A Cool Experience

To Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam

To get out onto the water and really explore the region's "karst" landscape (topography formed by dissolved limestone), we signed up for Asia Outdoors' two-day boating, kayaking and rock climbing tour. At 8 a.m., the prescribed time, we got to the nearby office to the general commotion of a dozen people signing in and trying on climbing shoes and harnesses. We were soon divided up, whisked away to the small harbor on the other side of the peninsula, and loaded onto a local “junk” boat.

As always, it was a joy to be on the water and see the sights from a new perspective. In less than five minutes, we were chugging away past floating fishing villages tucked in below the cliff sides. It was fascinating to see the homes, fishing boats, nets, and small stores painted in blues, reds and greens. The traditional reed woven boats and fishermen in conical hats could be seen here and there.  

We soon learned that the four of us were in the group to kayak for the day and were paired up with Keiran and Amanda from England and Scotland. They had recently finished a year in Egypt working for a resort. Also on the boat was a French family, who were living full time in Cambodia but were off traveling for a couple weeks in Vietnam. Finally, Leah, from Virginia, was our guide for the day. Interestingly, many of the higher end tour companies hire English speaking westerners as guides almost exclusively. I suppose it's a win-win; most of their clients are westerners anyway plus it’s a great way for a cash-strapped twenty-something to earn some money while exploring the world. On this trip alone, the guides hailed from the US, England, New Zealand, Holland, Finland, and Uruguay.

Our time in the kayaks was awesome, though my hip flexors were happy when it was over. The kayaks let us see the limestone cliffs up close with their cool tunnels, archways and caves. During the afternoon session we stopped in the middle of a beautiful amphitheater for a refreshing swim and got to test the impressive acoustic properties of the giant rock walls.

We had a delicious dinner on the boat, and then finished off the day venturing once more into the cool water. The big draw at night was the alleged presence of phosphorescent plankton. Keiran and Amanda led the charge jumping off the top of the boat into the moonlit water with Kylie, Dex and me quickly following. Crowded next to the boat in the hull's shadow, I was just able to convince myself of the faint green flashes coming off my waving fingertips. Somewhat underwhelming, but a "cool" experience nonetheless.

Meg, Keiran, Amanda and overnight guide, Monte

Helen, Kylie, Dex, Frederic, Lauren, and Jean