Halong Bay, Vietnam.
I couldn't post pictures before while in Vietnam. But now I can, so lucky you.
Actually, as you'll see, lucky me.
You get to Halong Bay proper at first by "sailing" on a boat from Halong City for about 45 minutes. The bay is made up of about seventyleventy million limestone islands along the coast of Northeast Vietnam and Southwest China.
Some people live in floating houses on the bay. They farm fish. Each house sat atop a cage for breeding fish in the salt-water below. Most had dogs on them as alarms to prevent fish thieves from stealing the goods. Alarm dogs for fish, whatever next?
When the tourist boats got to the "Amazing Caves" (Which were, I have to be honest, pretty amazing) they waited around while the tourists transferred into little row-boats to land at the caves. As we stopped to switch boats, a small fleet approached, each boat captained by a pretty girl who tried to sell everything from Choco Pies (marshmallowy type biscuit/chocolate things) to cigarettes and whisky from her floating 7-11.
These kids lived on the water. They'd fashioned a raft out of an old polystyrene container and they were rowing around the bay. The water is very deep but they didn't care. Note the guy in the boat at the back rowing with his feet.
So we were all joking about being stung by a jellyfis as we saw plenty of them floating through the bay. "It never happens," said Chi, our guide, as we stopped near an oyster farm for a swim. It took me around 2 1/2 minutes in the water to get stung.
On our boat there was an Australian surfer (he'd got lost...) who had some antihistamines (jellyfish being a big problem when you're an Aussie surfer). I took one, which was just as well as 1/2 hour later the gland under my arm got tight and my lips started to tingle with the poison. Later it moved down my spine and through my kidneys. It's a weird feeling is being poisoned. This is the sting the morning after. You should have seen the other guy....(and everyone suggested peeing on it...everyone.)
The bay went on and on. I sat on the poop deck with my my fizzy ginger pop and frizzy ginger sideburns, looking for all the world like a pale, bloaty crap Bond Villain. I simpered every now and then to get some sympathy for my throbbing stings. As I was competing with this, no one could care less...
Quite right too...
2 comments:
ohh now this is what i meant to do on the last one, not email you.
i was just going to say that you don't look like you got stung by a jellyish - you look like you've been wearing cheap jewellery. did your wrist go mysteriously green afterwards too? puff.
I was stung by a HUGE jellyfish that I had to wrestle to the bottom of the China Sea while wearing cheap jewellery. So you're only half right.
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