The basic boat we called home, replicating an old Chinese Junk, was ... well basic but inflatable canoes were our vehicle of choice for exploring the almost 600 square miles of thousands of limestone islands, caves and inlets that make up Ha Long Bay.

Cave opening too small to navigate? No problem –- just let some air out of the canoe. Very eerie. Some caves were so dark we donned headlamps to maneuver through. Others so small, the entire trip was negotiated on our backs. But those that enthralled the most were comprised of tortured, grotesque shapes hanging from the ceiling and reflected in the water below. I felt stuck in a huge open mouth badly in need of dental work; I was Jonah inside the whale, the cave itself its gaping jaw, and the jagged stalactites above and below giant misshapen teeth. I questioned its dental insurance.

Some days we paddled into the caves. Others we trekked through them. One-hundred-forty steps up a sheer cliff -- don’t look down, I say -- brought us to the 100-foot-high, multi-chambered Surprises Cave -– which indeed it was full of.

I was told the name referred to the enormity of the cave –- a mile and a half walk from end to end; for me it was the huge highlighted outcropping protruding at a suggestive 45-degree angle as you rounded one of the bends, clearly a pornographic symbol that elicits giggles -- if not outright guffaws – from all who come across it.

I could envision a small civilization existing here in a former lifetime, and was not surprised to hear that many Vietnamese hid in the caves during the bombings of Hanoi during the Vietnam War -– or, as they see it, the American War.

You’ll find this interesting. When I asked our guide from Myths and Mountains, the wonderful tour company we went with, why the people of Vietnam were so welcoming to Americans after we destroyed so much of their country, he patiently explained that on their historic timeline, the Americans were just a blip: The main reason is that historically my country has been invaded by so many countries over centuries that the Americans were responsible for just a small part of their suffering.

Very candid about the good and bad in his country and the pros and cons of the government, you’ll appreciate his perspective on the current political climate in Vietnam. Although the government is Communist -– what Cuong describes as “flexible communism” -- the burgeoning economy reflects capitalism. Perhaps you can smell democracy in the air but it’s going to be a while before it settles to the ground, he said.

But back to paddling through Ha Long Bay – did I mention how surreal that is??? Exiting the caves often brought us into a still lagoon, acting as a mirror to the multiple majesty of the soaring peaks. Jagged and ragged, alternately solid and porous, the gauzy spires seem lost in the horizon while alternately sinking below the surface of the water. You know how blind I am so I thought perhaps the surroundings appeared that way because of my cataracts –- all filmy and out-of-focus. But it is more valid vista than vision -– and therein lay their beauty. As Charles, who was also on the trip, exclaimed: “Oh my God, it’s Shangra-La. This is the most unique place I’ve ever seen in all my travels.” A young woman in a basket boat pulled up alongside ours selling chocolate, crackers, cookies, nuts, wine and cigarettes. Somehow all that junk food seemed appropriate considering the nature of our boat. Need I remind you we were on a Chinese Junk…?

Until next time -
Fyllis

For more information, contact Myths and Mountains at 800/670-6984 or visit MythsAndMountains.com

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Fyllis Hockman is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance travel writer. She writes regularly for The Washington Times, is syndicated by the Copley News Service, and is a feature columnist for several online travel magazines. Ms. Hockman's travel stories also have appeared in the New York Post, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Providence Journal, Halifax Herald, Boston Herald, Gazette Newspapers, Asbury Park Press, New Hampshire Sunday News, Buffalo News and many other publications. She is the author of AAA Guidebook: A Photo Journey to Washington, D.C. and co-author of the Pelican Guide to Maryland. Ms. Hockman is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and Travel Journalists Guild.

Photos courtesy of Ruth Lerner

© 2007

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