminated its money supply. In the interest of complete economic equality, each family received weekly vouchers in order to purchase food, etc. All received the same amount regardless of what job one had in accordance with communist ideology. This system did not work, since no one had any incentive to work. Food began to be in short supply since farms became less productive. This became especially evident after 1980. Then came an abrupt change. In 1986, communist economic principles were completely abandoned in the name of “economic reform.” The country began to follow a complete capitalism model for economic activity. The next big change came in 1994 when US sanctions were lifted against Vietnam, and foreign investment could occur. Now Vietnam has many wealthy individuals – we saw billboards for companies that are part of the VIN Group. This is a massive conglomerate owned by Vietnam’s richest person Mr. Pham Nhat Veong. This conglomerate has fingers in many “pies,” including car manufacturing which was initiated in 2018 (VINFast brand).

Today, rice production is still Vietnam’s most important industry. South Vietnam has the most fertile land. The country produces more than it needs and is thus an exporter of rice. We could see many smaller rice plots here in North Vietnam on our bus ride. Interestingly, many of the rice fields have cemeteries within or beside them. 

It is customary for farming families to bury its family members on its own land, ergo a family cemetery on the family farm. Loc then told us of Vietnam’s interesting death rituals. Burial usually occurs two to three days after death with no embalming in plain wooden caskets – also no grave marker at that time. Three years later, the family returns and digs up the casket. The eldest son removes the bones, etc., and “cleans them up.” The remains are then placed in a ceramic container, which is buried. A grave marker (usually quite colorful, of which we saw examples) is then erected. Only the name and date of death is inscribed on the marker. A person’s date of birth is of no consequence. In fact, many Vietnamese people do not know their date of birth and do not celebrate birthdays. In this manner souls are released to nirvana. (Side fact: many Vietnamese immigrants to the US, also known as “boat people,” will have January 1 as their official birthday. This was the day selected since US immigration officials insisted that a birthday be supplied, and no one knew their actual date of birth!)

As we passed small towns and villages, it was also interesting to see the architecture of typical homes. Many of the nicer homes are constructed very tall and narrow – also colorful.

We had one stop on the way to Halong Bay, a commercial center that features cultured pearls, a specialty of the area. We had a demonstration of how the pearl “seeds” are implanted in the oysters, which was interesting. The main attraction was the very large marketplace selling cultured pearl jewelry – not too interesting to us. Roy took the opportunity to try some Vietnamese coffee served hot with sweetened condensed milk – very strong and good. While enjoying the coffee, our guide Tho told us about the high level of corruption in the highway patrol. Most speeders are expected to offer a bribe to the traffic officer when they are pulled over, which is accepted.  The highway patrol is a very lucrative place to work!

As we approached Halong Bay, we passed the major port city of Haiphong, where the Red River meets the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam). Today, many imported goods are received in Vietnam through this port. During the Vietnam War, this port was a major target in US bombing campaigns.

The name Halong translates to “dragon coming from above.” It is believed that a dragon created all the islands in the bay during a war with China, which stopped Chinese warships from invading Vietnam. We arrived at a small town where we boarded a smaller boat called a “tender.” We were met by the ship’s director named Ronaldo who was very gregarious! On the boat, we were shown to our room, which was nice and very spacious. A buffet lunch was served that was over the top! Needless to say, Halong Bay is gorgeous!  Many photos were taken. 

Our activity this afternoon was a visit to Cat Ba Island where we toured the Trung Trang cave in Cat Ba National Park. The cave was very interesting to walk through. A security guard insisted that we wear face masks to enter the park, and then our temperatures were taken, but we removed our masks as soon as we were inside the park!
 

This evening the ship hosted a happy hour in the lounge. It had been intended for an outdoor deck, but it was too cold! The chef held a demonstration of how to make a Vietnamese fresh roll, and then we each had an opportunity to make one. Roy’s fell apart immediately, but Rob’s turned out pretty good. Dinner began with fried spring rolls followed by delicious fish!